Apples: Favorites?

[Elissa]

favorite apples? i only like the sour ones raw: grannies, not macs.

how's antique apple farming in ny?

you find different ones at farmers markets in sf.

did johnny appleseed die happy?

Edited February 23, 2003 by lissome (log)

[Mottmott]

Northern Spies in a good year. Oh, the perfume of it.

This year I didn't even see any.

[CathyL]

For me they have to be not just sour, but crisp & hard. Grannies can be mealy/mushy. Greenings & Pippins are usually good. Sometimes Braeburns, which are tangy if not sour.

There are a lot of wonderful heirloom varieties available at NYC farmers' markets, but it's been a very rough year for apple growers.

Northern Spy and Black Twig are lovely cooking apples.

[Elissa]

do you know the difference between heirloom and antique?

In RC Binstock's novel The Soldier there is a woman with an arbor enamored of antiques.

[CathyL]

do you know the difference between heirloom and antique?

In RC Binstock's novel The Soldier there is a woman with an arbor enamored of antiques.

Um, no. Enlighten me, please.

The woman is enamored, or the arbor is?

[Elissa]

the trees are in love with the woman who loves the apples but thinks she loves the man.

she's one of the stories in that novel: thinks she's in love with a man who lives close (a writer) whose novel is called The Soldier, which is the title of the Binstock's book. A beaute too.

dunno the diffrence was asking

Edited February 23, 2003 by lissome (log)

[CathyL]

i dunno the diffrence was asking

A quick Google suggests it's merely a marketing distinction - some publicist must have thought 'antique' conjured up moldy or dusty or embalmed.

As for Binstock...I need to reread that sentence after a night's sleep.

[Suvir Saran]

For me they have to be not just sour, but crisp & hard.  Grannies can be mealy/mushy.  Greenings & Pippins are usually good.  Sometimes Braeburns, which are tangy if not sour. 

There are a lot of wonderful heirloom varieties available at NYC farmers' markets, but it's been a very rough year for apple growers.

Newtown Pippins and Braeburns are sour, crisp and hard. My favorites.

David Karp a friend based in LA, has me addicted to them.

And the best thing about the Newtown Pippins is that they are from Queens. From our own city.

I make apple halwa from the newtown pippins. They are amazing apples.

[Elissa]

I was wondering about baking, with apples as sugar, historically. When did cane overtake markets?

Edited February 23, 2003 by lissome (log)

[Pan]

They recently had Pink Ladies at my local health food store. They were great! Refreshingly sour, but I think not as sour as Granny Smiths.

[snowangel]

For me they have to be not just sour, but crisp & hard.  Grannies can be mealy/mushy.

Aim for Chestnut Crabs. Available in MN, but only if you know the orchard owner and s/he feels like sharing. As I recall, they are usually planted for pollination, not for sale, but are so wonderful and are getting so popular that some orchards are planting them with an eye to selling the apples. They are small -- bigger than one typically associates with ornamental crabs, crisp, and that first bite is very tart, but a mellow sweetness starts to intersperse with the tartness. They are divine. Just what an apple should be.

For cooking, there's only one choice for me -- Haralson.

[CathyL]

I was wondering about baking, with apples as sugar, historically. When did cane overtake markets?

Lissome, honey's been around a lot longer than sugar.

[=Mark]

Stayman Winesaps rule! Crisp and tart. Excellent for cooking and eating...

[Elissa]

Lissome, honey's been around a lot longer than sugar.

But I beileve that the Ayurvedic folks say it's not kosher to cook honey, or to heat it.

Did Austo-Hungarians use honey in their streudels? Apple sugar? Was there pastry before cane?

Edited February 23, 2003 by lissome (log)