Jonagolds are a cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathon bred at the New York State Experimental Station. A little less tart than the Jonathan, its similarly sweet but comes off a little flatter.
Winecrisps are typically regarded for their complex flavor. Along with a crisp texture and nice sweet/acid balance, they’re extremly versatile; nice for eating fresh as well as in cooking applications.
Honeycrisp, a prized apple bred for taste, was developed by the University of Minnesota and released in 1991. They are a mix of green and blush-red and are sweet, tart, and fragrant.
Developed by the University of Minnesota, honeygolds were breed to be an alternative to Golden Delicious that is suitable for colder climates. They have yellow to golden red skins with creamy flesh that has subtle notes of pear.
When writing these blurbs, I usually do a bit of research. One of my favorite resources for apple varieties has become this website, Apple Rankings. Created by comedian, Brian Frange, the reviews are some of the most entertaining out there.
Sweet Sixteen was developed by the University of Minnesota. Its a cross between Northern Spy and Frostbite apples. They’re very sweet with notes that brought coconut to mind for us.
Jonathans are an old school apple. The origin story for it is a bit misty, but they’ve been around since at least the early 1800’s. With a relatively thicker skin, Jonathans have a nice sweet tart balance mild aromatics.
Empires have the classic brown apple notes (like apple cider or the soda Manzanita Sol) with nice tartness. Empire is cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh, bred at Cornell University in upstate New York.
Mutsu apples are a golden delicious cultivar, first grown in Japan. In Japan, there are three kinds typically available: Sun (yellow-green), Red, and Silver (pale-yellow). Each kind differ in color based on how much sunlight they receive.
Cortlands are a McIntosh x Ben Davis hybrid developed in Geneva, NY in 1898. They’re great for salads or fruit plates since they don’t turn brown quickly after being cut. They’re tart with a nice sweeetness and with a flavor that made me think of brown sugar.
Macoun (“Mc-cow-an”), a cross between McIntosh and Jersey Black, is the third McIntosh offshoot that we’ve had this year. These have a great subtle floralness and lack of acidity that makes the sweetness really stand out.
We’ll likely receive two types of apples with each share for the remainder of the season. After we receive the apples, its a fun challenge to identify which are which variety and then separate them out. To be honest though, this week was a challenge (so hopefully we got them right). Autumn Crisp are a cross between Golden Delicious and Monroe apples develop by Cornell University. They’re sweet, slightly tart with floral notes and store very well.
Summer isn’t the variety, but rather a description of these early season apples. They were actually a surprise to us when we received our delivery since Nichols hadn’t listed them in the shares this week. Either way, we’ll happily take them. My best guess is that they are Jersey Macs but hard to know for sure. They’re crisp with a really nice cider/caramel apple flavor.
Also called ‘St. Edmund’s Pippin’, this apple is an early variety of ‘russeting’ apples. Russeting is the term used for apples that develop a brown-ish yellow color when ripe. Of russeting apples, St. Edmund’s are consider to have some of the best flavor, although are not the best storage apples so enjoy promptly!
This will be the first of many varieties of apples that we will get to enjoy. If you keep the apples in the brown paper bag and store them in the refrigerator, they’ll keep for months which is great since we will be getting a lot.
Jersey Mac is a solid utility apple; crisp and juicy. It softens when cooked so is great for apple sauce. They lean a little but more tart than sweet but aren’t necessarily sour.
Mutsu apples are a golden delicious cultivar, first grown in Japan. In Japan, there are three kinds typically available: Sun, Red, and Silver. Each kind differ in color based on how much sunlight they receive. These from Nichols are a pale yellow-green with red blush, almost a mix of three varieties.
SnowSweets are a University of Minnesota variety. U of M describes SnowSweets as “almost buttery….. sweet with a slight tart balance and rich overtones.” I think they taste like a caramel apple without any of the tacky candy sticking in your teeth.
Idareds are a cross between Jonathan and Wagener apples, first grown in 1791. Small in size they have a nice sweet-tart balance and hold up well when baked.
With dark crimson-red skin, Arkansas Blacks are rather large apples. They have a thicker skin and are very firm. Through storage, the color will deepen and the flavor sweeten so do not rush to eat these.
Bred by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association , Ludacrisps have a medium size with rose gold colored skin. They are tart and their flavor is tropical-fruity, almost reminiscent of Juicy Fruit gum.
Jonathans are an old school apple. The origin story for it is a bit misty, but they’ve been around since at least the early 1800’s. With a relatively thicker skin, Jonathans have a nice sweet tart balance mild aromatics.
Jonagolds are a cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathon bred at the New York State Experimental Station. A little less tart than the Jonathan, its similarly sweet but comes off a little flatter.
Honeygold was developed at the University of Minnesota, and is a descendent of Golden Delicious bred for cold hardiness. It’s a firm with golden-green skin and is sweet with floral notes, like honey or rose.
In comparison, the Empires have more of the classic brown apple notes (like apple cider or the soda Manzanita Sol) also with more tartness. Empire is cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh, bred at Cornell University in upstate New York.
Developed by the University of Minnesota and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp is prized as an apple bred for taste. They are a mix of green and blush-red and are sweet, tart, and fragrant.
A central part of the U of M apple breeding program since the 1920’s, Frostbite is actually the “grandparent” to the Honeycrisp. The Frostbites are more of a brick-red and super sweet with notes of brown apples (like apple cider or the soda Manzanita Sol).
McIntosh apples are a classic variety. Originated cultivated in Upper Canada, they entered commercial production in 1870 and today are in the top fifteen apple cultivars in the US. Tart with a green apple flavor similar to Granny Smith.
Cortlands are a McIntosh x Ben Davis hybrid developed in Geneva, NY in 1898. Striated green and red skin with bright white flesh, these have a more brown
This will be the first of a lot of apples that will be in the shares through the remainder of the season. The beauty of them though is that they will last for a good long time in the crisper box of the refrigerator. Last year, Lisa and I were still eating apples from our shares in February. Just keep putting the newest apples in the very back so you eat the oldest first.
As best as I can tell, there appears to be a mix of zestar, summar macs, and empire, but there might be as many as one more variety mixed in.
This will be the first of a lot of apples that will be in the shares through the remainder of the season. The beauty of them though is that they will last for a good long time in the crisper box of the refrigerator. Last year, Lisa and I were still eating apples from our shares in February. Just keep putting the newest apples in the very back so you eat the oldest first. This variety, Zestar, is crisp and tart with a really nice green apple flavor.
We received honey crisps a couple of shares back, but we won’t complain.
20 Ounce Apples are named such because they can grow to be monstrously big. With a nice level of tartness and flavor similar to Granny Smiths, 20 Ounce Apples first appeared in 1843, supposedly discovered natively growing in upstate New York.
We’ve got a little bit of theme with the apples this share, so if you haven’t thought about the Roman Empire recently, you’re welcome.
Empire Apples are named so because they developed at Cornell University. A cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious. Aromatic with nice sweet/tart balance, Empires are great snacking apples.
Rome Apples are an old variety, originating in Rome, Ohio in 1816. These apples are top-shelf baking apples. With a thicker skin, they hold their shape very well cooked, and get sweeter (their flavor is a little flat fresh).
