More delights from the Farmers Market. In addition to the Royal Galas of recent days, I have just had that Spy which is like eating the side of a cow. I have also had Cortlands, Cox's Orange Pippens and, this very moment, my first Tolman Sweet aka Talman's Sweet and even aka Tom and Sweet according to a co-worker's mother:
TOLMAN SWEET was originally named Tolman Sweeting and has the synonyms Brown's Golden Sweet, Talman's Sweet and Tolman. It is thought to be a cross of Sweet Greening and Old Russet from Massachusetts and was described in 1822. Others claim its origin is not known. Medium in size and rectangular to conic in shape, the pale yellow skin sometimes has a red blush and lines of russet and often a suture line is obvious. The white flesh is drier than juicy and of a pronounced sweet flavor. It bruises easily...It is an exceptionally good apple for baking and is particularly suitable for cider making because it contains 14.6% sugar that ferments to 7% alcohol.Whare's a fella's press when he needs it?!?!
Comments
Alan - October 30, 2003 2:39 pm
Amazing velvety texture to the flesh. Tastes like clover dew.
Alan - November 17, 2003 10:10 am
Honey Crisp and Ambrosia bought on the weekend. The latter stands out more - looks and tastes like a cross between the poxy Golden Delicious [which should be called Yellow Cardboard if there was truth in advertising] and Royal Gala, one of the greatest tasting apples of all time. The literature calls it a cross between Golden Delicious and Starking Delicious, a "sport" of Delicious. A "sport" is a chance naturally occuring hybrid that works out well. Interesting that Royal Gala and Starking Delicious both suffer from a certain disorder similarly. We think of Delicious as a modern hybrid but the Starking Variety is almost 200 years old, out of Iowa where the Stark brothers discovered it in 1814 or so, though as the article last linked shows, it further may be a cross between a Spanish apple from the old days of greater Mexico and a West Virginian apple called Golden dating back before 1800.
Alan - November 18, 2003 1:49 pm
I had one of the honeycrisps just now: juicy, a bit acidic and crisp. There is definately a layer of honey taste there as with a honey brown ale rather than mead - it's back there. The apple was fairly bumped around in shipping without bruising. The variety has its own website: www.honeycrisp.org. Just a pup - developed in 1991 in Minnisota...or - ehr - 1962 - oh, why can we get together on this stuff. One parent to the hybrid, Macoun, comes from 80 km west of here in Trenton... or "was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva in 1932". One grandparent, Haralson, is from Minnisota created 1992; the other into the Delicious strain. Despite all the family feuding, pretty good apple but the acidity is a bit watery rather than rich. Ambrosia wins this head to head battle of the <i>pommes</i>.