Tale of Two Apples

While some Barnharts are visiting THE Big Apple, others of us have to make do with whatever apples we have on hand.  This week, we've been content with just eating big apples.

I've made a habit this winter of looking for new and interesting apple varieties in the grocery store.  We ran out of our own storage apples sometime in March, and since then we've picked up a few Jazz, Kanzi, Ambrosia, and most recently Smitten (from New Zealand).  We wanted to expand our apple horizons and though my interest in apples is more for the older (heritage, heirloom, antique) varieties, these are available to us and new.  And they are in remarkably good condition for apples that have been in storage for half a year (except for the Smitten, which is presumable fresh from the Southern Hemisphere).

But we have also tried a few old standbys that we haven't had in some time.  We picked up a bag of Granny Smith (the kids had never had them).  And on our recent trip downstate we got some nice Golden Delicious (can't remember the last time I ate one of those).  Yet I haven't thought to pick up some good old McIntosh - until this week.

I usually don't care much for McIntosh even though I've read others describe them as being very good or even one of the best apples.  My perception is that they are small and round with thin, dark red skin, white flesh that is tender at best and mushy or mealy at worst, and a flavor that is good but not good enough to balance out the other factors.  So I was surprised when I saw these large McIntosh with a boxier shape and lighter coloring at our grocery store.  I decided to pick some up, though I was not hopeful because I also haven't known McIntosh to store all that well and here it is well into June.

I make a point of checking where the fruit is grown because I'm curious and also like to know where my food comes from.  And this time of year, it tells you whether you're eating an fresh apple (Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina are all just coming into season) or an apple that's been in storage since last fall (usually Washington, but sometimes Oregon, Michigan, New York, Canada, etc.)  When I picked out my McIntosh I found that some were from Michigan and some were from New York - and they looked different.  So I decided to get a couple of each and compare.

Rachel helped me with the testing, which consisted of slicing open each apple and getting a photo, then tasting and making observations.  The photos show the variation in appearance pretty well, though without a scale you can't easily see that these are good sized apples - about 3.25 inches in diameter.  Both apples were surprisingly firm and fairly crisp (though not super-crisp like most of the newer varieties).  We were surprised to see some greenish coloring in the flesh of each - more so in the Michigan sample.  The flavor was not bad in either.  We noticed the biggest difference here.  The sample from Michigan was sharp and almost tart while the New York sample was mellow and sweet.  Both had the thin tender McIntoshy skin though the New Yorker's skin tore a little more easily.  I did not distinguish much of what I think of as McIntosh flavor in either.  I was also glad not to find them mushy or mealy.





















So what could account for such variation from my perception of McIntosh or even between these two apples?  Here are some possibilities:

1. Sports.  No, not hockey, baseball, or even bobbing for apples.  A sport is a fruit specimen that's selected because it's slightly different from others on the same tree.  The apples on one branch might be bigger, redder, ripen sooner, have a different shape, etc.  If this branch is selected for propagation by grafting, an "improved" version of the same variety (in this case, McIntosh) is preserved.  I suspect that these McIntosh might be sports of the more traditional variety.
2. Culture.  Being near THE Big Apple, the New York McIntosh would naturally be more cultured.  No, not really.  By culture I mean differences in soil, climate, etc.  I've read that this can have a big impact on the fruit - even two trees of the same variety across town from each other can be quite different.  Consider the, er, apples that Dad has been growing in his back yard in Muskegon.  I've never seen apples like those.  In fact, I don't know if I've ever seen those apples - they seem to disappear before they ripen (but that's a different problem).  I know that McIntosh are highly regarded in the Northeast, and New York is a lot closer than Michigan.  I suspect many of the McIntosh I've had previously were from the Northwest, where McIntosh may not be at it's best.
3. Management.  McIntosh is one of those trees that benefit from thinning the fruit, or removing most of the fruit that sets before they grow to maturity.  This usually results in larger, higher quality fruit.  I guess we could add water, fertilizer, and pest control here (again, we come back to Dad's apples).  The ripeness at picking, handling, and storage can all impact the texture and flavor of an apple also - particularly after a long storage.
4. Age.  It's amazing that we're enjoying these apples in June and they really are quite good still (no doubt due to controlled atmosphere storage).  But they don't taste like they did when they were picked or even a month after they were picked.  People who know apples talk about the "flavor arc".  Some apples are best right off the tree; some a month or two (or five) later.  McIntosh is known to loose some of its balancing tartness and become sweeter in storage.  This describes the New York apple quite well.

There are other factors as well, I'm sure.  But that's enough to get us started.  Next time you're shopping for fruit take a look at the McIntosh (or other seemingly familiar variety).  Note where they're grown and whether you can tell a difference between two of the same variety grown in different places.  I'll bet you can.