Adam's Apples

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

There are some great farmers markets near me, and in season they are the source of most of the fruit I eat.

The Boston Globe, anticipating pomological fall, on Wednesday published a two-paged guide to some of New England's most interesting orchards and apple experiences. ¶ Cider donuts too, of course.

This handsome apple blushes deep red, at its most saturated as dark as any Arkansas Black or Black Oxford. ¶ It is decorated with many small light lenticel dots, and the unblushed portion is streaky over yellow. ¶ Soluna is sightly tapered and slightly ri…

There's an orchard near me that takes an interest in apples that are still in development (and may never graduate to wider cultivation). ¶ These generally have names like "WA 38" (which you know as Cosmic Crisp) or "NY 428" (which you probably do not know…

A WHOLE LOTTA NOTHING ¶ All supermarket apples are good looking, and Dazzle, with its cool red blush decorated with many small lenticel dots, is no exception. ¶ The apple is large and blocky, with only a slight taper keeping it from a completely cylindric…

Travel has kept me from the early apples this year.

I was traveling last week, and thus missed farmers market, where there were probably some early apples: Lodi at least, and maybe Vista Bella. ¶ I made it to an orchard on Friday.

Eighteen is something like 180 in internet years.

After several years of neglect, these apple trees show signs of care. ¶ Some are even bearing fruit: ¶ The state of things at Nagog Hill Farm in Littleton, Massachusetts, last week. ¶ Alas, the farm has moved on, an orchard no more.

Surrounded by the plastic and newsprint that kept it over the winter, this 2025 GoldRush apple proved still good to eat in June of 2026. ¶ As things turned out, my eyes were bigger than my stomach when I squirreled away a score of these apples last fall to

" From now on I will no longer be a monogamous apple consumer; instead, I will be in a harem with bedfellows by the name of jazz, yello, pink lady and envy."

SO FAR FROM THE HARVEST (GoldRush (L) and Empire) ¶ The late spring used to be enlivened by imports of (relatively) fresh apples from Chile, New Zealand, and other points south. ¶ Today these apples are swept away on the ebb tides of global commerce.

A friend alerted me to a short broadcast about apples that aired on Boston's WGBH radio last month. ¶ The focus was on New England apples.

King blossoms on an apple tree at Hutchins Farm in Concord, Massachusetts, yesterday. ¶ First to come forth, the king blossom heralds the harvest to be. ¶ Blogger Chris, of A Life of Apples, tells us ❝ Every fruiting spur on an apple tree produces a clust…

ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς: The buds on the trees at Hutchins Farm in Concord, Massachusetts earlier today blush like eager debutantes While some in other climes report blossoms, we are in the chill stasis of a Massachusetts April. ¶ The cool temperatures slow the…

A bud is opening on an apple tree in Lexington, Massachusetts yesterday. ¶ Some are reporting apple blossoms, but where I live things are still mostly buttoned up, though that is changing. ¶ It's still forsythia and cherries here, though just a few towns…

Tomorrow's apples take shape on a tree at Hutchins Farm in Concord, Massachusetts earlier today. ¶ Pomological spring is a hopeful time, made dear by uncertainty.

Whan that April with his showres soot is when (whan?)

Yes that's snow!

The Cortland apple has an ardent following.

Would you like to know an old-time apple recipe for Norfolk Biffin (or other fruit recipes, some from antiquity)?

Behold: ❝A pineapple fucked a pear and somehow made a baby that looks like an apple.

Three apples rate a star.

Last fall I was invited to identify some apples growing in a neighbor's yard. ¶ Not to beat around the tree: these proved to be Northern Spy, something that the home owners had suspected. ¶ I'm not actually a great apple detective, so just as well!