A is for Apple, E is for Excellent!
Or how to make time stand still.

By Uncle Paul

A rose by any other name might be called an apple. The apple is a member of the rose family.

Mark Twain said the following: “I know the look of an apple that is roasting and sizzling on the hearth on a winter’s evening, and I know the comfort that comes of eating it hot, along with some sugar and a drench of cream... I know how the nuts taken in conjunction with winter apples, cider, and doughnuts, make old people’s tales and old jokes sound fresh and crisp and enchanting.”

When I think of apples all the good memories flow just like they did for Mark Twain. Have you ever given one to a teacher or shared one with a friend or loved one on a Saturday afternoon? Have you sat on porch with a pocketknife trying to see how long you could make the peel? Have you carried one in your pocket only to be pulled at that special time? What I like about apples is that when you bite into one of Mother Nature’s wonderful gifts they almost make time stand still. You crunch deep into the sweet juicy white center, then you smack your lips and wipe the juice from the bottom of your chin with your sleeve, evoking memories of autumn when the leaves fall and there is crispness in the air. Apples are not to be eaten quickly. The true gift of the apple is that it takes time to eat it. The apple slows down time, a time given to enjoy its richness of its flavor.

Today I would like to take you through a walk of a few of the new apples that are prominent in the wonderful Northwest. There are more than 7,500 varieties in the world and most of the best are grown right here in apple country. These are a few of my favorites:

Braeburn: The skin of the Braeburn is both gold and green with a beautiful red blush. They are crisp and sweet with a wonderful tartness and at the same time delightfully aromatic and about as juicy as an apple can get. It is truly a dribble-down-your-chin apple. The Braeburn is a great apple to select for eating out of hand or baking in a pie. It was discovered as a chance seedling in New Zealand. They are also good for dicing and tossing into salads.

Fuji: I best describe a Fuji with the words: super sweet, spicy, and crisp. The Fuji is one of my favorite eating out-of-the-hand apples. It’s a wonderful addition to a salad. Bursting with sweet, juicy flavor, the Fuji is one of the best eating apples in the world. Its golden color with red striping makes it a distinctive apple. It is perfect for sack lunches and afternoon snacks. The Fuji originated in the 1950s in Fujisaki, Japan and is a cross between Ralls and Red Delicious. It was introduced to South Africa in the early 1990s and has been a favorite of the Japanese and Chinese for many years and now America loves the taste. The Fuji stays sweeter longer than any other apple. The taste has both sweetness and a hint of tartness that is unlike any other apple. Fuji apples retain their shape when cooked, but take longer than average to cook tender.

Honey Crisp: This is the new sensation in the apple world. It is large and sweet with a crisp to-die-for texture. The offspring of Macoun and Honey Gold, Honey Crisp was introduced in 1991 by the University of Minnesota breeders. Both its parents were noted for having excellent flavor, moderate-sized fruit, and an okay texture. Honey Crisp’s flavor is perhaps not as dramatic as Macoun at its peak, but it is first rate. The kicker in Honey Crisp is its explosively crisp texture. No other apple matches its crispness. The Honey Crisp holds its shape well while baking. This is also one of my favorite out-of-the-hand eating apples. This Thanksgiving I went to the best pie maker I know, her name is Maxine, and she taught me how to make the perfect apple pie using the Honey Crisp. It was absolutely delightful.

Pink Lady: Apart from its distinctive color and flavor, Pink Lady is so much more than just an apple. The first bite tastes pleasantly tart followed by a delicious sweetness. When you taste a Pink Lady be prepared for a long- lasting burst of flavor. If you like apples that bite back, you will be an instant fan. Not only is the Pink Lady an excellent eating out-of-hand apple but it is one of the best cooking apples. It has an outstanding dessert quality. It can be used in all of the traditional apple recipes including pies. It actually requires the addition of less sugar. It is an incredibly beautiful apple and one of Nature’s natural health foods. It has a distinctive pink blush over a beautiful yellow background. The Pink Lady is a cross between the Golden Delicious and the Lady Williams and it originated in Australia in 1973. The Pink Lady stores well and becomes sweeter with time. Pink Lady apples mean fun, fitness, and flirtation!

European Sonata: Developed in Dresden, Germany the Sonata is a cross among the Golden Delicious, an old English apple, the Orange Cox Pippin, and the Duchess of Oldenburg. The Sonata is a delightful apple, sweet with a whisper of tart. A truly smack-your-lips after-every-bite kind of fruit. My brother Dale and I helped name this apple a few years back. Dresden is the home to many great composers so we gave it a musical name. The Sonata is a symphony for the tongue. It is a medium-sized apple with excellent flavor. It is an attractive apple with a bright, pinkish red blush over a yellow background with a firm and finely grained, creamy colored flesh.

Apples are a vital part of a healthy diet as they provide vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber that are essential to health and well-being. They also contain a plethora of different substances known as phytochemicals (literally plant chemicals). An increasing body of research suggests that many of these substances may help protect our bodies against degenerative conditions such as heart disease and cancer. Apples are especially rich in a particular phytochemical called quercetin. Apples can make a useful contribution to total vitamin and mineral intake, although they are not especially rich in any one particular vitamin or mineral. On the news the other day they found a connection between Alzheimer’s and apples. It was broadcast that, “An apple a day keeps the Alzheimer’s away.”

Apples are fat-free, saturated fat-free, cholesterol-free, sodium-free. There are only about 80 calories in a medium-sized apple. No wonder we become teacher’s pet when we take them an apple.

A is for apple, B is for beautiful, C is for crisp, D is for delicious, and E is for excellent! No matter what grade you get with an incredible apple you come out a true winner!

Uncle Paul, along with his wife Calla, owns Uncle Paul’s European Style Open Air Produce Market, 2310 SE Hawthorne 503-484-8612.