2020 Dec. Goat Daily Rant 03
12Daily rant: Stolen Theme. Fruit tree of the day.
Thanks for the theme, @Weboh. Yoink!
Sub-theme: Lazy/inactive. I’m not willing to put in the work that @Weboh did and I have nowhere near the expertise to do it justice.
Okay, more of a fruit of the day. We will discuss the Arkansas Black Apple.
The Arkansas Black is a deep-dark red apple that continues to darken after it’s picked, and it’s a little more spherical in shape, even flattened a little, than other varieties. It stores very well long-term, up to 6 months cold with no issues, due to its thick, dark skin. In fact, it’s hard and sour when picked, softening and sweetening over time. It should even sit for a couple months to develop. Once developed, it sweetens and takes on flavors similar to vanilla and cinnamon. Like a wine, it improves with age. It makes excellent cider.
An heirloom apple that was once very popular, in 1900 there were thousands of acres in Arkansas dedicated to growing this fruit. Moth infestation, bacterial blight, and the dust bowl greatly impacted apple production in the region, and the variety was relegated to local markets and fruit stands. It is being produced throughout the US now, however, and its popularity and availability is returning.
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That is beautiful.
very cool. Your tree?
@chienfou Not my tree. I harvested these pictures from the world-wide web.
@PocketBrain
Bravo!
I was just fascinated with this dark apple. Hardiness zones 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (although some say zones 4-8). My area is 8b/9a so it’s a bit too warm for these. You can get a 2-year old tree on Amazon.
@PocketBrain
Not sure I can muster the necessary chill hours…
Zone 8a here.
Cool! Actually, gorgeous!
/Want
I
fruit trees. Thanks for the tag so I’d see it!
Sounds interesting. I’ll probably never get to sample one in Florida, though. When we can travel again, I’ll have to be sure to stop by farmer’s markets to see if they have any interesting varieties of fruit like this.
Hope you can continue this theme for at least a few days.
@Weboh My goat theme for the month is something of a chimaera; if I encounter another must-have fruit, I will include it. You hit Durian, Carambola, and Jackfruit, so the basics of my list are covered. I’ll definitely do a mutation, though.
By its looks, this would be the apple the evil Queen gave Snow White to put her to sleep.
@phendrick It does!
[sinister cackle]
Marvelous! I should try to grow one.
This was the first time I’d ever heard of these apples, and then coincidentally, the Washington Post had this recipe, which sounds delicious:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2020/12/06/squash-apple-gratin-recipe/
The writer says:
Every fall, I sample as many apple varieties at the farmers market as I can manage. My goal: Find the most flavorful, naturally — but also the absolute firmest, too. Nothing makes me sadder than biting into a mushy apple, and therefore nothing makes me happier than finding one so firm I worry, if only for a second, that I might damage a tooth in the biting. (I never have, thankfully.) Ginger Gold is a perennial favorite, but FYI, for that teeth-pulling delight, I haven’t found an apple firmer than an Arkansas Black.