Apples of Uncommon Character: Heirlooms, Modern Classics, and Little-Known Wonders Hardcover – September 2, 2014

Cabin fever begins in December for me. February is really bad. While gardeners lose themselves in seed catalogs, I read through my apple books. Of the 123 varieties featured in this book, I have grown 17 in my small orchard. I would like to cover a few. Chenango Strawberry, a very desirable, soft apple because it ripens over a long period of time and starts so early in the season, sometimes by late July. A real beauty you will never see at a farmers' market and certainly not in a store. Mother Apple leafs out and blooms later than all the others. Its orangey flesh is distinctive. Maiden's Blush, beautiful pale yellow with a red "maiden's blush." I have canned many quarts. Snow, distinctive flavor and truly white as snow flesh. I don't agree with the assessment here that it only does well in Canada and northern Vermont. Here in Iowa, well over a thousand miles away, it does fine. Zabergau Reinette, a large russeted apple, very uncommon. Ashmead Kernel, the strongest flavored apple you will taste, it will pucker your mouth! Kandil Sinap will never win any taste test, but a good apple for a small space. Long, tall apples with "porcelain" shine and a red blush on a very narrow tree. Very unusual. Many heirloom apple trees are hard to find in mail order nurseries. But try growing some to give you a choice from the apples in the supermarket that are just about all the same.

I love the colorful visual descriptions the author conjurs up for each variety. Great information, photos, and fun Histories. If you hate dry boring fruit books, this one is for you!

Having read numerous apple books the particularly good thing about this one is the author really tries to tease out descriptions of flavor and texture from the apples. He catches many subtle dimensions of flavor that were "on the tip of my tongue" but I couldn't quite put into words. Apples are many worlds of flavor and texture, the spectrum is quite stunning and this book begins to make a step in getting a deeper understanding. Another distinguishing feature is the writer can actually write and "old saw" apple stories I have read dozens of times before become fresh again. It would be a great book for any foodie-type that likes apples.The book is not perfect however. While it has some very good descriptions about what part of the country the various apples do well in, it is not a book for the grower in that disease propensity etc is not discussed. While it tries to be an American Apple Book, it is more focused on New England than other parts of the country. Its probably for the better though as the descriptions show the varying degrees of familiarity the author has with the different apples - the ones he knows best just sing from the page while some I get the feeling are only vague acquaintances. I also really don't know why mediocre apples are intentionally covered, there are fantastic apples that were left out (including two of my favorites, Hoople's Antique Gold and Freyburg) so we could learn how bad 20-Ounce Pippin is.

A short Apple history, apples listed in sections by type (usually 2 pages to the Apple- 1 a portrait example) telling you such things as appearance, taste & texture, season and uses. Several recipes too, for some apples.If you actually want some of these apples, "Resources" pages 306-07, has places to mail order apples (2 have websites that don't seem to support online orders, 2 a limited-expensive- selection and Tree-Mendus Fruit, lots of varieties to choose from (not very cheap either).7 places to order trees, 40-400 varieties depending on which site you choose, all have addresses and websites.1 source for boiled cider, 9 for hard cider."Resources" ends with a listing of festivals and events.Get this book and "Apples of North America" by Tom Burford and you'll have a good start towards beginning your orchard.

Seeing how we're getting into fall I decided to bone up on my apple knowledge and learn about lesser-know apple varieties that I could try while in season. I happened upon this title and decided to give it a go. The book arrived yesterday and I must admit that I'm impressed. First of all the photography is excellent. It's like a fashion show for over 120 different varieties of apples. The author also offers a sincere introduction that sets the stage for what he was attempting to do in writing this book - educate people that there is more to apples than the 5-6 varieties every grocery store in America stocks and that many heirloom varieties are still being rediscovered and enjoyed by new generations of apple lovers. The introduction definitely drew me into the material.The author also does a great job classifying all the varieties in logical sections - summer apples, dessert apples, bakers & saucers, apples that keep well, juicers, and oddballs. I particularly enjoyed reading the story behind the names and in many cases, the farmer who developed the variety.My only criticism would be that many of the varieties of apples where I currently live (Minnesota) aren't covered. It appears that there is a heavy bias toward New England varieties. That shouldn't discourage you from buying this book, however.If you're thinking about discovering some new apple varieties I encourage you to pick up this book. You'll love the history and the photography.