Kate Connally > wrote:
: ... Damn! McI. is my favorite apple, best
: flavor with just the right balance of sweet and tart.
: I really can't get very excited about any other apple
: varieties although I'll eat them if necessary. Except
: for the mis-names Delicious apples which I abhor.

I agree with almost everything that you say above. I do like the
snow apple very much, and within the Mac variety, there are a couple
of early varieties, Milton Macs and Jersey Macs, that have the
MacIntosh taste and more crispness.

But beware of Washington state Macs: Washington seems to have
built a corporate empire, breeding for large, colorful,
smooth -- perfect looking -- fruit of a uniform blandness, no
matter the variety or type. I have found exceptions sometimes in
seasonal stone fruit, but they *were* exceptions.

I've read high praise for Washington state apples, so I'm
guessing that there are honest orchards out the they just don't
ship to Wisconsin.

Our local Macs are good; later we can get pretty good storage
Macs from Michigan and New York...but I'm not sure how long this
supply will survive. Washington apparently can provide VOLUME,
and huge supermarkets need that.
--thelma
: Kate