What should an apple look like? What should it taste like? Ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 opinions. Red. Green. Yellow. Crisp. Soft. Tart. Sweet. There are so many different types of apples! At Weaver’s Orchard, we cultivate more than 40 varieties of apples and have over a dozen different varieties in the market at any given time during the fall.
Last weekend my husband and I worked at the Apple Festival at Joanna Furnace sampling and selling about 15 different types of apples. Some people knew exactly what variety they wanted (can I say Honeycrisp?) while others wanted to try a little bit of everything before making a decision.
What if I told you there was an apple out there that was possibly better than Honeycrisp? And I say that with all due respect: the Honeycrisp apple is one of the best-tasting apples around. Its thin, red and yellow striped flesh gives way to a crisp, sweet interior paired with slightly tart undertones. This apple quickly rose to fame and became one of our best-selling apples.
But now it’s time to make room for a new apple: Crimson Topaz. Like the Honeycrisp, the Crimson Topaz has a thin flesh with a crisp, juicy interior. And just as the name implies, it is a deep shade of crimson. This apple is also balanced with tart and sweet flavors. Several of my friends and family members who typically don’t like apples have tried the Crimson Topaz and thoroughly enjoyed them!
I am fond of many tart and sweet apples, but my favorites are the sweet-tart apples like Honeycrisp and Pink Lady. So if you also enjoy crisp, sweet-tart apples, then I guarantee you will love Crimson Topaz apples. And want to hear the best part? If you are a die-hard Honeycrisp or Pink Lady® apple fan, you don’t have to give either of them up! Crimson Topaz become ripe in Mid-October, perfectly in between the Honeycrisp (which ripen in early September) and Pink Lady® (which ripen in early November.)
Developed in the Czech Republic, this modern disease-resistant apple traces its lineage back to several apple varieties including Vanda, Rubin, James Grieve and Golden Delicious. This apple has proven to be a relatively easy apple to grow. It is not very susceptible to disease and will grow to a desirable medium to large size with proper thinning of the trees every year.
Now here’s the kicker. If you want to try this amazing new apple, you’ll need to hurry in to our market since we have a VERY limited supply. As a huge fan of the Crimson Topaz, I personally want to go and buy ALL of them. But as the marketing person for Weaver’s Orchard, I want them to become a best-selling apple. I have to remind myself that the higher the demand for these apples, the more Crimson Topaz apple trees will be planted at the orchard and the more apples there will be to go around. So stop by our market this week to be the first to sample the Crimson Topaz apple – and tell us what you think!
Crimson Topaz apples will make their first appearance in our market on Saturday, October 20th and will be available as supplies last.