Aw, Snap!

Sugar Snap that is…and not the peas – the apples!

The name says it all: they are not too sweet and not too tart, have a great flavor and crunch, and they’re quite juicy. We think they have the quintessential apple flavor and texture when your brain thinks of the word ‘apple’. Most everyone just loves these striped beauties!

And now, for the rest of the story (remember Paul Harvey?):  

Although we named these Sugar Snap in a snap (it was love at first bite), they’re known in the orcharding world as NY-74840-1 (which is definitely not an exciting apple name to have posted on a sign at the farmers’ market!). These were part of a New York apple breeding program. but were discarded as not being a suitable ‘commercial’ variety: the color is too variable and they develop some russeting and cracking, none of which suits the wholesale market. But here at North Star, you know we have NO problem with any of those issues. We say bring on the FLAVOR!!

Smile! This is one happy apple. Well, it did had a little help from Lisa to look that way, but still.

Many fruits develop their own protective waxy coating, called ‘bloom’. That’s what you often see on grapes and plums. You don’t often see it on apples, since they get polished up in a brusher machine before they come to you. Varieties like Sugar Snap exhibit a lot of natural bloom, so sometimes we like to play with our food before we even pick it!

Too bad the rest of the world won’t get the opportunity to munch on these. Being discarded by the breeder pretty much dooms a variety to extinction. But we have ’em, love ’em, and now, for you North Star apple aficionados, it’s time to dig in!