Granny blushes, if you let her.

You would not know it from prowling the supermarket, however: She is a late apple usually picked too soon.

Today I will assay one from a local orchard. It was, maybe, allowed to ripen fully, though I am eating it more than a month after it was picked (and publishing this account even later than that, sorry!).

This Granny Smith’s color is the familiar Kelly green, perhaps a shade darker and more saturated than those in supermarkets, with a large dull red blush covering more than a third of the apple.

There is also a brownish splotch that may be sunburn or some more local injury in the apple’s youth.

The many light lenticel spots are distinct; some are filled with a brownish red that matches the blush

Sweet Granny

This Granny is really not tart. I would call it well-balanced. Indeed, my mouth was expecting more acidity and is a little disappointed.

It is crisp with a little bit of the chewy yielding that some dense apples have (like Granny or Pink Lady).

What is left is a mild mix of melon and table grapes, with a little vanilla and grape jelly. There is perhaps a little spice including cinnamon in one sample.

It is quite different from the supermarket Granny I reviewed in 2009.

The flesh is, nonetheless, a pale green.

The tartness of Ms Smith is generally overstated anyway. Even the supermarket versions, picked too soon, are redeemed by a measure of sugar that dances with the tart and allows flavors to emerge.