For us here at the farm, ripe McIntosh apples signify that harvest is going to start any day, and any thoughts of leisure-time will be futile until at least Thanksgiving. This is actually a good thing, as just like clockwork, everything falls into place when the McIntosh are finally ripe - Asian Pears will be harvested starting Monday, and the other apple varieties will begin to turn up ripe in their centuries old progression toward the end of Fall. The beautiful thing about the McIntosh is that it defines what I call "Apple Flavor". Many consider McIntosh apples a tart apple, but to me they are truly just the flavor of Apple with a capital A. Pretty much every other variety can be measured and compared to the flavor of the McIntosh, and the uses of every other variety can be measured against all the many uses of a McIntosh...
I know the the East-Coast crowd likes to think that the McIntosh from back there are superior to those we grow here at the farm, but I encourage you to come visit the farm and pick a few - they really can't be beat. During a season, dominated by stone-fruit and last-ditch efforts to cling to Summer, McIntosh season often gets missed. I hope that you won't let it pass this year without giving them a try...
Our first delivery of the year will be to Bi-Rite Market in the Mission in SF. If you can't make it to the farm in the next few weeks, visit them and pick up a few Mcs for yourself...
Thanks for reading...
