One excellent eating apple that gets overlooked a lot is the McCoun -
it wasn't even listed in the otherwise excellent "Apples for the 20th
Century". I guess that it's only grown locally (in the north east).
It is considered a "Macintosh type" apple, and it has a similar flavor
to the Mac. To my palette, it is not as rich in aromatics as a good
mac, but it gets sweeter and keeps a little better than a mac. It also
has a terrific crunch. It is nearly as crunchy as a honeycrisp, but
it's softer (easier to chew) and juicier than a honeycrisp. It also
holds up better in pie and such than a mac, although it can be cooked
down to a good sauce. It looks similar to a macintosh, but is not as
flat, and has slightly square shoulders.
Does anyone know why this apple is so rarely mentioned? Does it not
grow well elsewhere? It is not a rare apple - there's a huge market
for it in the Boston area.