Welcome back to American Apple! What a contest we have this week! My trip to the orchard yesterday netted us two new antique apple varieties to try: Wolf River and Carnation, also known as Carpentin. The immediately noticeable thing about the two of them as they sat side-by-side on the scale was the difference in their sizes. Wolf River apples are gargantuan Goliaths. Really, really huge! And Carnations are diminutive little Davids. I felt like I was working with walnuts as I prepared them for pie pan. So the question this week is, will David slay Goliath? Or will Goliath’s flavor match its size?

Wolf River and Carnation (Carpentin) apples

All About Carnations

Carnation apples have been known in France by the name Carpentin since the 1790s, but apparently are uncommon in the United States. I didn’t find much information about this variety beyond comments about its petite size. A couple of sources mentioned that Carpentins are aromatic. A thick skin was also mentioned now and again. For half a pie (albeit a large pie), I peeled nine apples. Nine! Their small size made them a little tricky to core; there wasn’t much left once I had scooped out the seeds. I found them pleasantly juicy, though, and sweet and crisp. The best thing about them is their fragrance. They are gloriously, wonderfully, amazingly aromatic while you’re working with them. When have you ever noticed any fragrance at all when you’re peeling apples? I can’t say that I ever have.

A Brief History of Wolf River Apples

Wolf River apples are native to Wisconsin. Farmer William Springer brought apples with him when he emigrated from Quebec, Canada, to our fair state in the 19th century, and planted the seeds on his farm along the Wolf River in Freemont. Sometime in the 1870s, one of those seedlings produced the first of these monsters. For half a pie, I used just three (and had a lot of sugared slices left over). I found Wolf River apples to be a bit dry and tough for eating, however — reminiscent of McMahon, but not as bad. We’ll see how they bake up.

The Results

Need I say more?

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Fruit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.