Elise Matthesen

This year our CSA offered an apple share from a friend of theirs with an orchard, which is why there are at least six kinds of apples and at least two kinds of pears in the kitchen right now. One of these was developed by the University of Minnesota in the 1920s but didn't get released for many decades. I've never tasted it before. I've never even heard of it before. It's small and parts of it are dark red and kinda lumpy, and it tastes like no apple I have ever met before.

Before I tell you what it tastes like, please be aware that I like durian.

To me, the Frostbite tastes like dark raspberry durian apple.

Some people catch molasses notes in it, other catch more of the very tangy and yet very sweet flavor. But there's something else, too. I think the description I saw by someone who gets malt notes in amongst the rest (at the beginning and again at the finish, which accords with my experience) is closest to what I'm tasting.

I bit into a piece and thought, "Whoah, raspberry! And... umami? Whaaaat? Oh, raspberry wine... no, a raspberry balsamic vinegar mixed with apple... this reminds me of some shrub I drank a few summers ago at some local distillery or other....oh, here comes the umami again... wait, this is raspberry durian apple, is what it is. YUM. More, please."

Extremely interesting, this apple.

Oh, I am definitely going to layer this in my oatmeal with bacon and sharp cheddar, is what I'm gonna do.

Have any of you tasted a Frostbite apple? What did you think?