I was sure the Lady Alice apples in the bin were heirlooms. I’d never heard of the red and banana-yellow apple with the well-heeled name before. The card above it said they’re good for eating out of hand and prime for cooking, too. Just as well. I love having a store of versatile cellar fruits around. When I got home I settled them in a mesh bag in the vegetable drawer to keep them separated from the Fujis, and the Fuji eaters.
Yesterday I pulled them from beneath a bag filled with parsley and mint and did a quick search online.
Lady Alice, as it turns out, is something of a toddler in the apple world. To thousands of years of apple cultivation, she has about twenty-five; she is to the world of apples akin to what humans are to the history of Earth (if you’ll excuse an unsound analogy).
The Lady Alices are held back for several months after harvest because their flavor improves in storage. That’s why I saw them only last week, and why they’ll disappear again in awhile, like any seasonal produce.
