Can a tasty sampler break through American apple complacency?

When it comes to apples, I got a guy, so to speak. In Medina, LynOaken Farms grows more than 300 kinds of apples, mostly not for retail sale, including lots of English cider apples and rare varieties. Its U-pick operation’s calendar includes hard-to-find-types like Northern Spy, SnapDragon and Esopus Spitzenburg, Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple.

Jonathan Oakes is a third-generation apple grower, responsible for Steampunk cider, among other cider and grape-based works, which makes him an apple sommelier. My guy recommended a double-barreled blast of Zestar and Gravenstein. Topped with pecan granola, three hotel pans were cleaned out, a palpable hit.

That left me wondering what it would take for apple lovers to face the juicy truth: The American apple, as most of us know it, is rotten to the core. From a flavor standpoint, at least.

Six apple varieties – Gala, Red Delicious, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious and Pink Lady – were about 85% of 2022 U.S. apple production. These varieties are bred for transportability, predictability, size, appearance and flavor, in that order.

Red Delicious is still No. 2, at about 34 million bushels. Its name has been a lie since the first day my teeth met its cellophane-like skin courtesy of the school cafeteria. The insect-pocked apples on hedgerow trees near my house weren’t fist-sized, but their puckery jazz slayed Goliath’s beige apple-lite character every time.

So what better way to break through the Big Apple hegemony than a trip to your local orchard? LynOaken is a schlep for Buffalonians, no doubt, but this Visit Buffalo Niagara guide updated in September 2023 has half a dozen first-rate suggestions.

From LynOaken branches, Oakes chose five you might enjoy eating for their distinctive flavors, full of other fruit echoes: Kingston Black, Pink Pearl, Golden Russet, Cox’s Orange Pippin and Esopus…