“Pink Lady” apples (and Pink Pearls)
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Over the past few weeks, a coworker of mine has been bringing yellowish apples with startlingly pink flesh into work. She apparently has a number of fruit trees in her backyard. She refers to these particular apples as “Pink Lady” apples, but I wasn’t convinced that this was the correct name.
After careful research, I have determined that her pink-fleshed apples are a variety of Surprise/Sparkle apples developed in California in the mid-1900s by Albert Etter, probably Pink Pearl (the most popular). The story of the Ettersburg Apple Legacies is an interesting read and includes a number of photos.
By the way, Pink Lady apples, grown in Australia, are not pink inside.
Oh, but wait! My coworker must be British! Read this: The Pink Pearl apple is an apple cultivar developed in 1944 by Albert Etter, a northern California breeder. It originated from a Sparkle seedling. In the United Kingdom it is also known as a “Pink Lady” apple.
To summarize and continue plagiarizing:
Pink Pearl apples are generally medium sized, with a conical shape. They are named for their bright, pink flesh. They have a translucent, yellow-green skin, and a crisp, juicy flesh with tart to sweet-tart taste. Pink Pearl apples ripen in late August to mid-September.
They are quite tasty.