Foods I first tried in 2018

[redbird]

As usual, this is ingredients rather than preparations:

I tried two new vegetables this year. Huitlacoche is an edible fungus which grows on maize plants; I had it in a quesadilla, with a very bland cheese. I liked it a lot when the dish was first put in front of me, hot, but less so after it cooled off. (Tenoch serves large quesadillas.)

Koori squash is a small orange winter squash; based on one sample, I prefer acorn or butternut squash and probably won't get koori again if one of the others looks good.

(I also got to try four new-to-me varieties of apple.)

Comments

[unicornduke]

Hooray for new ingredients! What kinds of apples did you try?

[redbird]

This year's were Elstar, Shamrock, Honeycrisp, and Ashmead's kernel. The one I particularly liked was Elstar, which unfortunately has a short season. Honeycrisp grown in New England is a good apple if you like sweet and crisp (which I do, Gala is one of the varieties I'll buy in the supermarket), but I think overhyped. My notes say Ashmead's kernel was a good apple, but I didn't get around to buying more this fall, and Shamrock was a decent eating apple but I don't think I'd cook with it. I would bake with either Elstar or Ashmead's Kernel.)

That "grown in New England" is because I concluded after a couple of years in Washington state that even apple varieties I like when grown elsewhere had little flavor when grown in Washington. I think the difference is probably because of the climate; I thought it might be the soil, but New Zealand is similarly volcanic and Galas were developed there and taste good when grown in New Zealand or New York, but not Washington. (Washington cherries are excellent, as are the plums, pluots, and apriums.)

[unicornduke]

I've had honeycrisp before and it's a good apple, but I agree it's overhyped. You can only eat it and it's so sweet, you don't want to eat it much.

I haven't even heard of the others! I wonder if I can see if some of the local farms have any. I've been trying a bunch of new ones this year because some folks have them.

I've only ever lived in the Northeast, and I don't buy apples from the grocery store since my uncle has an orchard so good apples almost all the time for me!

The difference between locations is interesting. I wonder if it has to do with more temperature extremes...

[redbird]

I hadn't had (or seen) Ashmead's Kernel, Elstar, or Shamrock until I moved to Massachusetts. That might mean they need a cooler climate than you'll find in Maryland, or it may be random chance of the trees planted in the specific Hudson Valley orchards I got my heirloom apples from when I lived in New York. I hadn't had Elstar either, but learned from my post about them that they're named after a town in the Netherlands, so might be okay with a milder winter.

I wish I had a relative with an orchard, but my family are almost all city people (or suburban with back yards, and plants chosen mostly for appearance, ease of care, or to attract birds and butterflies).

...checking the ever-useful orangepippin.com... Ashmead's Kernel is an English apple grown widely in the U.S.; they say people are growing Elstar in Santa Cruz, CA, and Snohomish, WA; and they have little info on Shamrock. (All their "tree register" entries are anecdotal and thus incomplete.)

[unicornduke]

Apparently I never updated my profile since I wasn't active when I moved. I'm now living in the Albany, NY area! The area I was in Maryland had no apple farms so I only got them when I went back to PA to visit family.

I'll have to ask around at the farmers market and see if anyone has any interesting varieties that they might not bring to market. I've been eating Stamen Winesaps pretty heavily this year. I also made a ton of applesauce from Cortlands, which are my favorite soft apple.

That website looks super useful!

[redbird]

It hasn't felt like a great year for apples here in eastern Massachusetts: the Macintosh and Macouns were both only okay. The Elstars were my favorites, and they were only available for two or three weeks in the Boston-area farmers markets.

[bibliofile]

I didn't even know about the fungus until this year, and this is the second time I've heard about it. (Mmm, quesadillas.)

I'm not sure if I tried any new foods this year. I had my first brioche (by itself) recently, but that might have been last year. And housemate J tried a new recipe for pineapple bars that was curious: I couldn't puzzle out the texture (lots of dry flour). Not I think a recipe that either of us will be trying again.