Since a fateful tasting at Larsen’s Apple Barn I’ve been broadening my apple horizons. With over 2000 varieties of apples out there, I expect this to take some time. Fuji apples are high on the list for their sweetness. Winesaps excel for intense flavor and crisp tartness. Now I have added the Pacific Rose to my upper echelon of apples. It’s a juicy apple with a great fragrance and sweet cidery taste.

The Pacific Rose is a cross between Gala and the Splendor apples. It’s available from New Zealand from June through December, and from the state of Washington from December through March. It’s not among the most common varieties, but I found them in supermarkets in the Phoenix area in February and in Northern California in March.

Brisky Canyon sells Pacific Rose apples on the web.