Apple Review: Sweet Sixteen and Washington Strawberry.

We went up north for a few days of vacation this week.  We didn't do much except relax, roast marshmallows and read books. The one thing we did was find a local orchard.

Ponderosa Pines is a 2 acre orchard south of Crivitz, WI. The owners are super friendly and helpful. They told us that they have 400 trees on 2 acres and have 40 varieties. I forgot to take their list with me.

We tried two apples and bought 10 lbs of Sweet Sixteen.

• Washington Strawberry--Tart like a Granny Smith. It was fine, the skin wasn't too thick and the texture was firm but not crunch or crispy. If we were in the mood for baking, I imagine this would be good. But since we're eating most of our apples fresh right now, we skipped buying these.
• Sweet Sixteen--This is a fun apple. The texture is crisp--kind of like Honeycrisp--but it is juicier and has more flavor. I think it tastes a bit like cherry Lifesavers--that is the description Rowan Jacobsen gives the apple, and I think it fits. This is related to Honeycrisp, Sweetango, Zestar, Rave, and others through the University of Minnesota apple program.