Stars of 2013

Battered but good: Rubinette

Between last fall's bumper crop here in the Northeast and a bit of apple tourism on the West Coast, I got to try an astonishing 30 varieties of apples for the first time last year.

(That's not counting a few whose identities I am still trying to sort out.)

I also had help from some of you who sent me samples to try. Thank you very much. I hope my descriptions repay some measure of your generosity.

I like all of these apples. However, today is the day I rank them according to a rating system in which one star is very good, two stars are excellent, and three stars are extraordinary.
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