Heirloom Apple at the Curb Market: Magnum Bonum

Apples are starting to come in at the Curb Market, and this morning I picked up a bag of a very tasty heirloom apple: Malus (apple) Magnum Bonum (great good).

They're pretty small in size, which I like because my kids usually don't eat all of a big apple. It has a slightly rough, yellow and red skin, and firm white flesh. The taste has a nice balance between tartness and sweetness, with much more flavor intensity than you get in a Red Delicious or Fuji.

The vendor at the market grew them in southern Virginia. Here's what Big Red at Dave's Garden has to say about the Magnum Bonum:

Also known as Bonum, Maggie Bonum, Red Bonum. A long-time Southern favorite and one of the finest early fall apples available. It originated in 1828 in Davidson County, North Carolina when John Kinny planted seeds of the now extinct Hall apple. It was once a very popular commercial variety in Virginia grown for its fine flavor and the hardy and productive nature of the tree. Fruit size is medium or smaller. The yellow skin is mostly covered in light red and darker red streaks with numerous white dots over the surface. The fine-grained, aromatic white flesh is often stained with red near the outer skin. Ripens September to October and keeps fairly well if properly stored.

More information here about heirloom apples of Appalachia.