Mantet

Mantet in my opinion, is the best early apple I have ever had, at least in our conditions. Like a mouthful of berries, tender but not mealy. Good early cider too. It gives a long picking window, so good for some, maddening for commercial retentive personalities. Scab, yes, but worth the hassle. Strong grower, super hardy. Well balanced sweet/tart.

Walden Heights Nursery & Orchard
Zone 3 in Vermont

I second Todd's opinion. This is a Canadian apple, developed on the Prairies, (Manitoba), far away from damp climates, so scab was not a significant issue. (The name is simply derived from the Manitoba Research Station and Tetovsky, which was one of its parents.) I got it originally having no idea that it was a fine early eating apple - I thought it was some exotic and ancient Russian cyder apple.

Broomholm Orchard
Zone 5b in Nova Scotia

Just tried my first Mantet from my 3-4 year old tree's. Delicious, no scab whatsoever but a tad on the softer side of where I like apples, but very good indeed.

Pat

Brampton Lake Orchards

Zone 4a Upper Michigan

Interesting. In my orchard, (Zone 5B, south shore Nova Scotia, very wet spring, but no rain all summer this year), this is terribly scab-prone. I agree that the taste is excellent, (probably best early apple in my orchard), but the texture is mealy and soft. I make sauce with it because I find it unsuitable for eating out of hand. In passing, you do appreciate that this is a Canadian apple, developed in Morden, Manitoba, (and hence will be very cold tolerant), as a cross with Tetovsky, (hence the Man(itoba)Tet(ovsky))

Broomholm Orchard
Zone 5b in Nova Scotia

I am going to open different thread on this topic, but I would like to draw attention to the bias we all have against soft apples. Mantet and many others of its ilk are really at their best when the texture goes all mushy. I eat them as they ripen, being a decent apple when just blushing, but man when they fully redden they are spectacular, especially for an early one. Mealiness is different than creamy, and many fruits have a fine line between magnificence and catastrophe.