Nothing beats a nice crisp Apple. While some may argue the correct method of the actual consumption (I first encircle the apple, and then finish off the ends; This is the Correct Way) it presupposes a juicy, tart crispness that is, sadly, lacking in the average, pedestrian variety Apple at the grocery store.
I’m going to infer that there is some sort of reason for this (assuming that there is, in fact, a dearth of crispiness with respect to our much beloved Red Delicious) involving genetic engineering or some other Evilness. Sure, it’s not one of the most serious issues facing the planet these days, but what’s up with that?
I would suppose that some orchards have planted genetically engineered seed. I know that much of the corn now grown will not germinate due to genetic tampering. Hope the seed crop doesn’t fail.
I don’t have a cite, but it so happens I heard the answer to this, I believe on NPR.
Everyone loves that beautiful red apple. It is grown in Washington state and is one of their major crops. They started messing around with it, making it redder and more attractive. Problem was that they forgot that the apple should also taste good. By the time, they realized what was going on it was too late, sales were going down and they had orchards filled with trees bearing beautiful apples with very little taste or crispness. Of course, it is going to take some time to grow new trees and when the new apples are on the market they may not be quite as pretty.
I almost never buy apples unless I find Empire apples. This is uncommon, and usually happens only in the fall. I highly recommend checking these out. I found them most recently in, of all places, Wal-Mart.
Also decent, IMHO: McIntosh, Braeburn, Pink Lady.
Here’s an article that shares the view that Red Delicious is evil. It also provides an anecdotal history of apples from a Maine perspective, listing off several varieties I’d never heard of.
I figured it was something totally idiotic, “We wanted Redder Apples” sounds about right. Now they are mushy. Bahstahds.
I recall one winter around the holidays years ago some kid came around selling “washington” apples, these were about the size of softballs, (huge!) and were the juiciest, crispest, reddest apples I’d ever tasted. I would eat one of those a day, and Never Die. They were excellent.
So, Washington (the other one) screwed things up. My only substitute are Granny Smiths, they are tart and crisp, but Not The Same.
I guess it’s a matter of taste too. I don’t like really crisp apples. I like them to be a little bit soft.
Red Delicious apples are the worst thing to be found in the produce section IMHO. Besides being too hard, they have almost no flavor, and what flavor is there is bad. I love Gala apples, and Pink Ladies are pretty good, but a little too crisp.
Fujis are OK too. Braeburns are beyond crisp.
I don’t think that apples are genetically engineered (not by gene splicing anyway). I read somewhere that Pink Ladies, which showed up in my grocery stores two or three years ago, were developed at least 20 or 30 years ago, and it took this long to grow trees that could produce.
Well, I live in what I guess you would call the “heart of Washington apple country.” A good reason for the apples tasting mushy/not as crisp is because they are cold-storage apples. The Washington apples being sold in stores now are last year’s crop, apples that have been sitting in a warehouse since the last harvest. When this year’s apples are harvested will be the time to buy them. In the meantime (I’m not a Red Delicious fan), I stick with apples that are supposed to be juicy, as opposed to crispy. Jonagold’s are a good choice.
As far as making “redder” apples. This doesn’t always mean that the apples are genetically altered. A lot of the time, the apples are just left on the tree longer. IMO, the apple may look better, but taste is sacrificed. Of course, most of the farmers around here are aware of that, but when a bright red apple that tastes okay, sells over a normal red apple that tastes fantastic, they go where the market is.
They don’t taste like much, but they last forever! :rolleyes:
Similar market forces have resulted in those perfectly round and smooth, but completely tasteless tomatoes you find in your grocery store.
I have grown a number of heirloom varieties in my home garden. They aren’t always pretty (being often lumpy, irregularly shaded, etc.) but, boy, do they taste good!
In some respects all apple seeds are genetically altered. By that I mean that apples don’t breed true from seeds. Apples are constantly mutating at a very rapid rate and even different seeds from the same tree will have different genetic make-ups.
This is why all commercial apple varieties are propagated by grafting, not by planting seeds. That’s the only way to guarantee that the fruit will be uniform. It also means that it’s pretty much impossible to incrementally improve a variety of apple by selective breeding, which leads me to doubt the “they were breeding them for better color” explanation someone put forward.
This heavy reliance on grafting does cause problems. The parasites that attack apple trees are continuously mutating while the trees themselves are frozen in place genetically, resulting in a one-sided arms race. Over the years apples trees have become less and less able to defend themselve from parasitic attack, meaning that commercial apple cultivation relies extensively on pesticides and other chemicals.
For lots more fun information about apples, check out The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan.
here in australia, unless you visit an orchard ( or have your own trees, of course) or pay ridiculous prices for “organic” apples
you are more than likely buying apples that have been in cold stores for god knows how long.
a noticeable depreciation in taste and texture.
the variety of apples seems to be diminishing year by year, as well.
Red Delicious are crisp and delicious for one month out of the whole year. October. The new crop hits the stores about the end of September or the beginning of October. By the time you get very far into November they’re already beginning to decline, and in December they’re already mush. So every October I used to devour as many Red Delicious as I could stuff into my trap.
No more.
The only time I buy RDs is when I can’t find anything else. At first I noticed that Golden Delicious not only tasted better, they had a fighting chance of staying crisp much longer.
Then came Gala.
I don’t know how they did it, but Gala remains absolutely crisp throughout the whole year. And Fuji! Fuji is sweet, very juicy, and scrumptious, as well as crisp all year. (Did you know when the first Fujis were imported from Japan, they cost something like $11 APIECE??? :eek: Then the domestic Fuji crop came out a few years ago and now they’re the same price as Gala.
When I lived in Bakersfield we used to go up to Tehachapi in the fall (fall, get it?) for the yummy apples. You could pick 'em tourself.
Apples last a long time in cold storage, but they don’t keep well. I guess lower quality is the price we pay for year-round produce, but it kinda sucks.
You can still find good apples in farmers markets, but only when they’re in season. Crisp apples have a kinda, well, crisp sound when you tap them. Mushy ones have more of a ‘thud’ sound.
If something isn’t as you like it, don’t buy it. As long as we buy the stuff they’ll keep producing it.
Peace,
mangeorge
Fujis have a nice texture, but I find them pretty bland. The best variety I’ve found is Cox’s Orange Pippin, a little softer than most, and they don’t keep at all, but with an incredibly rich flavour.
Around here we get a pretty good variety in the stores all year: Mac, Fuji, Braeburn, Gala, Granny Smith, and a few more. (I won’t comment on R.D. and G.D.) In season, the small growers have their stands out along the roads, with even more kinds.
I’ve been eating Pink Lady lately, since the local produce store got some in, and I have in my hand (just saw it in the store this p.m.) one called Cameo. Hold on a minute…
Not bad! Crunchy, juicy, a bit low-acid for my taste, but a good flavour.
Every fall in Vancouver we have the UBC Botanical Garden Apple Festival, featuring apples and trees for sale, baked goods, and (best of all!) a tasting room with over a hundred varieties.