The Awful Reign of the Red Delicious, how the worst apple took over the US & continues to spread

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-evil-reign-of-the-red-delicious/379892/


he grew up with more than 100 types of trees in his backyard orchard. He is the author of Apples of North America, an encyclopedia of heirloom varieties, and travels the country lecturing on horticulture and nursery design. But his preservationist tendencies stop short of the Red Delicious and what he calls the “ramming down the throats of American consumers this disgusting, red, beautiful fruit.”

His words contain the paradox of the Red Delicious: alluring yet undesirable, the most produced and arguably the least popular apple in the United States. It lurks in desolation. Bumped around the bottom of lunch bags as schoolchildren rummage for chips or shrink-wrapped Rice Krispies treats. Waiting by the last bruised banana in a roadside gas station, the only produce for miles. Left untouched on hospital trays, forlorn in the fruit bowl at hotel breakfast buffets, bereft in nests of gift-basket raffia.


For at least 70 years, the Red Delicious has dominated apple production in the United States. But since the turn of the 21st century, as the market has filled with competitors—the Gala, the Fuji, the Honeycrisp—its lead has been narrowing. Annual output has plunged. And even still, a gap is growing between supply and demand from American consumers. Earlier this month, Todd Fryhover, the president of the Washington Apple Commission—whose growers produce the majority of apples in the United States—recommended that this harvest, up to two-thirds of the state’s Red Delicious yield be exported.



How did such an unlikeable apple become the most ubiquitous in the country? And as its dominion here ends, where will it invade next?

[BlueCaliDem]

1. Hey! I LIKE Red Delicious!

Red Delicious are about the only apples I'll eat (I'll occasionally have a Golden Delicious). I just like the tougher skin and the taste of the apple overall.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. it was bred for that tougher skin

[BlueCaliDem]

6. Mmm...love that crunch! Then that surprise burst of sweet juiciness right after.

And it's an excellent diffuser for heartburn and gastritis flare-ups, especially after I've had something spicy to eat and I'm not supposed to.

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. "burst of sweet juciness"? try a honey crisp

[BlueCaliDem]

16. Are Honey Crisp apples crunchier on the outside?

I like a more watered-down sweetness. Are Honey Crisps like that?

[cstanleytech]

60. IMO yes the honey crisp are far better however that aside they are also far more expensive

and sadly I can only afford to buy them once or twice a year if I am really lucky.

[marlakay]

97. We have two trees in our yard

I just picked them. Honey crisp grow perfect in our area.

I am in WA near the apple area they talk about.

[cstanleytech]

107. Nice, I wish we could grow them here but they are not recommended for my region.

[progressoid]

119. We also planted a couple Honeycrisp.

Unfortunately, the deer like them as well. They tore through the fence just to eat our new trees.

[cstanleytech]

134. What kinda fence did you use?

We have them down here and are thinking of planting some peach and maybe some apple trees.

[marlakay]

135. We have no fence

Deer rarely come here because no water nearby. They hang on other side of town by the river.

[cstanleytech]

136. Mm we see them all the time outside our house and across the road.

[progressoid]

139. Some cheap plastic mesh stuff from our local building supply.

If the trees survive the winter, we'll try sometime a little more sturdy next year.

[Warren DeMontague]

30. If red and delicious arent actually red and delicious, how are we supposed to know

Honey crisp will actually taste like crisp honey?

Frankly this thread has imbued me with a profound distrust of all produce marketing efforts.

[brush]

38. And the sweetness was bred out because of that

When I was a kid Red Delicious apples were just that — delicious.

But the sweet deliciousness has went the way of the tomatoes that we now find at the grocery stores — they look great but don't taste like they look.

It's all about shelf-life and appearance now, real apple or tomato taste be damned.

Too bad many younger folks don't know that Red Delicious apples used to take really good and not like grainy, near-tasteless pulp.

[amandabeech]

53. Red Delicious apples from the '60s and '70s

bear no relation to the same-name apple of today.

I grew up in fruit producing area, and in the fall, you could smell Red Delicious apples everywhere.

Golden Delicious are still very good, though.

[happyslug]

75. Yes they do, apples trees are produced by grafting not seeds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious

Now new variations have been "found" since the 1960s, but as a whole the Red Delicious is about the same as it was when it was first sold 1880.

Remember the seeds of apples are a product of genes that are different from the genes of its parents, and thus will NOT produce the same type of apples as its parents. Thus Grafting is used to produce more versions of any apple tree.

Sometimes someone spots a tree with a new type of apple and like it and start to graft more trees off its trigs. Thus new variations of apples are born, but then grafted to make more trees of that type of apple.

Because apples do not breed true when planted as seeds, grafting is generally used to produce new apple trees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Wild_ancestors

The Granny Smith has made major in roads on the Red Delicious for it has a similar shelf life and has something called "Taste". The Red Delicious was liked for it could last a year, other variation of apples have a much shorted shelf life and thus disliked by anyone supplying apples but not eating them (Red Delicious are "loved" by the Army and other similar mass feeders of people, for it is something they can count on NOT rotting before it is served).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Smith

Since the 1930s, the Excelsior Experiment Station at the University of Minnesota has introduced a steady progression of important apples that are widely grown, both commercially and by local orchardists, throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Its most important contributions have included 'Haralson' (which is the most widely cultivated apple in Minnesota), 'Wealthy', 'Honeygold', and 'Honeycrisp'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Wild_ancestors

In my area, the popular varity tends to be for pie making as while as eating raw:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Spy

http://www.ecbrownsnursery.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/32/typeID/7/index.htm

My Favorite has always been the Stayman, a tart apple. It is known as a "Frost" Apple for it becomes ripe about the time of the first frost of the fall. Stayman is also a Sterile pollen producer, you can NOT use it to pollinate another apple. Please note ALL apples must be pollinated by another variation of apple. In the case of Stayman, that generally means three variation for Stayman can NOT be used to pollinate, thus to pollinate whatever variation of apple you use to pollinate the Stayman, you have to get a third variation of apples to do the job. For this reason most Apple orchards that sell Stayman Apples also tend to sell at least two other variation of apples.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stayman_(apple)

http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=125

http://www.ecbrownsnursery.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/816/index.htm


http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8301.html

Another Apple I like is the Cortland:

http://www.ecbrownsnursery.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/8/typeID/7/index.htm

Please note:

Pollination - All apple varieties should be considered self-incompatible, meaning that they cannot pollinate themselves or any flowers of the same apple variety. The highest quality fruit is harvested when cross-pollination occurs with a suitable pollinizer variety. You will need to plant at least two varieties of apple trees together in order to maximize fruit production and quality. Make sure that the varieties you choose have overlapping bloom dates, so that both varieties bloom at the same time. Some varieties, such as Winesap, Mutsu, Jonagold, and Stayman, produce sterile pollen and should never be used as pollinizers. However, pollen from other varieties can be used to pollinate these pollen-sterile varieties. Remember, two trees of the same apple variety cannot be used for cross-pollination. Since the pollen from apple blossoms is transferred primarily by bees, be careful not to spray insecticides during bloom when honey bees are present.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8301.html

In simple terms you can NOT plant just one apple tree, you MUST plant two of different varieties but that flower about the same time.

I am NOT a great fan of the Gala, but it is the #2 Apple in the US today:

http://www.ecbrownsnursery.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/22/typeID/7/index.htm

I have to mention the "Grime Golden" which is believed to be the ancestor of the "Golden Delicious", it is also known as one of the few apples that can pollinate itself:

http://www.ecbrownsnursery.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/27/typeID/7/index.htm

One tree supplier list of Apple Trees:

http://www.ecbrownsnursery.biz/index.cfm

[MohRokTah]

93. I go for trees of antiquity

My preference is for cider apples, but I've always been a fermenter.

[freshwest]

94. Engineering didn't make them grainy and mushy. Long-term storage is the culprit.

Last edited Mon Sep 15, 2014, 03:10 AM - Edit history (1)

I had them as kid in the South and they were good when I got them then, and good now if I get them in season in Washington.

The real season, not the year round season people think they should be there for them to buy. The illusion they can get them at the peak is from keeping them refrigerated just above freezing to last a long time and get profit year around.

Every fall I go to my nearby COSTCO in Washington state to buy large, organic, Red Delicious when the real season begins. I put them on the kitchen counter and my entire apartment smells like fresh flowers for a week. They taste exactly like the ones when I was a kid.

It's not the apple, it's the timing, so I'm suspect of the story of how unpopular they are. I've seen other varieties being pushed as if they can conquer the problem of what is done to produce with another breed. I've tried all the others and for me nothing compares with them at the right time.

I think this is mostly a marketing scam and the desire for the 'new.' In a way, Red Delicious apples are a victim of their own success. Everyone expects to get them year round, but it's simply impossible. So they are kept in storage and get mealy over time. They look the same but they are mush inside.

Not the fault of the breed. Just people not accepting that they can't the same thing all year around.

I agree with you about the tomatoes, though, that was done in the seventies. They were engineered and had porcine genes inserted to survive mechanical harvesting methods, or so it was said. We used to call them pig tomatoes. It wasn't a secret.

A lot of produce has been engineered for shelf life or ease in harvest. I have not found any Red Delicious in season to be mealy. I'll keep enjoying them as long as I can.

JMHO. YMMV.

[brush]

109. Thanks for the info

Wish they've only sell them in season then because the ones I get taste nothing like what I remember as a kid.

[OregonBlue]

116. You are totally correct. I grew up in the Hood River Valley surrounded by orchards. The Red

Delicious were just that. They still are. We drive to Hood River every fall and get fresh apples and they are truly delicious. However, in our local grocery stores, you cannot buy new crop apples. In fact, many of our apples come from New Zealand and California. They have water core and are mealy. The Red Delicious are total crap. Everyone needs to start asking their produce departments why we don't have new crop apples in a country that produces more apples than most of the world.

[freshwest]

125. Thanks. That last sentence is a question, that I've asked produce managers. The answer is simple and

very frustrating. The apples from the South Pacific, which are heavily hyped by advertising and meme media, are forced into our market by trade agreement.

At the same time, our produce is sent overseas at little profit and foreign producers want access to our market. I didn't want to buy Chinese produce and many dollar stores and some grocers will sell vegetables and fruit grown there, often with growth chemicals that are illegal here, to increase size and weight.

Only one market I go to has COO (country of origin) labels on the bins of produce. (COO labeling of ingredients was taken out by Bush. Most Americans didn't make a fuss.) The ones from China don't sell well, as people want to buy local. There being a couple of good reasons for that, to help our own growers and to be green. Because there is nothing 'green' about having your food shipped around the globe as if it was a luxury item, going through all that oil and everything else that is involved, when you could pick the apples off your own tree.

This is why the produce is on the verge of being rotten, they keep it very cold until sale, then offer it to the stores, and within a week or even a day, whether it's a root crop, greens, fruits or vegetables, it rots in the refrigerator, all mushy and ready for the compost pile.

It's become like gambling buying food or anything else, and there's not any recourse. I understand the desire of people, too, to get their favorite produce year round. That's why so much comes from Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, etc. But it is as close as rotten already when it arrives home as can be conceived.

It's wasteful and is a result of the WTO, etc. Every nation is supposed to get to parity, none with an advantage in that system. But it's dumb in practice, just as NAFTA was, which did damage to agriculture where I lived for a few years in the southwest. Some ranching families who had been on their land for a century, were driven out of business.

You cannot compete with scrub cattle imported from Mexico for a dollar a head, full grown to the packing houses competing with the evolved practices the area I lived in for years had. They had spent years improving the breeds to give the most amount of lean beef, given their animals veterinary treatment to be healthy as they grew for several years in improved pastures. And all carefully bred and records kept to keep the animals healthy and a standard 'product.'

But they were confronted with a competitor, like China, who only looked to the bottom line and shipped what would be slaughtered without all that care and at minimal cost to produce. Essentially, they were dumped into the market as a form of price rigging and allegedly to enrich Mexican ranchers. One of the things hyped to the American public where I lived was that it would reduce immigration by lifting the standard of living there. Another lie.

At least those I knew from there didn't say it helped them at all. The trade agreements broke the middle class in Mexico and they had to come here to work. Those who underestimate the education and intelligence of those who cross the border, should consider the example of the family I knew best. All university educated, with good paying jobs that suddenly disappeared and who came to the USA to work as cooks in restaurants, tree trimmers, laborers, babysitters / housekeepers.

The main recipients of the wealth from the agreement were the CEOs and the corporations, workers who were set to make a better living by the new rules, or the rich owners or their cronies. And they always market their scam, selling the stories which we easily go along with, that the goods or produce here are just not good enough, so we must now have the 'new thing' that it just so happens they are selling. It's an endless circle of greed and displacement.

[Warren DeMontague]

26. Plebian! Ruffian! lowbrow!

Eater of lesser apples!

[BlueCaliDem]

32. Hah!

[URL=http://www.sherv.net/][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

Ah, well, I'm a minimalist. [URL=http://www.sherv.net/][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Scootaloo]

54. What taste?

Red delicious always tastes like damp talcum powder that was in the same room as apple-scented potpourri to me. They're muchy, grainy, and gross.

[BlueCaliDem]

129. Not my experience at all - and I've been eating Red Delicious for years now.

But I guess it depends on how fresh they are, how they're grown and stored. I get mine at Ralph's Groceries here in SoCal. I don't like the Red Delicious at Stater Bros, though. They're horrible.

Ralph's get all their produce from local California growers, so I guess it depends how they're grown and stored. But mine always tastes fresh, juicy, crunchy, and crisp.

[rustydog]

121. When I was a kid, before the reds were grown for color and crispness only

When they are picked right off the tree, dang they tasted GOOD!. We walked home from the school bus stop and we walked past several orchards back n the 60's. We'd pick a Red Delicious apple and have one heck of a mouth-watering crisp FLAVORFUL apple snack.

Now they are grown for color and crunch, no taste what so ever.

[chervilant]

2. I will not eat that red delicious mealy, disgusting,

Last edited Mon Sep 15, 2014, 11:19 AM - Edit history (1)

tasteless apple...

I will not eat it, Sam-I-Am!

[Warren DeMontague]

27. i think it's spelled "mealy"

[StevePaulson]

52. Get Lost Cruz....

Ted Cruz spoiled Dr. Suess for a generation.....

[chervilant]

84. I'm taking him BACK!

Cruz can go suck green eggs!

[JI7]

4. i wonder if this is the reason i have never liked apples much compared to other fruits

[get the red out]

5. I hate them

Might as well eat cardboard since it has more taste. Love all the other apples mentioned in the article. Ate a big Honeycrip earlier and it was wonderful.

[Dirty Socialist]

7. Agreed

Red Delicious sux.
However, I do like Golden Delicious.

[DawgHouse]

8. I never buy red delicious.

The skin is tough, the flesh is mealy I love Honey crisp, Gala, there are so many better apples!

[cali]

10. Honey, Crisp, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smiths

Red Delicious suck.

[AngryAmish]

62. Jazz apple!

Small but good. Firm and tart.

[MannyGoldstein]

82. The perfect apple, to my taste. nt

[laundry_queen]

89. Love all of them. Except Red Delicious.

Even as a kid, I would beg my mom to buy another kind, back when the only 4 kinds in the grocery store were Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Macintosh. Now, my kids favor Gala, so that's what I buy, with an occasional bag of Granny Smith thrown in. And once a year (right now, actually) we get to eat apples off my parents' apple tree - it's a weird crab apple hybrid or something - apples are sour but far larger than the old-fashioned crab apples at my grandparent's farm, almost regular storebought apple size. They are so flavorful, yum! Got a bag of them today...with many more to come later in the week

[ZombieHorde]

9. They are definately my least favorite apple that I have tried. nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

11. Galas are wonderful.

I grew up eating Red Delicious. Don't mind them now but Galas are much better.

[Jamaal510]

12. I never paid much attention

to the differences in the tastes between red and green apples, so they both seem to taste the same to me.

[enki23]

13. Eating a Red Delicious is like eating wax fruit with a corn syrup injection.

It's grainy, it's mushy, it's cloying... Jebus. Give me a Haralson if you can. Or just, anything that isn't a Red Delicious.

[Populist_Prole]

24. The skin is so thick and leathery too

Disgusting.

[el_bryanto]

14. I've had good red delicious apples - but then again - i'm not an apple expert

Maybe it wasn't a red delicious but some other kind of apple i mistook for one. And at any rate, I buy Granny Smith for cooking and Golden Delicious for eating anyway.

Bryant

[JaneyVee]

17. Red delicious are the jar jar binks of the apple world.

Macintosh all the way. Thin skin, smooth not grainy, and deliciously tart.

[Warren DeMontague]

31. That's stone fucking cold, right there.

There is NO WAY those apples are THAT bad.

[TexasProgresive]

47. The Macs we get aren't as good as in the past

They used to have a marvelous aromatic odor that was like this best perfume ever. I still buy Macs when available. A medium small apple is part of my usual breakfast. The bowl is full of Galas now, maybe October will bring some Macs.

[Warren DeMontague]

49. And, they discontinued the ipod classic this week

fuck those guys.

[Scootaloo]

55. ...Damn. That's harsh.

C'mon man, take it back. They're more like Kid Anakin, really.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Great, just what we need.

Apple snobs.

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. Great, just what we need

Thread snob

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Thats me!

Steve Snobs, Apple CEO.

[IADEMO2004]

29. DUZY!

[Liberal_in_LA]

34. lol. that made me laugh

[Warren DeMontague]

42. In all fairness, I'm not terribly impressed with Red Delicious apples either.

Personally I like the fujis or the braeburns, I think.. pink ladies as others have mentioned.

Every once in a while I'll buy a big thing of Red Delicious at costco, and many of them end up going to waste. So despite my snark, I sort of agree with the premise here.

[tammywammy]

66. Have you had honeycrisp?

That's my favorite. Sweet and juicy.

[Warren DeMontague]

88. I think I have.. honestly I lose track.

I was never much of an apple fan, in general, but upon moving to the pacific NW it's like an embarrassment of riches, particularly come fall.

So there's like 50 different kinds I'd never heard of.

[Aerows]

103. Honeycrisp?

[Cha]

101. Is it snobbish to

point out a bad apple?

[X_Digger]

19. Just don't ask me to pay fucking $3.50 for an apple, mmkay?

Wife went in to Central Market today (Holy Church of the Yoga Pants, Sacred Yuppie, Blessed Mother with an Iced, Soy Latte, Amen!) for some specialty cheese, and she related being agog at some stupid apple selling for $3.50.. each. Not per pound, each.

Any green apple will do for me.. Just don't charge as much as a goddamned gallon of gas for it.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Dont be bagging on the yoga pants

Just sayin

[RoverSuswade]

20. I work at a hotel and Red Delicious apples are standard.

They are labeled "Washington State' and we buy 'em by the big box. They are horrible. The guests take one bite and throw them in the waste basket. The reason management buys them? You guessed it - they are cheaper! But they are wasting money and reputation in the long run. I've tried to get them to switch (at least to Golden Delicious) - to no avail. Frustrating.

[Generic Other]

36. I have never seen a delicious apple growing here in Washington

Every yard has an old apple tree. Heirlooms. Most tart as can be. Green, yellow or red. Crunchy. So fresh they set your teeth on edge. Apples in stores are mushy sauce by comparison.

[progressoid]

120. They also have a long shelf life.

It's likely the hotel chooses them because they don't spoil quickly.

Of course if they switched, the couple bucks lost due to spoilage could easily be recouped by increasing the quality of the stay with a better apple.

[RoverSuswade]

143. Bingo!

[Warren DeMontague]

23. I like Granny Smith

Not the apple, the actual granny.

[Paladin]

28. Haven't eaten one in years. So many better apple varieties available, now.

Fuji, Pink Lady, etc.

[bhikkhu]

35. Honey Crisp is the holy grail of apples in our household

though we haven't been able to get any in months. Sad days...

[Omaha Steve]

61. Honey Crisps showed up 10 days ago at the local store

The winter ones from South America just aren't as good.

Honey crisps and the true wine sap are my favs.

[amerikat]

33. As a Newyorker I have to say...

Empire is the finest apple ever devised. Red Delicious are way too sweet.

[yourmovemonkey]

56. I agree

I like a crisp apple with tartness. I think the empires were developed at Cornell university. This time of year, I'll go for the honey crisp or northern spy, if I can find them. The empires store well, and retain their crisp tartness well into January. My favorites are only available for a few weeks though.

[libdem4life]

37. Fuji Fan.

[deafskeptic]

41. Thinking of buying Fujis for my apple salad.

I'm also hankering for Granny Smiths. I will snap them up as soon as I see them and fry them to go with my pork chops and bitter greens with a glass of local apple cider.

[Demit]

39. I still pine for Jonathans. The season here was short, but oh so glorious!

Tart, tasty, juicy. Not sickly sweet. Didn't stay crisp a long time, but perfect when fresh.

I've found varieties that replace some of the qualities, but I loved my Jonathans.

[hatrack]

50. Second that motion on Jonathans; Winesaps (when you can find them), Arkansas Blacktwig . .

Yorks are also really good, though an odd, sort of lumpy, squat apple (though w. dynamite flavor).

[RoverSuswade]

70. I have a Jonathan in my back yard.

They are ALMOST ready. We just need a light frost and it is gorging-on-apples time (we keep the bathroom door open and extra toilet paper handy - ha ha)

[Botany]

79. McIntosh, Winesap, and Jonathans

Do the trick ..... Red delicious is nowhere near as good.

But they have been marketed as "the apple" for many years,

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

115. They are the first to get ripe at our place, but the birds get most of them.

As soon as a red blush appears the birds are making holes in them. There are some old trees from the old homestead and I have grown several trees from seed. One that usually has lots of scab on the skin is clear this year. A large yellow apple isn't bearing much this year. And another tree has stripes, gets ripe very late, is a small apple but very firm and sweet. We used to make cider, but have let blackberry get under the trees so bad we can't get to many now and just the wildlife gets them.

[mythology]

40. I find the anecdote about destroying the apples to be awful

Why destroy something that belongs to somebody else just because you're an ass? But I suppose the answer is in the question.

If he doesn't like Red Delicious apples, he's really free to not buy them. But when he instead decides to make them unsellable, he crosses the line from being an obnoxious food snob to being an utter piece of trash.

[Curmudgeoness]

48. Maybe you aren't old enough

to remember when there was no other apple variety available in any store except Red Delicious. Somehow, this apple became THE apple. The article is just saying that by having this apple be the only one marketed to a whole generation or more of people, the apple was almost put out of favor as a fruit choice....therefore, destroyed.

[NRaleighLiberal]

43. As I discovered this OP, I was on my last bite of a Roxbury Russet - a mid 1600s

apple that arose in Roxbury MA. We just got back from the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello and we purchased a collection of old heirloom types at an orchard near Charlottesville - 1.50 per pound. It was heaven to eat.

There are literally hundreds of apple varieties, many of them in existence for a few hundred years - but they are not easy to find. But...if you could try an Ashmead's Kernel, or Cox Orange Pippin, or Esopus Spitzenburg (Jefferson's favorite) - it is a profound experience (for apple lovers, anyway).

While we were there (I was really fortunate and got to give a few talks/workshops at the festival), we stayed in the same cottage as the man who knows more about apples than anyone, Tom Burford. He told apple stories, I told tomato stories (it wasn't as boring as it probably sounds!).



oh - Red Delicious? NEVER (for me, anyway)! It is certainly red (it has been selected for years for its color), but to me is hardly delicious. And it is in no way comparable to the original Red Delicious, which arose in 1880. The original tree is no more.

[TuxedoKat]

108. I wish I could have gone to that festival

I have been planting heirloom apple and other trees the past few years and learning as much as I can about them. I'm looking for some similar apple festivals to attend up north here (near New England/NY). There is a gentleman in your state who searches for heirloom apple trees, grafts and sells them too (link posted below). If you know of any old, unusual trees in your area you might let him know. He has some interesting apple stories on his website. I got a couple of trees from him last year, which are doing great by the way.

http://www.applesearch.org/

[Warpy]

151. If you're in New England, try to find Northern Spy apples

Those were my favorites.

Here in NM, it's catch as catch can, varieties are extremely limited. There was a huge orchard about an hour north of where I am but it fell victim to a really nasty forest fire a couple of years ago. I'm sure they're replanting, but it will be many years before we get local cider again.

[aikoaiko]

44. Let the apple wars if DU commence.

[NRaleighLiberal]

45. .

[Warren DeMontague]

46. Mmmm.

Yes.

[snowgypsy]

51. There are near 8000

apple varieties worldwide and more than 2000 grown in the US. Some are sour green bullets, some are sugar soaked s**t. Many of the 'Russets' are sublime both in taste and texture . . . the green bullets make 'proper' cider . . . the stuff that is double fermented and taught that daft monk in Reims what to do with sour wine. The first champagne bottles were bought from Bristol UK cider makers . . .

Then we have the 'Red delicious' a triumph of money over everything that's nice to eat.

[Thinkingabout]

57. I prefer red delicious, the only ones I buy unless making a salad and it calls

For another color apple also.

[alfredo]

74. I liked the Gold Delicious better. Fuji and Gala are the ones I end up buying. Too many of the Red

Delicious were mealy.

[Thinkingabout]

83. I find them crunchy and juicy, when old they tend to get mealy.

[alfredo]

96. It's a crap shoot.

[Warpy]

152. For eating out of hand, it's Golden Delicious for me

For baking it's a combination of Granny Smith and MacIntosh, if I can find them.

[alfredo]

153. That reminds me, I have some granny smiths.

[Orrex]

58. Oh, great. More red privilege bashing.

Wait. What?

[Thor_MN]

59. Give me an Ambrosia apple any day.

I used to like Red Delicious until they became apple sauce in a leather bag, I'm not a fan of tart apples, I prefer sweet. The Ambrosia apple is sweet and crisp. It's the result of a random seedling.

[Cobalt Violet]

63. If you ever get to try a Ginger Gold or Blushing Gold do it!

2 of my favorites. The Ginger Golds are and early season variety and the blushings are late season. Both have a wonderful balance of sweet and tart.

[LadyHawkAZ]

76. I adore Ginger Golds

Fresh off the tree

[adirondacker]

64. Macouns are Unbeatable!

I've had a few red delicious that were crisp and tart, but most taste mealy.

[gvstn]

114. Unbeatable? Have you ever tried..

Stayman Winesaps? http://www.terhuneorchards.com/our_crops_stayman.html



They are great but despite the blurb on the site linked, they do not store well. They get mealy (to my taste) about a month after picking and should be eaten when fresh. Flavor wise they are how I define "apple". (FWIW, I define "orange" with the Temple variety. They smell and taste exactly like what I want from an orange.)

Edited to add: Perfectly stored Red Delicious are not a bad apple. They can be quite crisp and flavorful if you get a good one despite all the naysaying. Most in supermarkets are so-so but sometimes way in March and April when there is little other fruit they release their most carefully stored ones and they are pretty good.

[PatrynXX]

65. Golden Delicious

is the only one anyone eats around here

[BlindTiresias]

67. Red delicious? Blech!

Cripps Pink and Honey Crisp is the best. Mcouns are a close third, though, and especially if they are local grown because the tartness of the skin reminds me of cranberries which makes it like eating some kind of cran-apple hybrid.

[IronLionZion]

68. Cheap apples can be used for juice or applesauce

[Lifelong Protester]

69. My homemade applesauce

has Jonathan, McIntosh (from our tree) and Northern Spy.

[Enthusiast]

110. Homemade applesauce is the best!

[UTUSN]

71. O.K., I bit into this link & the answer is: Cosmetic "red" marketing. Don't click. Save time. n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

72. FUJI FUJI FUJI!!!! n/m

[Tikki]

73. Pippins out before Thanksgiving...Apple Pie...

YUMMY

Tend to your crust, also...


Tikki

[Aerows]

77. I will always love the Honeycrisp

Just because Regina eating them is so awesome.

[msanthrope]

98. My kid's favorite, favorite show. We can't wait for the 4th season. nt

[Aerows]

102. I can't wait for season 4 either!

I just LOVE Regina

[msanthrope]

106. Spoiler....possible spoiler.......

So my kid, at the end of last season, starts screaming OH MY GOD when Regina says to Hook and Emma:

"What else did you bring back?" Because of course.....they bring Elsa. My kid starts screaming that the only way you defeat ice is with fire...which brings us to Regina's pet dragon under the town...

Seems like Maleficent is back next half-season....Vampire Pam!!!! I freakin' love the dynamic between those two.

[Aerows]

130. It will be disastrous

disastrously awesome . I can't wait!!!

[Aerows]

132. I thought to add this to the other post

but made a new post because Maleficent may or may not appear.

Regina's signature move is fireballs. She brings the fire, and I don't even think a dragon could take the fire she brings on.

She will definitely harness all of the fire to her advantage, though.

Season 4 is going to rock.

[msanthrope]

133. Spoilers.....

No, it looks like they've locked up Vampire Pam for the second half of the year, and I think that could be deliciously awesome. Personally, I can't wait to see the awesome can of whoop ass revenge Regina opens up on the friggin' Charmings. Hell...I can't wait for the Eduardo Castro "I -just-slept-with-my-soulmate-and-now-his-goddamn-wife-is-back" mourningwear line.

That, and I want to know what happened to the Rolly Joger!! Hopefully, Captain Hook's balls and ship will return in the same episode.

[Aerows]

142. Stow your bags

and tighten the sails, we are in for quite a ride!

I have no doubt that Regina will be in an ass-kicking mood in all of her glory. I HOPE so.

ETA: I absolutely despise Jennifer Morrison despite liking the Swan Queen theme.

I'll be the first in line cheering if Regina offs her. Not Emma, but someone that is a better actress. I'd like that for Christmas.

And Snow the sanctimonious on a pyre. Please. Give. Me. That. Gift.

"You'll like the special, Blackened Sole."

[Aerows]

144. OMG, did we just bond? n/t

[msanthrope]

147. Not only did we bond, but I am in complete and utter agreement

with every single thing you wrote.

I hate Emma Swan and her skimpy leather jackets. I despise Snow and her do-gooder, bird singing self. Charming??? What a godamn milquetoast. And Henry? Let's hope nurture wins out, 'cause otherwise that kid has no chance.

Jennifer Morrison makes me itch....I think she handled the SwanQueen ship badly. Emma doesn't deserve Hook. I hope he dumps her for the ship.

And the Knave....you know, my current running theory is that Hook traded the ship for a bean from the Knave.....who is a fence, after all.

[Aerows]

150. Clue me in on what a "Pam" means

while I'm dealing with all of this honeycrisp gorgeous on my hands.

[Aerows]

149. "Vampire Pam"

I'm confused about this.

[donco]

80. it beat the hell

outta anything named granny.

[GETPLANING]

81. There used to be over a thousand types of apple grown in America.

Today, there are about ten. This is the consequence of industrial farming. All it will take is one blight to wipe out apples (or corn or potatoes or you name it) because there is no diversity left to combat the forces of natural selection.

[cilla4progress]

85. Funny thread to me!

I live in the heart of Washington apple country. I couldn't agree more...the reign of the mealy, tasteless, yet stunning LOOKING Red Delicious must end!

My husband is, today, bottling our own personal apple crop: 2 trees producing enough applesauce for 50+ jars. "We" processs it and freeze it in glass jars. He is a Washington native and, like salmon swimming home to spawn, this is his Autumn ritual. If he doesn't have applesauce with a meal (esp. spaghetti - YUK -he feels he's missing something).

Some years, like last, we get essentially 0 apples. Others, like this one, we have more than we can eat ourselves! Everyone in these parts gives away fruit all summer long. It's a great place to live, that way!

[closeupready]

86. Fuji is my favorite - as others have said here, RD is mushy and mealy,

and bruised typically. Looks good on the outside, but that's the only thing going for them, IMO.

[chrisa]

87. Wonder how many people read this and think red delicious apples are disgusting / beneath them now,

despite not even knowing what kind of apple that is, or not knowing if they have ever eaten one before.

[Inkfreak]

91. I was just asking myself if I liked them or not.

I honestly can't remember. I'm an upstate NYer. I eat all sorts of em.

[valerief]

90. I HATE the Delicious. It's way too tart or something. Not as sweet as

a McIntosh or Gala or other apple that doesn't have that "crown" bottom.

[Pisces]

92. Honeycrisp or Pink Lady is the way to go.

[rhett o rick]

95. I like Pink Lady and wouldn't touch a Red Delicious. nm

[beam me up scottie]

99. RD's suck, I miss Winesaps and Northern Spys.

We don't get them down here in the south.

[longship]

100. Woody, flavorless, and certainly not delicious.

A worthless fruit which is marketed solely by its appearance.

I learned to despise apples because of the red delicious. Try a MacIntosh some day. Make an apple pie with a red delicious some day -- it will be flavorless. My mother made great apple pies and she always used a variety of apples, none of which were the universally horrible red delicious.

[pansypoo53219]

104. i had some small early red ds that were dedible, but yeah. crap + IT GIVES PEOPLE

the wrong idea about golden delicious. my fav. but those too need to be local + green.

[cali]

105. what this thread need are some apple recipes!

German Apple Pancake (great for a leisurely breakfast, brunch or dessert)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/german-apple-pancake/

Apple and Onions (I loved the Little House books, in part because of the food descriptions)

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/fried-apples-n-onions.aspx#axzz3DNWYFemC

Apple Custard Tart (I like apple tarts better than apple pie)

http://www.joyofbaking.com/AppleCustardTart.html

celery root salad with apples, walnuts and blue cheese

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/celery-roots-with-apples-walnuts-and-blue-cheese

Chicken sauteed with apples

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-sauteed-apples-10000001116466/

[Enthusiast]

111. When the Red Delicious is gone you'll be sorry!

I kid.

[shenmue]

112. I like red apples

So there. Ha!

[Orsino]

113. I was raised on Golden and Red Delicious.

As God is my witness, I am never going back.

[marions ghost]

118. Braeburns

...OK I just had to weigh in because nobody mentioned them. My favorite.

Yeah Red Delicious--yuk. Avoid like the plague. I guess some people like them as stores always have them. Kids like the extra sweetness maybe.

[Horse with no Name]

122. I detest the Red Delicious apple

favorite is Pink Lady

[HughBeaumont]

123. Red Delicious - like biting into a large sugar packet.

Absolutely no tart whatsoever.

[frazzled]

124. Different varieties of apple are good for different things

Some are better for baking, some for snacking. A good pie will generally result from a combination of apples used together (tarter and sweeter), and people differ in whether they like their apples to bake soft or hard.

Some apples store longer, some are available for a shorter time and don't keep long.

If you want to use a cut-up raw apple in a salad that won't turn brown, try a Cortland.

I'm an equal-opportunity apple trier (though I can't say I've bought a Red Delicious in decades). We tasted some different early varieties at the Farmer's Market this weekend, and rejected the Honey Crisp (kind of bland) in favor of some still-small McIntoshes. They're sweet-tart when first picked, but will go more sweet with time. I'd use them in a cake because they're moist.

[OnlinePoker]

126. I lucked in when I bought my house

It had two fully mature apple trees. One is a standard Macintosh, but the other is a variety called King of Tompkins County. This second tree gives massive, flavourful fruit with a nice thick skin that keeps the bugs out. It's great for pies, crumbles, and sauces, or just eating. It's probably the best apple variety I've ever eaten.

[louis-t]

127. Only because of it's looks.

The most tasteless, fickle, inconsistent fruit on the planet. Eat them one day too late, they turn to mush. Usually dyed, covered in wax. Bleh.

[KamaAina]

128. Long-lived Lounge thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018664143

[Liberal_in_LA]

138. thanks. didnt see it

[Sheepshank]

131. based on the responses on this thread.....

I walked to the store on my lunch hour and bought a HoneyCrisp....OMG, it is heavenly. Too bad it takes a day's wages to purchase!! I wonder if the tree grows well in Utah?

For the sake of trying something new, I also bought a Sonya.

[Liberal_in_LA]

140. ..

[whistler162]

137. WARNING.....WARNING......BEWARE....

These are all genetically modified organisms. We must find the pure ancient apple. Reject GMO apples!

In my area I see a limited amount of Red Delicious apples and CNY is a large apple producer.

[cstanleytech]

141. Unless there has been a change most of the red delicious sold in stores arent engineered.

[whistler162]

146. All apples variants are engineered.

It is just the method that was used.

[cstanleytech]

148. I suggest you read up on the definition of GMO and what it is and is not

as most apples are not genetically modified.
Crossbred with with variants yes but most havent been modified in a lab by having something inserted into their genome.

[Recursion]

145. I hate to be that dude with facial hair and a hat who talks about heirloom produce, but...

... yeah, I really can't stand mass-produced apples or tomatoes.