For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.

The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.

The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.

Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.

It was everything I wanted in an apple.

However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
Braeburns are getting bigger.

They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.

This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
Smith.

They've almost achieved it. Now once more, those space-aliens
masquerading as humans who enjoy Red Delicous apples will have one more
Delicious clone that they can purchase. They can fill their shopping
carts with these rather frightening mutant fruits.

The rest of us, I guess, will go back to waiting for the corporate
orchards to realize that they've ruined one more breed of apple by
improving it.

I've heard a rumor that only the French Braeburns are like this, & the
New Zealand ones are still normal. If so, then thank you, France,
you've gotten your revenge for EuroDisney.

"Darryl" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>
> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
> Smith.
>
> They've almost achieved it. Now once more, those space-aliens
> masquerading as humans who enjoy Red Delicous apples will have one more
> Delicious clone that they can purchase. They can fill their shopping
> carts with these rather frightening mutant fruits.
>
> The rest of us, I guess, will go back to waiting for the corporate
> orchards to realize that they've ruined one more breed of apple by
> improving it.
>
> I've heard a rumor that only the French Braeburns are like this, & the
> New Zealand ones are still normal. If so, then thank you, France,
> you've gotten your revenge for EuroDisney.

Have you considered other varieties? Ida Reds? Pink Lady? Fuji?

kimberly
>

In article . com>,
"Darryl" > wrote:

> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.

Have you tried a Honeycrisp?
--
-Barb
<www.jamlady.eboard.com>; Sam pics added 2-7-05
"I got the motive, which is money; and the body, which is dead!" - Rod
Steiger as Sheriff Gillespie, "In the Heat of the Night," 1967.

Darryl wrote:

> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat. ... (rant clipped)

Have you tried Gala apples? My current fav for eating raw. crispy sweet
with a bite.
Edrena

Darryl wrote:

> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
> Smith.


Is it possible that the problem isn't the growers' breeding of the apple
but the shippers' and handlers' storage of the apple? This is February.
Apples grown in North America have been in storage since October.
Apples grown in New Zealand have traveled a long way. I always hate
apples this time of year and go back to liking them in August.


--Lia

Darryl > wrote:

> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.

They are still crisp around here (Germany).

Victor

On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 23:41:22 +0100, (Victor Sack)
wrote:

>Darryl > wrote:
>
>> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
>They are still crisp around here (Germany).
>
>Victor

Here in Cow Hill, TX, too.

BTW, it was my understanding that apple genetics are so randomized
that breeding them is nearly impossible. Pollan in his book _The
Botany of Desire_ writes that there is no way to predict which part of
the apple genome will be dominant in any given seed. If you plant a
seed from a Braeburn, you are practically guaranteed not to get a tree
that bears Braeburn apples. In fact, there is no guarantee that the
tree's fruit will even be palatable. Propagating apples is done via
grafting, I believe.

modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

>The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.

Granny Smiths are usually crisp, in my experience. The main variable in
quality is sweetness, which seems to vary by time of year.

A great eating apple, although pies are nothing special.

Neil

The grocery store Red Delicious is indeed a joke, bred for size and
color. Watch for a locally raised old fashioned red delicious. Try the
farmers market. Red and yellow, not dark red or wine color. Delicious.

And watch for a new hybrid, the Cameo. It is my current favorite.

Steve
Sharpening Made Easy: A Primer on Sharpening Knives and Other Edged
Tools by Steve Bottorff
Copyright January 2002 Knife World Publications
www.sharpeningmadeeasy.com


Darryl wrote:
> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>
> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
> Smith.
>
> They've almost achieved it. Now once more, those space-aliens
> masquerading as humans who enjoy Red Delicous apples will have one more
> Delicious clone that they can purchase. They can fill their shopping
> carts with these rather frightening mutant fruits.
>
> The rest of us, I guess, will go back to waiting for the corporate
> orchards to realize that they've ruined one more breed of apple by
> improving it.
>
> I've heard a rumor that only the French Braeburns are like this, & the
> New Zealand ones are still normal. If so, then thank you, France,
> you've gotten your revenge for EuroDisney.
>

"Darryl" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>
> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
> Smith.

Questions:

1) For how many growing seasons have you noticed changes in the Braeburns?
2) Where do you live?
3) Do you know where the Braeburns are coming from?
4) If "yes" to #2, are you aware of any unusual weather conditions during
the growing season, in the place where they're grown?

and...perhaps irrelevant, depending on your response to #2:
5) Have you ever had Cortland apples?

"Michael Odom" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 23:41:22 +0100, (Victor Sack)
> wrote:
>
>>Darryl > wrote:
>>
>>> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>>
>>They are still crisp around here (Germany).
>>
>>Victor
>
> Here in Cow Hill, TX, too.
>
> BTW, it was my understanding that apple genetics are so randomized
> that breeding them is nearly impossible. Pollan in his book _The
> Botany of Desire_ writes that there is no way to predict which part of
> the apple genome will be dominant in any given seed. If you plant a
> seed from a Braeburn, you are practically guaranteed not to get a tree
> that bears Braeburn apples. In fact, there is no guarantee that the
> tree's fruit will even be palatable. Propagating apples is done via
> grafting, I believe.

Correct. Commercial growers do not plant apple seeds, at least not for the
trees they use for production purposes.

The grocery store/florist-fruit basket version is not even fit to feed to
pigs. They continue to exist only because their skin is thick, so they store
well and look good.

"Steve B." > wrote in message
...
> The grocery store Red Delicious is indeed a joke, bred for size and color.
> Watch for a locally raised old fashioned red delicious. Try the farmers
> market. Red and yellow, not dark red or wine color. Delicious.
>
> And watch for a new hybrid, the Cameo. It is my current favorite.
>
> Steve
> Sharpening Made Easy: A Primer on Sharpening Knives and Other Edged Tools
> by Steve Bottorff
> Copyright January 2002 Knife World Publications
> www.sharpeningmadeeasy.com
>
>
> Darryl wrote:
>> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>>
>> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>>
>> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>>
>> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>>
>> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>>
>> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
>> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>>
>> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
>> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>>
>> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
>> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
>> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
>> Smith.
>>
>> They've almost achieved it. Now once more, those space-aliens
>> masquerading as humans who enjoy Red Delicous apples will have one more
>> Delicious clone that they can purchase. They can fill their shopping
>> carts with these rather frightening mutant fruits.
>>
>> The rest of us, I guess, will go back to waiting for the corporate
>> orchards to realize that they've ruined one more breed of apple by
>> improving it.
>>
>> I've heard a rumor that only the French Braeburns are like this, & the
>> New Zealand ones are still normal. If so, then thank you, France,
>> you've gotten your revenge for EuroDisney.
>>

"Darryl" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>
> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
><snip>
============

Funny. When I started reading your post I thought "ewww" simply because
I've noticed the same trend. Braeburns have become disgusting - either that
or I can't find any good ones.
I've become a Fuji fan - but even they run in extremes - either short and
squatty or huge.

Cyndi

"Darryl" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>
> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
> Smith.
>
> They've almost achieved it. Now once more, those space-aliens
> masquerading as humans who enjoy Red Delicous apples will have one more
> Delicious clone that they can purchase. They can fill their shopping
> carts with these rather frightening mutant fruits.
>
> The rest of us, I guess, will go back to waiting for the corporate
> orchards to realize that they've ruined one more breed of apple by
> improving it.
>
> I've heard a rumor that only the French Braeburns are like this, & the
> New Zealand ones are still normal. If so, then thank you, France,
> you've gotten your revenge for EuroDisney.
>

Good old Macs are my faourite. Crisp, firm, and not too sweet.

Scott.

Yer West Coast apple selection is just different from yer East Coast. I
remember lovely apples in NY at the farmers' markets that I don't see
here.

The best apples I have had in California were some green/yellow ones,
don't know the name, bought at the Oakland farmer's market one year. I
took a bite right there by the stand and asked the farmer - are you in
the mountains? Yes, he's in the Sierra foothills. Do you get snow? Sure
do.

After too many years of eating frost-free California apples, I could
taste what winter does to an apple tree. It's totally worth it.

So one more question besides what variety of apple would be - where is
it grown, and do they have cold winters? Does it freeze?

I, too like Fujis but they do vary in size, texture and flavor. Also
non-organic apples often have so much wax and other coatings on them
that the flavor is ruined.

Leila

<sigh> Years ago, my father sent me a generic xmas basket
of fruit from the midwest and I almost cried because it
tasted sooooo good!

Western apples (even Washington St.) are a mere shadow of
flavor compared to midwest apples. I don't have a clue what
eastern apples are like, but they have to be better than
western apples.

BTW: I read somewhere that apple types tend to be regional,
so where they are plentiful they are probably the tastiest.

Of course that's changing these days, but it used to be the
case.

``````````````

On 7 Feb 2005 22:27:57 -0800, "Leila"
> wrote:

> Yer West Coast apple selection is just different from yer East Coast. I
> remember lovely apples in NY at the farmers' markets that I don't see
> here.
>
> The best apples I have had in California were some green/yellow ones,
> don't know the name, bought at the Oakland farmer's market one year. I
> took a bite right there by the stand and asked the farmer - are you in
> the mountains? Yes, he's in the Sierra foothills. Do you get snow? Sure
> do.
>
> After too many years of eating frost-free California apples, I could
> taste what winter does to an apple tree. It's totally worth it.
>
> So one more question besides what variety of apple would be - where is
> it grown, and do they have cold winters? Does it freeze?
>
> I, too like Fujis but they do vary in size, texture and flavor. Also
> non-organic apples often have so much wax and other coatings on them
> that the flavor is ruined.
>
> Leila


sf

sf wrote:
> <sigh> Years ago, my father sent me a generic xmas basket
> of fruit from the midwest and I almost cried because it
> tasted sooooo good!
>
> Western apples (even Washington St.) are a mere shadow of
> flavor compared to midwest apples. I don't have a clue what
> eastern apples are like, but they have to be better than
> western apples.

Agreed. I haven't had a decent apple since I left Indianapolis in
1998. the Washington and Oregon apples we have here are dry, tasteless
and mealy.

-L.

On Mon, 07 Feb 2005 23:50:17 -0800, sf quoth:
>
> Western apples (even Washington St.) are a mere shadow of
> flavor compared to midwest apples. I don't have a clue what
> eastern apples are like, but they have to be better than
> western apples.

Are you distinguishing between the kinds of orchards producing the apples?
Apples picked for interstate or international shipping might be at a
different state of ripeness compared to apples picked for local sale?

One thing I look forward to every thanksgiving is going to the apple stand
in LaCrescent, Minnesota to get a huge bag of ultra-tasty apples.
One of the reasons they're so good is that you can sample all the 20+
varieties before purchase and they're all available in several size grades,
so you get exactly what you want.

bkr

"Leila" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Yer West Coast apple selection is just different from yer East Coast. I
> remember lovely apples in NY at the farmers' markets that I don't see
> here.

It's worse than you think, Leila. I live in Rochester NY. Friends in Long
Island, 6 hours away, can't get anything but Granny Smiths or Red Delicious
apples, at what are otherwise very good grocery stores. Meanwhile, we have
tons of locally grown ones, which, due to very careful storage tricks, are
quite good until March or April. Our largest supermarket (Wegman's) seems to
have an exclusive deal with a huge local grower who provides quite a few
varieties. I think this creates the illusion that there are enough to ship
all over the country, but it's obviously not the case. Driving through the
countryside, I see more dairy farms than orchards. Incidentally, supermarket
displays give very little space to Red Delicious. They simply don't matter,
except to florists making fruit baskets.

On Tue, 8 Feb 2005, Doug Kanter wrote:

> The grocery store/florist-fruit basket version is not even fit to feed to
> pigs. They continue to exist only because their skin is thick, so they store
> well and look good.

Red Delicious was an awesome acheivement... for the forties. First apple
that could ship well (even bred to be cubical, for better storage).

Braeburns are, if i remember, an older variety.

Does anyone know what variety of apple has iridescent skin?

Lena

On Mon, 7 Feb 2005, Julia Altshuler wrote:

> Darryl wrote:
>
>> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
>> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>>
>> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
>> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>>
>> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
>> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
>> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
>> Smith.
>
>
> Is it possible that the problem isn't the growers' breeding of the apple but
> the shippers' and handlers' storage of the apple? This is February. Apples
> grown in North America have been in storage since October. Apples grown in
> New Zealand have traveled a long way. I always hate apples this time of year
> and go back to liking them in August.

apples this time of year are for pies.

what's everyone's favorite pie apple? goodhousekeeping's recommending
northern spy, and a bunch of other old varieties.

me, i tend to use jonagolds and jonathans.

Lena

One time on Usenet, Lena B Katz > said:

<snip>

> what's everyone's favorite pie apple? goodhousekeeping's recommending
> northern spy, and a bunch of other old varieties.
>
> me, i tend to use jonagolds and jonathans.

Gravensteins, yum...

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

< various posts about bad apples >

I no longer purchase apples at the store, but, then, I am lucky. My
fiancee's family grows apples (and cherries) for a living. I can't say I
knew much about apples before I met them, but now I know a little. A few
years ago, my fiancee's father told me the sad story of the Red Delicious
apple and its now-ironic name. Small orchardists (and there are quite a few
of them here in Washington) sell their apples to warehousers/distributors
who then find buyers for the apples and ship them out. It turns out that
when most people went to the grocery store to buy apples they would purchase
the ones that were the most uniformly red. Some varieties were more red
than others and finally someone managed to breed a variety that produced the
uniform deep red apples which we now associate with the Red Delicious.
Sadly for apple lovers this variety didn't have much flavor. But buyers
couldn't taste this in the store. They simply bought the reddest apples.
Soon the distributors could only sell the very red Red Delicious apples. So
if you had old variety Red Delicious trees, you couldn't sell your apples.
You either went out of business, or you ripped out those Red Delicious trees
and replanted the new Red Delicious variety, or a different variety
altogether. Needless to say, eventually the consumer discovered that Red
Delicious apples didn't taste very good and started purchasing other
varieties. But a similar process could happen to any popular apple.
Luckily, now there are many different popular varieties, so maybe it won't
be so bad.

Why don't I buy apples in the store, besides the fact that I can get them
from the farm? I've discovered that the supermarket is selling mostly
second rate apples. Someone earlier remarked about the discrepancy between
fuji apple sizes. The huge fujis are the normal sized fujis. The majority
of these end up being shipped over seas and sold at high prices ($7 per
apple or more). Since Americans won't spend that much on an apple, we get
the culls in our supermarkets -- the stuff that wasn't good enough for the
high-end markets. Fujis in our own stores are generally pretty small. I've
only seen decently sized fujis at the farmer's markets or the regular stands
at Pike Place Market. But anyway once you've had a tree-ripened fuji which
has reached a light "water core" state (often referred to as an "apple
disorder" because it can't be safely stored anymore, but making the apple
sweet and tasty), grocery store apples don't taste quite the same.
Tree-ripened apples are enormously better tasting than apples which are
picked early in order to survive shipping and long-term storage. Mealy and
mushy apples are usually ones which have been in storage for some months or
which you failed to refrigerate after bringing home. After an apple comes
out of temperature controlled storage you need to keep it refrigerated or it
will very quickly become mealy and tasteless.

-Matt

Lena B Katz wrote:
>
>
> apples this time of year are for pies.

Depends on the apple. The ones I'm getting now are only fit for applesauce.


>
> what's everyone's favorite pie apple? goodhousekeeping's recommending
> northern spy, and a bunch of other old varieties.

Cortland, but I haven't seen one of those since I left New England.


>
> me, i tend to use jonagolds and jonathans.

The Jonathans I get vary, but are generally ok most of the time.
February is not one of those times.


I've been buying something in an unlabelled bag that is small, with red
to pink skin with tiny dark spots, that has a white flesh with red-pink
streaks at the core. They are great for eating, but I have no idea what
they are. Some of the bags are "local" midwest growers and some come
from Washington.

I used to like the Braeburns too, but have not seen them the last year
or so.


Dawn

In article <EhYNd.320045$Xk.1281@pd7tw3no>,
"Scotty" > wrote:

>
> Good old Macs are my faourite. Crisp, firm, and not too sweet.
>
> Scott.

Macs, Cortlands, and Ida Reds...mmmm.

Amy (and apple a day...)

"Lena B Katz" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> On Mon, 7 Feb 2005, Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
>> Darryl wrote:
>>
>>> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
>>> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>>>
>>> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
>>> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>>>
>>> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
>>> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
>>> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
>>> Smith.
>>
>>
>> Is it possible that the problem isn't the growers' breeding of the apple
>> but the shippers' and handlers' storage of the apple? This is February.
>> Apples grown in North America have been in storage since October. Apples
>> grown in New Zealand have traveled a long way. I always hate apples this
>> time of year and go back to liking them in August.
>
> apples this time of year are for pies.
>
> what's everyone's favorite pie apple? goodhousekeeping's recommending
> northern spy, and a bunch of other old varieties.
>
> me, i tend to use jonagolds and jonathans.
>
> Lena

Cortlands work well, if you like a tart apple.

Darryl wrote:
> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>
> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
> Smith.
>
> They've almost achieved it. Now once more, those space-aliens
> masquerading as humans who enjoy Red Delicous apples will have one more
> Delicious clone that they can purchase. They can fill their shopping
> carts with these rather frightening mutant fruits.
>
> The rest of us, I guess, will go back to waiting for the corporate
> orchards to realize that they've ruined one more breed of apple by
> improving it.
>
> I've heard a rumor that only the French Braeburns are like this, & the
> New Zealand ones are still normal. If so, then thank you, France,
> you've gotten your revenge for EuroDisney.
>


They've been walmartized. "Bigger! Cheaper! F*** the quality because
nobody cares about quality!" Lest you think I'm joking, here's an
interesting article -- not about apples specifically, but the systemic
problem:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

Best regards,
Bob

Darryl wrote:
>
> For years, there was no apple that I wanted to eat.
>
> The red Delicious apple was a firm, but tasteless joke.
>
> The Granny Smith apples were tasty, but not crisp.
>
> Finally, the perfect apple was produced: the Braeburn.
>
> It was everything I wanted in an apple.
>
> However, I've noticed a horrible trend in the last 2 years:
> Braeburns are getting bigger.
>
> They've almost tripled in size, and the color has changed. They're
> getting candy-apple red, & the size of melons.
>
> This wouldn't be so bad except they are getting sweeter & mushier.
> It's as if they're trying to create an apple that has the shallow
> sugar-water taste of a Delicious & the mushy consistency of a Granny
> Smith.
>
> They've almost achieved it. Now once more, those space-aliens
> masquerading as humans who enjoy Red Delicous apples will have one more
> Delicious clone that they can purchase. They can fill their shopping
> carts with these rather frightening mutant fruits.
>
> The rest of us, I guess, will go back to waiting for the corporate
> orchards to realize that they've ruined one more breed of apple by
> improving it.
>
> I've heard a rumor that only the French Braeburns are like this, & the
> New Zealand ones are still normal. If so, then thank you, France,
> you've gotten your revenge for EuroDisney.

My favorite has always been McIntosh. Nice crisp flesh,
wonderful flavor, sweet but still tart. I don't even
consider "Delicious" apples fit food for animals much
less humans. I have from time to time tried other varieties
including Braeburns but never found one as good as a Mac.
I don't really remember what the Braeburns tasted like but
if I had really liked them I'm sure I would have made a
note of it for future reference. Also, although I don't
like Granny Smith's for eating, all tartness and not much
actual flavor, I've never found them to not be crisp as
all get out.

Kate
--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

"Matt" <
<snip>

Someone earlier remarked about the discrepancy between
> fuji apple sizes. The huge fujis are the normal sized fujis. The
> majority
> of these end up being shipped over seas and sold at high prices ($7 per
> apple or more). Since Americans won't spend that much on an apple, we get
> the culls in our supermarkets -- the stuff that wasn't good enough for the
> high-end markets. Fujis in our own stores are generally pretty small.
> I've
> only seen decently sized fujis at the farmer's markets or the regular
> stands
> at Pike Place Market. But anyway once you've had a tree-ripened fuji
> which
> has reached a light "water core" state (often referred to as an "apple
> disorder" because it can't be safely stored anymore, but making the apple
> sweet and tasty), grocery store apples don't taste quite the same.
> Tree-ripened apples are enormously better tasting than apples which are
> picked early in order to survive shipping and long-term storage. Mealy
> and
> mushy apples are usually ones which have been in storage for some months
> or
> which you failed to refrigerate after bringing home. After an apple comes
> out of temperature controlled storage you need to keep it refrigerated or
> it
> will very quickly become mealy and tasteless.
>
> -Matt
> ===========

Hi Matt. It was me that mentioned the Fuji sizes...

Thank you SO much for all of the great information! Prior to moving back to
Florida I was fortunate to live near quite a few apple orchards. I haven't
had any apples that were 'wonderful' since I moved back.

I can remember though when back in the 60s the Red Delicious apples actually
were 'delicious'... Oh well.

Cyndi