GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

07-10-2004, 06:00 PM

writes:
Any answers/comments are appreciated....

1. When I was a kid, we got "Red Delicious" apples that were. They had
just a hint of green and were firm, tart and wonderful. In the last 10
years (at least), I've noticed that the Red Delicious apples I buy at
the store are soft, yellow and mealy. My mom and a friend noticed the
same thing.
Various other places on the Usenet, I've seen people decrying the
RD apple for it's poor texture and flavor... but they weren't always
that way. What happened to this variety?

A fresh (and ripe!) Red Delicious is wonderful. They are not, however,
good keepers, and are far inferior for storage than the Yellow Delicious.
What happened to yours? Cold storage! I suspect that "improvements" in
cold storage have taken their toll as well. It would be impossible to
keep several varieties of apples under exactly the same conditions and
have all of them taste right; they simply have different characteristics.
Reds just don't store well, especially picked a bit green for the
commercial market.

I grew up in apple country (the Yakima Valley in eastern Washington) so
was very, very spoiled. My grandparents kept their apples in the shed, no
special conditions. The reds were good only for cooking applesauce by
January, the golds made it until February or early March. All of the
cooking apples (Jonathans, Winesaps, etc.) made it until late March, even
early April. And, yes, that was my adult memory as well as childhood.
Methinks the scientists don't always taste what they "preserve."

2. Growing up in a small town, a local fraternal organization always
had a Christmas party where the kids each got a huge red apple. These
things were giants -- about the size of a softball -- and they were
tasty too. Anyone know about such a variety and where I could get
some?

This may very well be a King. I have a tree in my yard and described it
to a local nurseryman; that was his guess. I am not kidding, two of these
apples will make a 9-inch pie!!! Because they turn red early in the year,
many folks walking by pick them thinking they are ripe. When they are
ripe, they are a deep red . . . and huge. They are a bit on the tart side
for me, so I use them only for cooking, and they are wonderful. Out of
curiousity, I just went out and picked one off the ground, cut and
measured it. It is 3-3/4" across and 3-1/2 inches tall. There are many
larger ones still on the tree.

Good fortune smiled on me when I bought this house which has several apple
varieties, all but one are good. My favorite, only when fresh off the
tree, is the Red Delicious but after picking and waiting, it is the Gold
Delicious. All the others go into pie or sauce.

This time of year, many locations have garden shops/nurseries have apple
tasting festivals. See if you can find one in your area and partake. You
might also take a couple of apples from your tree and see if they can be
identified. Often, even if the employees don't know, there is a customer
who does.

At a garage sale earlier this year, there was a small wine press for a
great price which now resides at my house. I'm hoping to take the time to
try it out with fallen fruit; if I can figure it out (can't imagine it
being difficultg), I'll make some juice for fall from the good stuff. My
simple mind doesn't see the difference between a wine press and cider
press, they both squeeze the juice out of the fruit. It was such a low
price, it's worth it to experiment. g

Happy tasting.

Glenna