In praise of APPLES
Calvin2008Brian
Posts: 1,024 Member
Pre-WW, I vaguely understood that there were different varieties of apples. Now, I look forward to fall and the appearance of fresh, local varieties. A Braeburn imported from New Zealand is not without it's charms, but there's not much in the apple kingdom any better than the Zestar!® I enjoyed this morning.
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There are over 7,500 varieties of apples grown in the world but I was surprised to find out there are over 2,500 grown in the US. Not all of those are ones for eating fresh for sure. I think I may have sampled close to 100 different varieties. I haven't tried the Zestar!® yet. I have 5 varieties around my house , Karmijn de Sonnaville, Liberty, Akane, Rubinette, and a small french crab apple. Several of mine have either cox orange pippin or jonathon in their heritage for a nice complex taste. YUM0
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I'll have to try them, if they become available in my area.
In the mean time, have you encountered an Arkansas Black (apple)?0 -
I have not seen an Arkansas Black.
Zestar is one of several varieties developed by the University of Minnesota. Honey Crisp is probably the most widely distributed of their creations. Zestar is an amazing eating apple. Also, apropos of nothing, it is the most pharmaceutical - sounding variety, almost as if its name should be followed by a hushed recitation of unlikely but horrible-sounding side effects.0 -
Honey Crisp seems to be a favorite around here. Never heard of Zestar. Went to the apple orchard yesterday and they had one called Blondie - pretty good.0
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Honey Crisp is my favorite and I have never heard of Zestar. I will go to Whole Food to see if they have it.
@Calvin2008Brian What part of the country are you in? I'm in VA and wonder if Zestar is "regional" only?0 -
I've been going between Pink Ladies, Jazz, and Galas, dependent on price. And, not for nothing, the Chilean Galas are sweeter than any of the domestics I've ever had.0
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I'm ready to switch out my summer berries for apples. I haven't seen Zestar apples here, but haven't really looked either. Now I will.0
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Hear, hear for the crunch of a good (GMO) apple! Seems like I heard a story on NPR how the new genetically modified varieties have pretty well outpaced and outsold all the traditional varieties. Reminds me of talking to the folks at an ACE hardware store years ago and they were complaining that the big box places were really putting pressure on them. A year or so later one of our local independent hardwares went out of business, probably because of ACE
. But I digress...
Yes indeed, I love many of the old and new varieties and welcome them back this year, though I wasn't quite ready for them yet. I guess probably due to the drought, the apples from the backyard (no idea what variety) are actually edible off the tree this year. That's not usually the case. I also heard about a week ago that the apple crop in NY is expected to be down some but apples should be sweeter. Both conditions due to our drought this summer.0 -
Everything you every cared to know about Zestar! is available right here.
I'm guessing from the comments above that they're not marketed outside of the midwest (or, maybe more accurately, the upper midwest). It's interesting because Honey Crisp is a product of the same researchers at the U of MN, but definitely is more widely available.
I was reminded when I read the linked article of another favorite, the SweeTango (a hybrid of Honey Crisp and Zestar).2 -
Love a tart Granny Smith with popcorn!0
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I think two quite different things are being conflated and confused here. Yes it is true that the first GMO apple has been approved (named "Arctic" BUT the varieties you are talking about are the result of traditional breeding and in no way genetically modified. The first GMO apple (browns slower) is expected in 2017. It is untrue to staate that GMO apples are outstripping older apple varieties. New varieties from traditional breeding have outstripped older varieties since my childhood and before starting with red delicious. Univ of Minn has developed many great tasting varieties the old fashioned way.
You either hand pollinate a tree with a variety you wish to cross or you wait until an accidental one appears by the side of the road.1 -
Yes, I'm very picky about my apples!
I also had a student write a research essay once comparing apples to apples about the development of branded varieties--it was creative and interesting!0 -
Yeah true. Many of the great tasting varieties that have a good combination of sweet and tart have apples like Cox's Orange Pippen, Macintosh, or Jonathon in their heritage. Some apples with these characteristics include "Empire", "Fuji", "Akane" and many more.0
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Thanks, @podkey , for taking the time to provide clarification. I suspected what you reported was true, but lacked the technical knowledge.0
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We have three varieties in our yard: William's Pride, Liberty and Golden Delicious (mostly to pollinate the other two). William's Pride was developed here around Puget Sound and is wonderful, for about two weeks, then they are all too ripe. Talk about seasonal. The Pink Ladies grown in Central Washington (the apple capital of the U.S.) are really good and seem to store better than most varieties. We like to buy apples from local growers and typically pick up a several cases of Pink Ladies in December. They stay good out in the cool garage, well into March.0
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I love Pink Ladies variety and always get them when they are available. I also like the Arkansas Black. But they are harder to come by0
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We have Zestar and Gala right now! Both really good. Honeycrisps will be out this weekend. We picked 1/2 bushel of galas with our grandson last weekend. Nothing better than an apple fresh off the tree.0
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Calvin2008Brian wrote: »Thanks, @podkey , for taking the time to provide clarification.
Agreed. Thanks Bob for the explanation. I suspected what I reported was true, but clearly lacked the technical knowledge!
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