[HN Gopher] 7k varieties of apples and the 18 you need to know a...
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7k varieties of apples and the 18 you need to know about (2013)
Author : Tomte
Score : 28 points
Date : 2022-01-01 18:52 UTC (4 hours ago)
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| CoastalCoder wrote:
| A few years ago I discovered snapdragon apples.
|
| Not sure if they existed in 2013, but they and gala are the only
| two varieties I enjoy eating raw.
| tomcatfish wrote:
| You should try "Envy" apples, though they may not have been
| around in 2013
| linsomniac wrote:
| Envy is now my go-to apple. I eat two apples most days, and
| they have been reliably sweet and somewhat tart, crisp with a
| few exceptions, but even when they haven't been crisp they've
| still been tasty. I usually just toss a non-crisp apple.
|
| It has a fairly complex flavor profile, just delicious!
|
| I love Honey Crisp, but it's tart enough that my teeth can get
| sensitive after eating too many. Pink Lady has also been a good
| one. I just recently tried the Sugar Bee because I couldn't
| find Envy the last trip, and it was a reasonable alternative to
| Envy, but one of them had some bitterness in parts.
| Wistar wrote:
| I like the Winter Banana apple. Uncommon but grows well here in
| Seattle. Once picked it keeps amazingly well, stays crisp for
| months in a cool basement. Moderately sweet out of hand and good
| for pies and baking.
| jet_32951 wrote:
| My old place in NorCal had a "My Jewel" (Winter Banana x
| Newtown Pippin). Most delicious apple I have ever eaten.
| mhb wrote:
| This is useless. Recommends Red Delicious!? Doesn't mention
| Cosmic Crisp or Macoun?
| ravenstine wrote:
| Red "Delicious" should be taken out behind the shed and put out
| of its misery.
| kevin_thibedeau wrote:
| Needs to experience a chainsaw massacre.
| pstuart wrote:
| Yeah, smash 'em up! Hurt it with fire! Then add a little
| cinnamon...
| gkop wrote:
| Huh, pretty much any other apple is better for baking..
| miked85 wrote:
| Cosmic Crisp apples weren't available commercially when this
| was written [1].
|
| [1]
| https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/05/03/525421226/wa...
| [deleted]
| ajuc wrote:
| I love this kind of apples, never seen them outside of Eastern
| Europe but they are absolutely delicious. Very hard texture, tart
| and acidic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonovka
|
| I dislike most of the red apples, especially the ones you can
| find in malls - they are too squishy and too sweet.
| nkurz wrote:
| To a first and second approximation, no one in America has ever
| eaten an Antonovka. But strangely, it's also one of the more
| common apples planted in America! The explanation for this
| apparent contradiction is that Antonovka is one of the most
| common "standard" (ie, full size) apple rootstocks. So they are
| planted, but almost never allowed to fruit. Instead, the tops
| are chopped off and a different apple is grafted on top as a
| replacement.
|
| They are used as rootstock because they are deep rooted,
| drought tolerant, and very cold hardy. Conveniently, Antonovka
| are also one of the few apple varieties that tends to grow true
| from seed. This makes propagating them as rootstock much
| easier, since it's very fast and easy to plant seeds rather
| than making clones. Here's an article that talks up the use of
| Antonovka as a rootstock:
| http://www.kuffelcreekapplenursery.com/rootstocks.htm.
|
| I've got 20 Antonovka ordered for next spring that I'm planning
| to graft to. Perhaps I should leave one whole and see what it
| produces --- like most Americans, I've never eaten one.
| mietek wrote:
| The closest kind of apple to Antonowka that I found in England
| is Bramley apple, or more generally, various kinds of cooking
| apple.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramley_apple
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_apple
| petre wrote:
| > I dislike most of the red apples, especially the ones you can
| find in malls
|
| My dad likes Starkrimson. I did not but he gave me a big bag of
| them mixed with Florina so I find them eatable now, after
| eating all the Florinas. The juice is great though. Not that
| acidic. My favourite for eating is Fuji but I also like Gala
| and Florina. It seems like most of apples we eat in Eastern
| Europe are in fact intended for cooking? Normaly I'll get them
| from my family's orchards or the farmer market. Jonatan and
| Jonagod is really common here, but too acidic for eating raw,
| great for apple pie.
|
| I don't remember trying Antonovka but we sometimes do get a
| fair share of Polish apples in the supermarket. I'll look for
| it. But if it is anything like Granny Smith I'll probably
| dislike it.
| ajuc wrote:
| Yeah Jonagold is very popular here as well. If that's too
| acidic for you then you won't like Antonowka :)
|
| Never tried Starkrimson I think? But it looks similar to the
| ones in malls from the photos.
|
| Both my grandpas had like a dozen different kinds of apples
| (one tree of each) - I think they planted them more to have
| apples through the year than for their taste. The early
| summer ones (papierowki?) were awful. Small, totally white,
| very squishy and tasteless (not acidic and not sweet).
| petre wrote:
| Starkrimson looks a bit like Red Delicious whoch you see in
| the supermarket but it's smaller and harder at first. Like
| Granny Smith hard. Not acidic and it tastes a bit banana
| flavoued. It's also too hard when picked off the tree, I
| think you need to keep in in the cellar for at least two
| weeks. It's best used for juice, but rather sweet. Might be
| very useful in a blend to balance acidity of other apples.
| I think my dad accidentally combined it with Florina and
| got good juice out of them.
|
| Yes, I know the summer apples. Horse and donkey food. Some
| people like them though.
|
| Poland has very good apples and possibly the best apple
| cider I had. Dorbonski, I think, not sure though.
| froh wrote:
| Boskoop is very popular in Germany , e.g. for baked apples.
|
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_de_Boskoop
| bufordtwain wrote:
| Lady Alice apples appeared recently at our local grocery store
| and they are now my favorite.
| mjsweet wrote:
| Has anyone heard of Kanzi here in Australia?
|
| It's a cross between Braeburn and Gala, same as NZ's Jazz.
|
| It's a bit more expensive than Gala or Pink Lady, but it has a
| firm crisp texture and maybe a tart skin but with an easier bite
| than Pink Lady, quite scrumptious.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanzi_(apple)
| boringg wrote:
| Ambrosia is one of the best for eating - last all winter if
| stored cool, firm and tastes just like a honey crisp (slightly
| less sweet).
| pfdietz wrote:
| Go Rome or go home.
| mikequinlan wrote:
| https://www.flavogram.com/
| kseistrup wrote:
| Interesting
| kseistrup wrote:
| I find both Granny Smith, Jonagold, and Gala absolutely
| uninteresting, but I'm not very fond of apples...
|
| The only apple I eat regularly is Nicoter (Kanzi's organic
| sibbling).
| plushpuffin wrote:
| Granny Smith is a baking apple. I don't know anyone who eats it
| raw. It's great for pies and crumbles and apple crisp.
| pm215 wrote:
| No, the Granny Smith is an eating apple (for instance this
| BBC Good Food page --
| https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/apple-glossary -- lists
| it in the eating apples, not in the cooking apple list with
| varieties like Bramley). It might not be to your taste, but
| some people like it. I have other varieties I prefer but I'll
| happily eat a Granny Smith if that's what's in the fruit
| bowl.
|
| Edit: in fact, I just picked one out of the fruit bowl. Yes,
| it's not the sweetest apple in the world, but not everything
| has to be. And the crunch of biting into it is good.
| pstuart wrote:
| It was my go to apple as a kid, but that was back in the day
| when the other options were red and yellow delicious.
|
| Even with an abundance of options today, I still enjoy them
| on occasion.
|
| To each their own ;-)
| kseistrup wrote:
| Here in Denmark Granny Smith is pimped as a regular apple for
| eating raw. When you say it's a baking apple, it makes more
| sense that the taste is so unappetizing when eaten raw.
|
| Edit: typo
| [deleted]
| plushpuffin wrote:
| Yeah, the balance of sweet and tart that you would expect
| from an eating apple is missing from Granny Smith, because
| that would be lost when you dump it in a pie crust with a
| cup of sugar. It also explains why the apple is so firm,
| because it's expected to soften when baked. You _can_ eat
| it raw, I just don 't know why you would.
| gkop wrote:
| In the US it's a mainstream eating apple. Which isn't to say
| it's great for eating, considering the ultimate mainstream
| eating apple is the awful Red Delicious. In for example a gas
| station, they will stock Red Delicious and Granny Smith so
| you have your choice of red or green apple. Granny Smith is a
| better apple than Red Delicious: it's sweet and pleasantly
| tart. It's got a weird texture though. And it's too hard, as
| you point out in another comment.
|
| Better second-tier mainstream apples here are Macintosh and
| Golden Delicious, before you start getting to the premium
| apples like Gala, Fuji, and the varieties people are loving
| on in this thread.
| globular-toast wrote:
| I've always found the popularity of Granny Smith in particular
| to be bizarre. They are really horrible apples, good only for
| cooking. Cox's Orange Pippin is superior in every way including
| a much more interesting and rounded flavour.
|
| Actually, I do have a theory why it's so popular. It's because
| of the phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". People
| regard them as medicine rather than a treat, so it makes sense
| for them to be disgusting.
| kuhewa wrote:
| Apple farmers I've worked for your me they reckon its market
| share is just about having something that contrasts with the
| other colours on the shelf in the supermarket.
| GnarfGnarf wrote:
| Compared to Russet and Cox Orange, some of the apples on this
| list are insipid.
| Breadmaker wrote:
| Cox orange and Ingrid marie is my favs, most modern capitalist
| robot apples sold are just too boring and hard, bred to survive
| machine picking and storage for years.
| robert_foss wrote:
| I've got fond memories eating Cox Orange growing up. No other
| apple has that same flavour.
| kuhewa wrote:
| COP is my favourite too.. but it's worth mentioning a lot of
| the modern 'club' varieties that have come on market in the
| past decade probably do retain a lot of the favorable logistic
| traits but are also a far cry from the sorry later red
| delicious sports and actually quite interesting and yummy. See
| envy, jazz, pink lady, kanzi, smitten
| ravenstine wrote:
| Wait, no Pink Lady apple?!
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripps_Pink
|
| I know it's a hybrid, but it's got everything going for it.
|
| - Reliably crisp
|
| - Sweet, but not overly
|
| - Just a tad tart
|
| - Big enough to be a good snack but never oversized
| gkop wrote:
| What do you think of Gravenstein, ravenstine?
| jiggawatts wrote:
| Seconded. It's one of the best apple varieties ever.
| jperras wrote:
| Pink Lady was my favourite apple until I happened upon a Lady
| Alice!
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Alice_(apple)
| maxerickson wrote:
| Apples don't breed true, all varieties are hybrids.
|
| (orchards of a variety are grown from clones of a single tree
| that are grafted onto root stock)
|
| I'm increasingly convinced that climate also matters quite a
| bit. There are some Honeycrisp that are a lot better than
| others.
| klhugo wrote:
| What about cosmic crisp?
| cupcake-unicorn wrote:
| From Wikipedia "A $10 million consumer launch of the product
| was funded by Washington State agriculture promotion funds
| through the Washington Apple Commission and other agencies.[5]
| The two taglines for the apple were "Imagine the Possibilities"
| and "The Apple of Big Dreams".[1] It is said to be the largest
| campaign in apple industry history,[16] and included payments
| to social media influencers and a partnership with a touring
| children's production of Johnny Appleseed.[17] The term "Cosmic
| Crisp" is trademarked.[1]"
|
| The guy at my indie Seattle produce stand said that Big Apple
| is shilling Cosmic Crisp and it's all a scam. Maybe you're one
| of their underground campaigns?? I'm on to you, BIG APPLE
| maxerickson wrote:
| Trademarking the name can work out great for consumers if it
| keeps poorly grown apples out of stores.
| ribs wrote:
| I've got no idea why people eat anything else. Says on
| Wikipedia that it only got to the public in 2019, so maybe
| that's why this older article omitted it.
| Tomte wrote:
| Because I've never seen that apple. Only once did I see
| Honeycrisp, and that seems to have been a trial by my
| supermarket, two weeks later it was gone and never came back.
|
| (I'm living in Germany)
|
| My favorite is Berlepsch, and if I buy in normal stores,
| Holsteiner Cox, Braeburn or Boskoop.
| gkop wrote:
| For what it's worth, I live in California where both
| Honeycrisp and Cosmic Crisp are readily available (among a
| healthy gamut of other varieties). I _LOVE_ Honeycrisp and
| it's my favorite. I have not even bothered to try Cosmic
| Crisp, because from all I've heard it's not any better than
| Honeycrisp, but just has a longer shelf life. I have no
| issues with the shelf life of Honeycrisp and am skeptical
| that shelf life can be extended without giving up some
| other quality.
| alephxyz wrote:
| They're typically 1.5-2x more expensive than other apples
| here (eastern Canada) depending on season
| ggm wrote:
| I miss russets. in OZ, not considered viable in the market,
| russetting is actually used to reject fruit for sale. in the UK,
| a russet apple and wensleydale cheese can't be beaten. But,
| neither exist in Australia.
| ravenstine wrote:
| I haven't heard of russet apples. Only russet potatoes. But
| apparently russetting is a phenotype of some apples and pears
| (presumably among other things):
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russeting
|
| The moar you know! :D
|
| Now why that term was applied to the russet potato... is not so
| clear to me. Seems like a misnomer given that they all appear
| brown.
|
| /tangent
| mattkrause wrote:
| "Russet" itself is a brownish color, such as that of the
| eponymous potato.
|
| "Russeting" is the appearance of mottled spots of that color,
| like on the apple and pear.
|
| "Russeted" might have been more accurate for the fruits, but
| I suspect there's a phonological reason it's not actually
| used.
| ggm wrote:
| Russets (in apples and pears) tend to have a more crunchy
| nashi type flesh. The brown skin can be a bit sandpaper and
| thick. It has a distinctive mouth feel as a fruit all of
| its own which somehow sets off perfectly with the chalky
| white crumble which Wensleydale and some Cheshire has.
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(page generated 2022-01-01 23:03 UTC)