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The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

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Re: The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

#71
Here in Los Angeles your typical store has 6-10 varieties of apple, almost all of them painfully similar.

Braeburn, Jazz, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Gala, Ambrosia, Jonagold, Envy... these are all the same basic apple: overly sweet, hard/dense, not a lot of taste outside sugar. Envy apples are the yellow version of the same thing. Pink Ladies are marginally better.

If anyone knows an LA area market where I can escape the tyranny of obnoxiously "crisp" sugar bombs in favor of Cortlands, McIntosh, Jonathan, or anything out of the ordinary... do tell.

If the Granny Smith wasn't available I don't know what I'd do.

Re: The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? Did you read the article? Or have you been to the midwest? Honeycrisp are from the midwest and when I'm in the grocery store we have a dozen or so varieties of apples, Like Zestar, Pink lady, Honeycrisp, Sweet tango, Opal and the usual suspects as well.

Hmm, I'm meaning more the rust belt/great lakes part of the midwest. Maybe its changed since I moved away?

County here is 40,000. There's 3 stores with lots of apples in town. (Walmart, a regional chain and a local grocer).

One county over isn't big enough to have a Walmart, but the smaller local grocer does it up with their produce...

Re: The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

#73
post #19

The article mentions it only in passing, but in 2019 we'll finally see Cosmic Crisps [0] on the market. These are likely to surpass the Honeycrisp in texture, sweetness, and tart. And unlike the otherwise excellent Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisps are not susceptible to sun burn nor bitter pit (brown pits on the apple). I'm excited to try them! [0]: https://www.cosmiccrisp.com/the-facts/

I got a couple Cosmic Crisp at a farmer's market this year in NYC. Can confirm they're better than Honeycrisp in every way, albeit they're so sweet and tart that you might not feel like eating that many per year.

I'd compare it to something like a Rebecca's Gold pawpaw, where it's like "this is the best thing I've ever eaten" but you wouldn't really want more than one or two per week during their short season.

Re: The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea Blackberries to me are the definition of hit or miss, They are either bland and bitter or absolutely delicious with little middle ground.

Speaking of [color]berries, have you trued blackcurrants, redcurrants and whitecurrants?

Currants are [mostly] unknown in the USA. Biggest reason is the ban on black currants cultivation from a 100 years ago. I don't care much for fresh red or white currants (they are good in jams though), but black currant is something I really miss here.

Re: The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

#78

I have childhood memories of going into the woods around the park to pick blackberries. The flavors to be found in good blackberries are pretty sublime. The other day, I bought a container of blackberries. Somehow, they had been reduced to bloated, flavorless bags of purple sugar water. (I suspect this is why they were a sale item.) Altering plants for better taste does have a place.

Exactly, those ones in the woods are superior. I think the loss from premature picking and abuse during transit just reeks havoc on berries in general. I wound up getting a cutting of a wild blackberry and planted it in the yard. It's a wild thing that must be tamed and pruned regularly but its worth it.

Re: The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

#79
This is one of the silliest articles I've ever read.

> "Though it succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, along the way it became a nightmare for some producers, forcing small Northeastern growers to compete with their massive, climatically advantaged counterparts on the West Coast."

> Prices for Honeycrisps Can Be 2-3x Other Apples

> "So why do farmers put up with the hassle? They simply don’t have a choice. The demand for this one apple exceeds supply—it’s all consumers, and therefore supermarkets, want. So growers are planting with almost reckless abandon, pulling out old varieties, like the tired Red Delicious, and putting in Honeycrisp trees—even in places where they don’t grow well."

> "Meanwhile, everyone is nervously waiting for the day when the supply-demand equilibrium brings sticker prices down far enough that growing the Honeycrisp no longer makes economic sense. But it’s not likely to happen soon, said Eric Rama, head of agricultural research at MetLife Inc. Even though production is increasing at a rapid pace, demand for premium apples isn’t waning."

Farmers need to grow the things that people want to buy? And it seems like this will be the situation for the foreseeable future, so it's low-risk? And they sell for more?

Really struggling to see how this is a curse... instead of sensational journalism at its very worst...

Re: The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

#80
The Honeycrisp is fine, but I don't love the trend of Apple varieties that taste like jolly ranchers (super sweet and crisp - see also Pink Lady or Jazz). Old fashioned apple varieties like Macintosh and even Red Delicious can be great in season from local farms - I had a Red Delicious today I would take over any Honeycrisp.

I have friends who only eat Honeycrisp, I feel old when I complain that it's not a real apple and they should try something else.

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