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Apple Rankings

applerankings.com

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Re: Apple Rankings

#391

Post by mike_d »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #374
mike_d wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up in the apple producing capital of the world. There is no such thing as a fresh apple in retail. They are all picked just before they are ripe and stored in massive cold storage rooms with all the oxygen pumped out. Apples can spend up to two year in storage, and the best tasting sweetest apples are often the ones that have been stored the longest because they form more sugars. Your entire concept of when an…

As with everything it depends. The heirloom varieties that make it to grocery stores (at least in the Bay Area) have a short enough window each year that they're definitely not being kept in cold storage for too long. The window of availability for something like Gravensteins and Pink Pearls out here is about a month. The sweetest apples you're talking about are probably the mealy ones folks are complaining about (al…

> The window of availability for something like Gravensteins and Pink Pearls out here is about a month.

The window for pretty much all apples is a few weeks. That is exactly why they all go to cold storage. If the growers don't pack them directly into storage the brokers and wholesalers will. Apples are worth more in the off season.

Unless you are shopping at a farmers market or a roadside stand, they have spent some time in a CA room.

> The sweetest apples you're talking about are probably the mealy ones folks are complaining about

Mealy apples are caused by the cell walls breaking down. The most common cause is refrigeration after they have been chemically ripened. Either spending too much time in the refrigerated grocery logistics chain or in your refrigerator at home.

Re: Apple Rankings

#392

Post by csa »

This list reeks of middle-brow hipster ignorance:

1. If you’re judging an apple by its year round availability (as the site creator does), then you’ve basically admitted that you’re only randomly running into apples that are at their best. Some apples are amazing at their peak, but very mediocre when not at their peak.

2. As others have mentioned, there are many variables that influence the texture, taste, and appearance of an apple. If you live far away from where the apples are grown, you will mostly see either the negative side of these variables or the downsides introduced by breeding that allow these apples to get to your market. We don’t even know the geographic base(s) of the author.

I really appreciate the author’s effort, but the execution and/or presentation needs a lot of work.

I’m sure that a tour of orchards that are far from where the author lives would have him rethinking many of his rankings.

Re: Apple Rankings

#394

Post by josefdlange »

soapboxrocket wrote: post #145

He's got Granny Smith in the shit category, and this just reminds me of a funny story about dogs! We had two corgis and my wife made all their meals by hand. Part of their diet was apples, but we found one of the corgis would almost always eat around the apple (usually just a cheap red apple) pieces and leave them for the other dog. Then one time Granny Smith apples were cheaper at the grocery store so that is what w…

I have a corgi and that tracks for me. To people who don't have corgs, they're sweet kind friendly cute delicate beautiful creatures. The those of us who have been blessed with corgs in our lives, we know they're really the Frank Reynolds of dogs. And I love my corg for it. She's a trash dog, a scrappy little scamp, and knows that everyone else she meets will never, ever know it.

Re: Apple Rankings

#398

Post by poulsbohemian »

I immediately went to look up the Cosmic Crisp, which was a research endeavor from Washington State University. It is an excellent apple for eating. I'm at a loss to understand these rankings, as the reviewer claims that the Cosmic Crisp has a thin skin and less-than-average flavor. This is completely the opposite of my experience - the Cosmic blows away every other eating apple on the market, including the Gala. It stays crisp, has a firm but not chewy skin (I'm looking at you, Red Delicious, or whatever they heck they did to you), and while not over-the-top sugary it is certainly a sweet treat. #GoCougs.

Re: Apple Rankings

#399

Post by jader201 »

mike_d wrote: post #391
inferiorhuman wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As with everything it depends. The heirloom varieties that make it to grocery stores (at least in the Bay Area) have a short enough window each year that they're definitely not being kept in cold storage for too long. The window of availability for something like Gravensteins and Pink Pearls out here is about a month. The sweetest apples you're talking about are probably the mealy ones folks are complaining about (al…

> The window of availability for something like Gravensteins and Pink Pearls out here is about a month. The window for pretty much all apples is a few weeks. That is exactly why they all go to cold storage. If the growers don't pack them directly into storage the brokers and wholesalers will. Apples are worth more in the off season. Unless you are shopping at a farmers market or a roadside stand, they have spent some…

> The most common cause is refrigeration after they have been chemically ripened.

We often experiment between organic and nonorganic apples, and in my experience, it seems like the organic apples are way more prone to being mealy, suggesting that it’s not (in this case) what you’re describing.

Re: Apple Rankings

#400

Post by braingenious »

csa wrote: post #392

This list reeks of middle-brow hipster ignorance: 1. If you’re judging an apple by its year round availability (as the site creator does), then you’ve basically admitted that you’re only randomly running into apples that are at their best. Some apples are amazing at their peak, but very mediocre when not at their peak. 2. As others have mentioned, there are many variables that influence the texture, taste, and appear…

>This list reeks of middle-brow hipster ignorance

I agree! For example, a lot of their complaint about Cosmic Crisp is the marketing campaign around it. Like, buddy, that apple tree didn’t design stickers or write press releases. It makes no sense to penalize the apple itself for that.

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