I never realized that there were so many varieties I was missing out on. My favorite apple is a Pink Lady, I think they're referred to here as a Cripps pink, or else there not mentioned at all. I would find it hard to believe they weren't amongst the most consumed in the US. Its cool to think that some of the oldest apple trees (200 years) that are still bearing fruit could have once yielded fruit that fed historical figures, Lincoln... even Thomas Jefferson. How cool would it be to know you were eating from the same tree as those fellas!
I'm all about the Braeburns, they have an excellent tanginess.
I like sweet apples. I also use them for juicing purposes. I take 2 pink ladies, a whole lemon, some kale and romain, celery and a little bit of fresh ginger and juice it. The result of which gives me such a great body-buzz. If you have a juicer at home, try it. I'm sure Braeburns will work just fine.
This was a great read, apples have sure been on my mind lately. I just finished working in an apple packing shed for a small apple farm in the Granite Belt region of Australia. Let me tell you, the world of the apple is a curious one. For starters I was amazed at the quantity of apples that are deemed unfit for sale to the larger grocery stores. They seem to scrutinise the quality the most. The smaller grocers are far more lenient, after all small bruises and imperfections on the apple doesn't render is junk, just not "perfect". The small farmers are slowly being forced out and made to deal with great losses as the larger conglomerate grocers (namely woolworth's, coles and IGA) continue to demand more and more perfection and efficiency out of a natural product that is of course subject to, temperature, sun condition, soil conditions, unwanted pests, etc. that are often impossible to control, or very very expensive. The majority of the apples I packed were the Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Pink Lady and sometimes Fuji's, however they are being harvested less and less due to their soft skin which is subject to more bruising during transport. Often the farmers shipment is rejected because of small imperfections and the farmer is forced to try and sell to another buyer if not too much time has passed, or it goes to juice. Apples for juice only pays 50 cents a kilo , which is nothing. And that's just apples, wait till I tell you about onions!
> The small farmers are slowly being forced out and made to deal with great losses as the larger conglomerate grocers (namely woolworth's, coles and IGA) continue to demand more and more perfection and efficiency out of a natural product that is of course subject to, temperature, sun condition, soil conditions, unwanted pests, etc. that are often impossible to control, or very very expensive. Add to that labour costs, rising fuel prices, the soaring value of the Australian dollar and the fact that apples can be grown overseas and sold at rates below production costs here, and the outlook for small farmers looks pretty grim.
There is a produce market near my house that sometimes gets some odd fruit you've never heard of in. Lately I've been eating some warty looking citrus type thing that is delicious. Seems like people in my neighborhood are willing to give most stuff a try because they keep getting it in.
That sounds like ugli fruit (which I think is a pretty amusing name).some warty looking citrus type thing