Folks, we were lied to.
The mainstream media has promoted a narrow-minded idea, and like sheep we have followed, never questioning whether there might be other equally valid or even better options. As a result for generations we have lived a grayscale existence, blinded by groupthink from the vibrant pallet that has been within our grasp.
I am talking, of course, about apples.
When I was growing up and though much of my adult life, the word apple meant one thing, Red Delicious. Red Delicious apples made up the bulk of apple sales in this country, and the bulk of apples eaten. The name says it all.
However, the reality was that these apples were seldom truly delicious. Most of the time they were mealy and tasteless. Once in a great while, you would bite into a Red Delicious that was crisp with a refreshing balance of sweet and tart, but most of the time, you bit into a mouthful of meh.
There were other apples. The second leading apple was the Granny Smith. These “little green apples” were usually crisp, but the tart usually overwhelmed any sweetness. Other varieties were displayed in the store, but with nowhere near the prominence of Big Red Delicious.
My daily school lunch from kindergarten to the time when mom decided were we’re old enough to make our own was a baloney sandwich (peanut butter on Fridays) and a Red Delicious apple, so I have eaten literally hundreds of these apples.
Then in the last few years, some of the backup apples have been called from the bench and entered the game. Exotic names like Fuji, Jazz, Gala, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp all sprang to the front of the produce section. And as we broke a lifetime routine of bagging up half a dozen RDs, we discovered something.
These apples taste amazing! They didn’t just taste sweet and tart, they have distinct flavors all their own. They weren’t just a mundane exercise for the teeth, they were explosions on the tastebuds!
2018 is the first year that Red Delicious is not the top selling apple, ceding the top spot to Gala Apples, but many of these “boutique” apples also showed increases. The Red Delicious displays in stores are being reduced as the Red Delicious monolith has been toppled by the power of choice.
Eve ate of the fruit, and she gave some to Adam who also ate. And when the Lord discovered that both had eaten of the apple, he said, “Because you have eaten of the fruit of this tree, you shall be cursed with Red Delicious Apples.”
As always. I invite your comments.
I eat an apple every morning and this morning’s was a decent red delicious (maybe they’re having to up their game with all the competition). When living in DC I was amazed by the east coast offerings each autumn and I look forward to Applelanche each year at Sprouts market when east coast wonders like the snapdragon and the ladyanne and decent macintoshes are available here for one short week. At the San Francisco farmers markets I routinely was offered several seasonal specialties. But the year old galas currently on Southern California shelves right now? We’ve been taken in again by the man. Long shelf life does not a flavorful apple make. We can do better. Dare to dream.
I accidentally discovered MacIntosh apples years ago and never looked back. Today, the small Honeycrisp apples at Trader Joe’s are the usual suspects for pies, with pork chops or just munching.