The addiction associated with food is a little different than the addictions associated with alcohol or drugs or nicotine. We NEED to eat food but we can live our whole life without consuming the latter substances. I certainly was not aware of how addictive sugar is for most people. Similarly, I had no idea they genetically modify fruit …
The addiction associated with food is a little different than the addictions associated with alcohol or drugs or nicotine. We NEED to eat food but we can live our whole life without consuming the latter substances. I certainly was not aware of how addictive sugar is for most people. Similarly, I had no idea they genetically modify fruit varieties to be sweeter and therefore, more addictive. This isn't simply a matter of "well just stop eating what's bad for you." People need to be educated that it is even happening and then given alternatives. Some will make changes and some won't. Tale as old as time.
I miss the old pineapples that were actually tart. Now they are just sweet syrup. When they have any flavor at all. Organic Maui Jet Fresh used to be good, but it was too expensive for them to continue bringing over to mainland.
It's like the honeycrisp apple. I call it the ignorant person's apple (sorry if you like them). There are soooooo many better apples out there, but people are afraid of complex flavors now, it seems. Has to be 100% sweet and only sweet. Or the tart can't be too assertive, or peeps freak out.
I sold apples wholesale and at farmer's markets for years. At the FM, I always tried to educate my custy's about each apple variety, why we didn't sell the "club" apples (the one's you have to pay a fee to grow, like Opal (TM) etc.). What always got me was people asking for honeycrisp, which we had but only for 2 weeks at a time, and when I would suggest something similar (crunchy, juicy, sweet-tart, and no WAY does it bruise as easily as a honeycrisp) they just could not experiment. Not even for one. They would rather go to a store and buy offshore product or WA out of controlled atmosphere, all of it disintegrating by the minute.
SMH
Education is key, but a little curiosity would help too.
Spitzenberg, Black Twig, Arkansas Black, Pippen, and Hauer Pippen all close seconds.
For a "Mainstream" apple 🤣 I like Mutsu or Jonagold.
EDIT: a good alternative to Honeycrisp that you can find in a store (it is a club apple though) is Cosmic Crisp. It is not at all the same look, but super crunchy (has thicker skin so won't bruise as easily), good sweet/tart balance.
Oh, I forgot about Romes (ate those when I lived on East Coast). Those are great, I liked Macouns when I was back there too. We don't have those, and no good Macintosh here.
We love apples in NY and my favorite varieties are Empire and Cortland. I like crisp, tartish and white-flesh. Macintosh can be either really good, or just meh depending on the particular harvest year. Pippen are good too. I can live with Galas. One variety I really have never liked or understood the popularity of: Red Delicious. Yuck.
If you get red delicious or gold delicious off the tree, they are, actually, delicious (to me). The farm I worked for grew them and they were completely different animals from the store-available kind.
The addiction associated with food is a little different than the addictions associated with alcohol or drugs or nicotine. We NEED to eat food but we can live our whole life without consuming the latter substances. I certainly was not aware of how addictive sugar is for most people. Similarly, I had no idea they genetically modify fruit varieties to be sweeter and therefore, more addictive. This isn't simply a matter of "well just stop eating what's bad for you." People need to be educated that it is even happening and then given alternatives. Some will make changes and some won't. Tale as old as time.
I miss the old pineapples that were actually tart. Now they are just sweet syrup. When they have any flavor at all. Organic Maui Jet Fresh used to be good, but it was too expensive for them to continue bringing over to mainland.
It's like the honeycrisp apple. I call it the ignorant person's apple (sorry if you like them). There are soooooo many better apples out there, but people are afraid of complex flavors now, it seems. Has to be 100% sweet and only sweet. Or the tart can't be too assertive, or peeps freak out.
I sold apples wholesale and at farmer's markets for years. At the FM, I always tried to educate my custy's about each apple variety, why we didn't sell the "club" apples (the one's you have to pay a fee to grow, like Opal (TM) etc.). What always got me was people asking for honeycrisp, which we had but only for 2 weeks at a time, and when I would suggest something similar (crunchy, juicy, sweet-tart, and no WAY does it bruise as easily as a honeycrisp) they just could not experiment. Not even for one. They would rather go to a store and buy offshore product or WA out of controlled atmosphere, all of it disintegrating by the minute.
SMH
Education is key, but a little curiosity would help too.
Michele, what's your favorite apple?
ASHMEAD'S KERNAL FOR THE WIN!!!!
Spitzenberg, Black Twig, Arkansas Black, Pippen, and Hauer Pippen all close seconds.
For a "Mainstream" apple 🤣 I like Mutsu or Jonagold.
EDIT: a good alternative to Honeycrisp that you can find in a store (it is a club apple though) is Cosmic Crisp. It is not at all the same look, but super crunchy (has thicker skin so won't bruise as easily), good sweet/tart balance.
Num, thanks. BTW my dad used to love Macintosh apples. Rome Beauties seemed to be favored, too.
Oh, I forgot about Romes (ate those when I lived on East Coast). Those are great, I liked Macouns when I was back there too. We don't have those, and no good Macintosh here.
We love apples in NY and my favorite varieties are Empire and Cortland. I like crisp, tartish and white-flesh. Macintosh can be either really good, or just meh depending on the particular harvest year. Pippen are good too. I can live with Galas. One variety I really have never liked or understood the popularity of: Red Delicious. Yuck.
If you get red delicious or gold delicious off the tree, they are, actually, delicious (to me). The farm I worked for grew them and they were completely different animals from the store-available kind.
Perfect.