I wonder the same thing Linda..in my High School there was an apple machine. For a quarter you could get an ice cold smallish red delicious. I'd eat two a day.
Go to the store..and buy some..nope not the same..now a days..
Definately not a sweet tasty apple deliciousness in sight!

So true! Years ago, Red Delicious apples really had a delicious sweet-tart winey flavor. But then they became absolutely tasteless (were the tasteless ones better suited for shipping to market?). I haven't been willing to try a Delicious in quite a few years now---not worth the gamble. I switched to Gala because they have a more reliably satisfying flavor.

We've talked about this before, and I know many folks prefer their locally grown varieties. But of the kinds that are sold in markets all across the continent, why is it mainly the Delicious apples that have lost their zing? Will Gala eventually lose its taste, too?

Sue

Same way with the CA peaches. Gorgeous huge fruit but no taste what so ever. Sort of like biting into styrofoam. Was the Delicious Apple from WA?

I was just thinking today whatever happened to the sour green apples for baking. My Mom always used the small sour apples for pies and I just loved to eat them when I was a kid.

My new favorite apple is Honey Crisp which, I think, is a graft of a Yellow Delicious and something else maybe Jonathan but boy are they good. I am going to use some Honey Crisp in my Maple Apple Jam.

Michelle

I used to love apples. Seems like I haven't had a good one in a long time. Braeburns are DH's favorite, but we haven't had any good ones for awhile. I have a friend that has an orchard. I might try some of hers this weekend. Now that I am hungry for them. LOL

Here's the whole sad story.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Why the Red Delicious No Longer Is

I'm sooooo glad everyone agrees with me! I was feeling as if I was the only one whose apple-palate had died. I so miss the variety of apples available in the midwest. We use to go to the fruit stands in the country and get such wonderful apples and cider.... and some times fresh made donuts to go with the cider.

We've started offering fresh fruit at my office and I'm in charge of purchasing and putting it out twice a week. The Fuji apples I've been getting have been very good. We've also had peaches from SC and yesterday from NJ, grapes from CA and Chile, bananas from Costa Rica and Golden Delicious apples from WA state. The Goldens tasted good but within two days were starting to shrivel, while the Fujis stayed firm. But the red seedless grapes have been the biggest hit. The pears ordered Monday from WA state were Bartlets and were soooo delicious.

We have about 150 people in the office and they love the free fruit. There is no waste at all.

Teresa

I am lucky because where I live in CA I am surrounded by apple orchards. Some of them still grow the old fashion variety like Black Twig and others you won't find in the store. They have started to come in a couple of weeks ago.

Before that I would buy New Zealand or Australian or S. American apples at Costco. At least you knew they were fresh. I found a new variety that was actually pretty good called "Pink Lady". Had some real flavor. Don't buy apples from Washington in the summer or early fall because they are last year's crop that have been in cold storage. That is why they shrivel up right away.

DH's favorite is Pippin for eating and cooking. I just made a baked apple from one of our Stayman Winesap. Filled with raisins and walnuts, it was "yummy" to quote my son. It was almost 6" inches across and I am not joking.
Clare

Terri- I so remember those apple machines! It was the only "extra" you could buy during school! They were delicious!
Now days, I only like Fuji's. I was never a fan of golden delicious, granny smith's, pippins or jonathan's.
Good topic Linda!

The Pink Lady was developed by the Ag Dept here in the south of my state. DH and I like them a lot as well. I agree about the Delicious apple losing its taste; I remember when I was a kid Golden Delicious was my favourite but they're not good now :-(. Had a couple of Galas the other day and they were good.

I guess I can now come out of the closet - yet one more who doesn't like Delicious apples. My first choice are Jonathan, then a nice crisp/tart Granny Smith. As soon as Jonathan apples come out I'm busy dehydrating all I can. Since their season is so short, dehydrated is a great way to have them available for snacking.

I purchased a bag of JONAMACs at Sam's Club yesterday, and I think they are great. A handsome, smallish, green and red apple. Perfect for out of hand eating. The taste and texture is similar to a Jonathan.

-Grainlady

Jonagolds are also really good eating apples fresh out-of-hand when you can find them. I had Honey Crisps one time, but had to drive half an hour to a Fresh Market to get them.

Stayman Winesaps have always been my favorite for eating fresh, making pies, applesauce and applebutter but now they are getting scarce too. Now on the rare occasion when I make an apple pie I use two or three different kinds of apples.

Maybe this fall will be a good time for a day trip up to apple country in VA. I can get some apples for the office and for my own use as well!

If you really love a fresh apple, try a Honeycrisp. They are more expensive but well worth it. It's a new variety and the orchards around here are planting them as fast as they can. Great fresh eating apple.
I don't care for Red Delicious either...never did. way too dry.

For baking, my all time favorite is Northern Spy. It's a late variety, nice large apple, tart with lots of flavor and holds it's shape when baked. When I make a pie, I like to use a couple of sauce apples, like Macintosh, mixed in with the Spys....best of both worlds

In mid October, there is a big Applefest held in town. All the orchards around here have booths, including those that specialize in Heirloom varieties....I can go nuts, a little bag of these, another little bag of those...it's a fun weekend. Lot's of baked goods, preserves...huge craft show. It's fun!

Nancy

DH likes Golden Delicious but I keep trying to have him expand his apple repertoire. Since we live in upstate NY and are in apple country, that seems to make sense to me. He has switched to Honey Crisp and enjoys them so much more. My personal favorite is Mutsu. It's an all-around good for everything apple. It tends to be very large in size, the flesh is a creamy white and the taste is somewhat sweet with a nice crisp bite. In some places it's known as a Crispin, but it will always be Mutsu to me. Our local apple orchard is one of the only ones in our area that grow it, so I feel very fortunate to be less than a mile away.

Stopped buying the Red Delicious a long time ago, they are a very disappointing apple. Thanks, Carol, for that info on them, we've always wondered why they stink so bad. Now I know. Such a shame, too, I remember the snap and the juice of that first bite when I was a kid. well,now I always stock up on Macoun, Braeburn, Granny Smith, and the Honeycrisps when we can get them! It's soon, and I can't wait!

But they are very lovely in a stemmed compote on your diningroom table!!
I am wishing i hadn't eaten one because I spoiled the arrangement and now I have to go buy another! And you know they will last for weeks!
But....then again, maybe I will just take the rest to the ball game and get some gourds for the table...gourds....delicious apples....all the same...pretty and tasteless! neither are for eating!
Linda C

I know that sense of loss. When I was a child my uncle would bring down a trunk full of Golden Delicious apples from eastern Washington. They just snapped when you bit into them, full of juice and flavor.

Now I wouldn't eat one on a bet.

Carol

No Red Delicious will pass my lips if I can help it. I like Galas, Fuji, Braeburns, basically anything that has a good sweet/tartness to it. One of the best apples I've tasted is a Ginger Gold. Unfortunately, I don't live in apple country so I'm dependent on what the grocers offer, but the Ginger Gold was at an upscale grocery store a couple of years ago. It was such a nice treat and change from what I normally ate.

Sally

I like an apple that has some pucker power. Red Delicious has absolutely no taste to it any more so I refuse to buy it. Galas, Braeburns and Fujis are the ones I buy now.

Ah, I'm spoiled. I have my own Red Delicious tree and they really are. The boss says they taste like they used to taste when she was a child.

My favorite, though, is still MacIntosh. I just like them. I also like Honey Crisp, Ginger Gold, Fuji, and good old Ida Reds better than Red Delicious. Dad loves 'em though.

Annie

I got my apples for the Apple Maple Jam yesterday. I want to have a nice mixture of apples so bought MacIntosh, Granny Smith, Cortland, Honey Crisp and a couple of Gala.

I love Cortland Apples but they are so hard to find and I was so surprised to see them at my market.

From Wikipedia; Cortland is a cultivar of apple.

After the many attributes of McIntosh were discovered, plant breeders began crossing it with other varieties to enhance its traits. One of the earliest was the Cortland, combined with the Ben Davis variety. Its flavor is sweet compared to McIntosh, and it has a flush of crimson against a pale yellow background sprinkled with short, dark red stripes and gray-green dots.

Cortland has very white flesh and is an excellent dessert apple.

This all purpose apple was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, USA in 1898. The apple was named after nearby Cortland County, New York.

Michelle

Funny... I hadn't liked Red Delicious for a decade or so, but I recently came back to it. I buy the smaller ones--they seem to come in small and freaky-large. The large ones are always mealy and gross to me.

My new appreciation for the Red Delicious could also be that I just moved to a new region in the US (Baltimore from Texas) and I'm getting a different apple selection. Or that pregnancy has completely addled my taste buds (I'm 28 weeks and my DS says my cooking has been affected). Who knows? But I'm no longer enjoying my previous favorites, Gala and Fuji.

~Amanda

Michelle,

I just tried a Honeycrisp today, and boy are they good! My second fave is Fuji, and I'm eating one right now! All this talk about apples made me want one!

When Steve and I were in Washington a few weeks ago, we ate an apple every single day. Wonderful!

Hi everyone: I thought I was the only one who had a problem with Apples.

Linda : Thanks for starting this Post. I learned a lot.

LOU

Linda--I have a couple of Moon and Star pieces, too. A small vase and a vinegar cruet. Just had to comment--you don't hear about that often.

AAH...Another lover of antique pattern glass!
I have my mother's covered compote,and that open compote which I bought...a bowl and a tumbler...
Wish I had a cruet...I have several cruets....and a moon and star would be a nice addition.
However...even though it's lovely, the apples weren't enhanced.
So....how's that a hijack of my own thread!? LOL!
Linda C

Here is another who hates red Delicious, and always did. I do not like mealy apples. I like tart, crisp apples. The new Honeycrisp are ok, and very popular, but are too sweet for my taste. I like Jonathons, but they are no longer my favorite. I like Granny Smiths also, and Cortland, and Paula Reds. But my favorite is Macintosh, but only when they are freshly picked. They are crisp and tart and delicious. However, after they are several weeks old, they too become mealy and soft, then I don't like them. I cannot find a good apple in the grocery, but we have some pretty nice apples here in Michigan.
Lunch today is whole wheat macaroni salad and 2 Macintosh apples! Yummy!
Sherry

Nothing beat an Ida Red but even those are losing quality. The only thing I'd do with a Red Delicious is feed it to the deer. Most of the time I buy Granny Smith or Pink Lady. My last shopping trip I could find no apples worth buying so I bought bannanas... which I understand are also going extinct.

: )
lyra

No mention of Cameo apples? Are they a Southern thing?

I love them when they are fresh: crisp (the prime prerequisite for apples, IMO), juicy, sweet with a tangy edge. They seem to have a short season, though. When I can't get them or they don't look good, I choose Gala or Fiji.

I was in the grocery today and found Ambrosia apples, my favorite.

I was told Ambrosia apples are only available in late fall. Sure enough, last year I could not find them in January. I also miss the old Golden and Red Delicious apples. Pink Ladies and Honey Crisp are good, too, though.