NYC

Red Delicious USED to be delicious until they started messing with it to make it more shippable and storable, which ruined it. I agree that it's the worst, probably in that it’s the most disappointing.

Agreed, red delicious (isn’t)

@LoneJack Zn 6a, KC I don't agree about NYC, but you are really funny!!

I've picked red delicious off the tree and it's an entirely different apple than what you buy at the store. They were huge and delicious.

Crabapples have to up near the top.

LOL, LJ!

Agree with red delicious, although I recall having some as a kid that were crisp and sweet. The skin could tend to be bitter.

I think it can depend on what variety and what you use it for. Though not always, McIntosh can be good for eating, but not baking. They break down and turn to mush, so maybe for applesauce.

We lived on an old farm for a few years with an apple orchard available to us. Lots of really old fashioned apples, planted to ripen throughout the season. Not all were great, tho some were fabulous. I didn't care for Russet or Pippin and one other I've forgotten, but I still think the disappointment over Red Delicious is #1.

Apples and all other fruit and vegetables are grown to ship, not for taste. That is why home grown and farmer’s market stuff is so good and expensive.

Sherry wrote:

”Apples and all other fruit and vegetables are grown to ship, not for taste.”

Somewhere out there is a good essay on tomatoes (good shipping tomatoes) by Hamilton Jordan. I think it appeared in the NYT Magazine, way back. It was accompanied by an architectural-like drawing of a tomato.

Anyone want to race me to finding it?

I agree. Red delicious... the way they used to be...tasted like the best apple. But then they got mealy and the skins too tough and they became the worst. We have a very old apple tree that we don't tend but will occasionally give good apples. Those old fashioned, unadulterated red delicious are so wonderful! Now my faves are gala and fuji. But there are other good ones. Not a fan of macs and granny smiths as they are too tart for me.

Any apple in my hand or on my plate that's mushy and not crisp is the worst.

Oh, what I wouldn't give for an old fashioned Washingto red delicious apple! They were SO good! And shipped fine to Southern California. But they weren't happy in long term cold storage. Now they all have the worst effects of too long in the friedge fresh from the store and dare to lure people into buying their awful selves.

But... there's worse. I don't know the names because there are so many. I try a lot of newer varieties and try to remember the good ones.

Early macs (MacIntosh) are good, a bit tart and snappy. They are good to include in applesauce or pie filling bc they break down and add to the sauce background. I usually bake apple pies with Macs and Cortlands.