(2004-10-19) Apple Buying

(Not the computer, I'm talking about the fruit.) My apple of choice is the Fu Ji (second choice: Gala), even though I feel bad because they rarely come from New York State (Buy Local). I was intrigued to notice that my apple this morning had a URI on it - for Gee Whiz Fruit - which tells me that it was grown in Washington State. Which I'm sure fascinates you.

Aug'2005: the Wa Po on the decline of the RedDelicious. Who's to blame for the decline of Red Delicious? Everyone, it seems. Consumers were drawn to the eye candy of brilliantly red apples, so Super Market chains paid more for them. Thus, breeders and nurseries patented and propagated the most rubied mutations, or "sports," that they could find, and growers bought them by the millions, knowing that these thick-skinned wonders also would store for ages... Lee Calhoun, the apple historian, is not as sure. "You could live a lifetime and never see a BenDavis these days." The RedDelicious "is an apple that has done its duty and is on its way out." That view is borne out at the Brookville Super Market in Chevy Chase, where manager Sidney Hersh offers RedDelicious at 20 cents a pound cheaper than GoldenDelicious, Granny Smith, Fu Ji and Gala varieties but sees the others outselling it by as much as 2 to 1. "People want something better," he said. "I would say in the past couple of years, something has changed."