# show of hands; u like a red delicious apple?



## boomchakabowwow (Sep 4, 2015)

i'm talking.just washing it and biting into it. not cooking applications.

who likes them like that? just eating one. it might be my least favorite eating apple. skin is too thick..meat is mealy. i cant remember the last time i tried one. 

sorry..slow news day


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## Bill13 (Sep 4, 2015)

Horrible apples! I can't figure out who is buying them and thinking as Seinfeld would say "now that is one tasty apple".


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## cave_dweller (Sep 4, 2015)

Nah. Exactly as you say, mealy, powdery texture, almost no flavour. I never eat them. On the other hand, I go through lots of Cox's Orange Pippins and Russets.


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## aboynamedsuita (Sep 4, 2015)

I've gotten organic RDs that are nice and crisp, but often they have the mealy texture which is undesirable. Apparently RDs have been hybridized over the years to be sweeter.


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## Timthebeaver (Sep 4, 2015)

Filth.


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## chinacats (Sep 4, 2015)

Worst apples ever...partial to Stayman Winesaps and Black Twigs.


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## Jordanp (Sep 4, 2015)

I would suspect no one as they suck waaaay better eating apples out there only acceptable use for RD is applesauce as you can add things to it to improve the flavour.


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## Zwiefel (Sep 4, 2015)

never ever a red apple, for all the reasons mentioned above...for me it's always: 1) honey crisp, 2) granny smith, 3) golden delicious (I usually only buy these if I want to sprinkle with citric acid as part of a meat/cheese board).


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## Smurfmacaw (Sep 4, 2015)

Honeycrisp or winesap for me. I can't for the life of me understand why red delicious are so popular. Arkansas blacks are also really good but hard to find.


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## MAS4T0 (Sep 4, 2015)

I've not eaten them since I was a child. 

I remember repeatedly seeing them in fruit bowls looking shiny and delicious and then reading the sticker, seeing "Red Delicious" and thinking I was in for a treat only to bite into it and get a mouth full of powder it's like eating rice paper. As I was about 5 at the time it probably took a couple of dozen of these experiences before I realised that I was being duped.

Granny Smith, Cox's Orange Pippin, Jazz and Cripps Pink are where it's at.


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## Mrmnms (Sep 4, 2015)

My kid insists on them, in spite of making every other good variety available to them. I was once told "you eat with your eyes first"


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## Dream Burls (Sep 4, 2015)

Fijis, honeycrisp and my favorite, macouns.


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## Cheeks1989 (Sep 4, 2015)

honeycrisps or bust.


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## aboynamedsuita (Sep 4, 2015)

The galas which I've been getting are pretty nice, some of the local apples are good now if you don't mind the tartness. With any apple there is nothing more disappointing that biting into one that is limp and soft.


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## brooksie967 (Sep 6, 2015)

Ahhhh, those red delicious trees should be uprooted and replaced by the likes of honeycrisps, pink ladies, royal galas, fijis and more! I'm spoled living in Nova Scotia and having access to pick-my-own honeycrisps that are absolutely delicious and the size of softballs!


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## ecchef (Sep 6, 2015)

Agreed. The best use for RD trees would be to turn them into smoking chips.


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## _PixelNinja (Sep 6, 2015)

Pink Lady or Granny Smith for me. Om nom nom...


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## toddnmd (Sep 6, 2015)

Hate. 
Most misleading name ever.


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## goatgolfer (Sep 6, 2015)

chinacats said:


> Worst apples ever...partial to Stayman Winesaps and Black Twigs.



I was POSITIVE Black Twigs were a soul band from the '70s. But, Google says they are a real apple. Who knew?

OP: Mealy is correct; photograph beautifully; Kardashian of apples.

HoneyCrisp is my go to but not the monster ones, too much of a good thing. Lunchbox size.


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## daveb (Sep 6, 2015)

goatgolfer said:


> Kardashian of apples.



I'm nominating you for quip of the year.


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## Zwiefel (Sep 6, 2015)

daveb said:


> I'm nominating you for quip of the year.



I'll second the nomination and call for a vote. Nailed it.


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## Bill13 (Sep 7, 2015)

QUOTE=chinacats;374145]Worst apples ever...partial to Stayman Winesaps and Black Twigs.[/QUOTE]

lus1: except for the Black Twigs - but only because I've never heard of them before.


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## brooksie967 (Sep 7, 2015)

I forgot to add that I like snow apples best for baking.


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## LukeL (Sep 7, 2015)

Honeycrisps are the beginning and the end for me. I prefer them a little smaller, too. Otherwise they kind of break the bank. When they are in season and their best, I knock back a couple every day.

When I was young our family always got a variety called Ida Red. I've never seen them at the grocery store and the orchard we went to when I was little was sold to developers and they bulldozed 'em all and put up a strip mall. They were crisp and an intriguing mix of tart and sweet.


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## Noodle Soup (Sep 7, 2015)

You can grow dozens of better varieties but they are hard to find in stores. Many years ago I was told that growing apples from seed was a waste of time because they never come true to the apple you planted from. Then about 25 years ago I moved to a 100+ year old homestead with lots of ancient apple trees on it. Apple seed gets spread all over the pasture and many sprout. What I have found is something like 30% of the seedling trees are totally bland or bitter and I cut them down. 30% are so-so and I use them for making hard cider. The other 30% can turn out to be something far superior to anything you are going to find in a food store.


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## boomchakabowwow (Sep 9, 2015)

Zwiefel said:


> I'll second the nomination and call for a vote. Nailed it.



thrice!!


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## 99Limited (Sep 9, 2015)

You RD haters are a harsh bunch. :yuck: 

I'm going to go against the current here and say that I like RD just fine. I don't find the texture mealy at all but rather crisp and sweet. In fact I had one this morning for breakfast. I'm wondering when was the last time any of you actually ate a new season crop RD?


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## aboynamedsuita (Sep 9, 2015)

I've had some really nice organic RDs, but they seem to be hit or miss (more so miss). It seems to be seasonal, different times if the year thy are better/worse


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## Noodle Soup (Sep 10, 2015)

99Limited said:


> You RD haters are a harsh bunch. :yuck:
> 
> I'm going to go against the current here and say that I like RD just fine. I don't find the texture mealy at all but rather crisp and sweet. In fact I had one this morning for breakfast. I'm wondering when was the last time any of you actually ate a new season crop RD?



I'm always hearing that RD's aren't as good as they used to be. My grandfather's orchard had one that was planted sometime in the late 19th century. I tend to assume it was one of the original RD's. Totally sucked as far as I was concerned and I never ate them.


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## ChefJimbo (Sep 10, 2015)

Honey Crisp................nuff said


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## XooMG (Sep 10, 2015)

I am just a dirty heathen but almost never know the variety of apples I am eating.

edit: after a few minutes checking, seems the standard ones here are Gala and Red Fuji.


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## chinacats (Sep 21, 2015)

Bill13 said:


> lus1: except for the Black Twigs - but only because I've never heard of them before.



Because it's coming into the best part of apple season I was able to pick up some of my favorites...Stayman on the left and Black Twig on the right. Bill, these came from your home state though likely a lot closer to me than you


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## Dardeau (Sep 21, 2015)

chinacats said:


> Because it's coming into the best part of apple season I was able to pick up some of my favorites...Stayman on the left and Black Twig on the right. Bill, these came from your home state though likely a lot closer to me than you



Man, I keep waiting. We have a guy that goes to north GA every week during season and brings apples down. His GA connection isn't quite harvesting yet, but it should be getting close.


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## Nick_Hall (Sep 22, 2015)

My understanding is that red delicious apples have a great shelf life compared to a lot of (better) apples, so they're perfect for grocery stores. Hence their popularity. Our local orchards have numerous hybrids that cross RD apples or yellow delicious apples with other apples that are less terrible in order to gain the shelf stability of red delicious apples with decent flavor.


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## Noodle Soup (Sep 27, 2015)

An ex-forestry boss of mine got fed up with the timber company we worked for and went back to his Dad's eastern Washington apple orchard. He told me he puts the RD's in cold storage all winter and anything still left unsold by late spring goes to Tree Top for apple juice. That may not be the best way to produce good eating apples.


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## Noodle Soup (Sep 27, 2015)

I guess my favorite apple most years is the semi-dwarf Freedom we planted out by the barn. Has a huge crop of fruit almost every year. But there at least a dozen wild seedlings and unknown name antique varieties around this place I like nearly as well.


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## DDPslice (Sep 28, 2015)

Eating an ambrosia apple with Greek yogurt was really good and I dont like apples all that much, except in pie.


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## Adirondack (Sep 29, 2015)

Macouns and Empires. Can't get them down here. Not even at Whole Foods. Damn, I miss upstate NY apple country. Made hard cider from freshly pressed apples. Apple fritters direct from the fryer at Deer Run Orchards. Man, they're good!

Oh, and the only good pear is a Seckel Pear. Just sayin'.


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## chinacats (Oct 1, 2015)

One more favorite and first I've seen them this year. This is a Crimson Crisp (it's red and quite delicious):


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## Dream Burls (Oct 3, 2015)

Just picked two big bags of Macouns right off the tree yesterday at an orchard in Red Hook, N.Y. in the Hudson Valley. My wife made a pie last night which was absolutely delish and I've been munching on them ever since.


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## richard (Oct 3, 2015)

Surprised this discussion has gone for four pages and no one's mentioned this article from The Atlantic magazine. Interesting read...

*The Awful Reign of the Red Delicious - The Atlantic*
_How the worst apple took over the United States, and continues to spread_
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-evil-reign-of-the-red-delicious/379892/


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