Red Delicious Apples Lose Top Spot

[BakerAunt]

I read in this article that Red Delicious Apples are no longer first in popularity.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/08/red-delicious-apples-suck-so-good-thing-theyre-no-longer-the-most-produced-in-american-orchards.html?mc_cid=013cb6e11d&mc_eid=f134d2cd76

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[Mike Nolan]

I always wondered why they had the top spot to begin with, as they aren't very flavorful. Macintosh used to be the most commonly grown apple in Nebraska orchards, but I don't think it has the top spot here any more.

[BevM]

I rarely buy red delicious apples any longer since I find that they are sometimes "tasteless". I had lunch with my grandson on Tuesday for grandparents day and a red delicious apple was provided with his lunch. Since he didn't eat it I brought it home to eat later. It was almost green inside with no flavor. I just wonder how many ended up in the trash bin. Such a waste.

I ate half the Apple and put half in my Apple cake!

[skeptic7]

I have an apple book written by a man who detest Red Delicious. Apples of North America by Tom Burford.

He is notorious for his hatred of Red Delicious. Among other things he loves hard apple cider and thinks that Red Delicious are worse than useless for this.

A Red Delicious didn't use to be so bad. It was a fair-to-middling eating apple from Iowa. However people started selecting cultivars for a deeper more complete red skin, and a more elegant shape and somehow the flavor and texture suffered in the process. Also a lot of apples are stored in controlled environments and that alters the taste for the worse. A fresh Red Delicious might taste all right.
Also its solely an eating apple. I like apples that are good for both cooking and eating.

[BakerAunt]

It's the same issue that David Matsumoto discussed in his book, Requiem for a Peach. He had a wonderful peach he grew on his farm in the central valley of California, but market forces nearly drove him to bulldoze the orchard. An essay in the L.A. Times magazine led to rediscovery of his flavorful peaches that do not keep well in cold storage and so were spurned by markets. He did end up keeping the trees, but the book defines the real difficulty farmers face when markets--and the public--demand show over flavor.

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