if Only I knew more about apples…If

Ah, the edible, crisp, juicy apple; a true icon among fruits.  While it may not boast the flashiness of some exotic produce, it’s hard to deny it’s a front–runner in the fruit section of every fruit dealer and the number one consumed fruit in the US. 

While prime-apple-time season is coming to a close, you still have a couple of weeks to pick some good ole’ grannies.  Suppose you bag a bushel – there is some nuance in storage – so you have a snappy snack versus a mushy mess.  If you display your pickins in a beautiful bowl, you have a week or two tops, but don’t let direct sunlight peek into the party.  If you want to keep your wares longer, the refrigerator’s crisper drawer was designed to aid your apple preservation.  Depending on the fruit of the tree, you can extend the life from 2 weeks to several months.

Should you need longevity with your orchard fruit, you can freeze them, but don’t fool yourself that they will be crisp like right off the vine.  The water in those yummy treats will freeze too, expanding.  The thaw will lead to softness, which on the upside can be perfect for baking.

Which is the apple of your eye?  The most popular variety sold in the US is the Gala, regardless of Honeycrisp’s crunchy sweetness and the Granny Smith tartness.  The fact that is outselling the Cosmic Crisp is shocking, the result of 20 years of cross-breeding to perfect an apple for taste, crispness and long shelf life.

While it is as American as apple pie to grow apples, literally all 50 states grow apples.  However, even at an incredible 26,000 growers over 380k+ acres, the US can’t compare to China’s production.  In an apples-to-apples comparison, it’s not a fair fight.  China produced 10 times as many apples in 2021. 

I am not going to compare apples to oranges, but I will leave you with a cautionary tale of your innocent enough apple.  Do not think apples and oranges, or any other produce, can get along in storage without ramifications.  While apples hang out in your crisper drawer, apples release a small amount of ethylene gas.  Ethylene happens to promote ripening, especially leafy greens, berries, and a variety of vegetables.  This can help if you are in a hustle to use your blackberries or a hinderance if you get spoilage of your tomatoes.