Oh, I suppose it could be worse. There are stranger things to be addicted to, I guess. Like tanning (bad for your skin). And texting (bad for the other drivers on the road). And cosmetic surgery (bad for those of us trying, really, really hard to be polite). But still, addiction is addiction... and I'm hooked.
Up until a few years ago, an "apple" for me meant one thing: a supermarket-bought Granny Smith. I'm honestly not sure if I knew there were other varieties. Perhaps I did vaguely, but growing up, our family never had anything but those store-bought Grannys shipped in from across the country. If you had asked me what I thought of apples, my response would have been along the lines of, "Meh." I didn't dislike them, but could I imagine a future where I'd actually pick an apple over candy, potato chips or other assorted junk foods? Not on your life.
One day, a friend of mine spun by Patterson Fruit Farm to pick up a pie. While there, he picked up a small bag of Mutsu apples (they were actually selling them under the name "Crispin" at that time). I tried one and thought, "Hey, this is a lot better than those old, tired Grannys I grew up with." So I asked him to pick me up a bag of a different variety the next time he went. "Surprise me," I said. He returned with a small bag of Stayman Winesaps. One bite and I was in love, hooked for life.
Since then, my passion for apples has expanded. I've become a regular at Patterson's myself, and I've expanded my orchard visits to Eddy, Sage and Rittman. Even more important to my crack-like craving for apples has been local farmer's markets, where I've connected with small-time growers like Schultz and Woolf. Schultz in particular has introduced me to perhaps half of the heirloom varieties you see on the list below.
In 2010, I set out to catalog and rank as many apples as I could. By year's end, I had sampled 84 different varieties. That may seem like a lot, but consider that are around 7,500 apple varieties floating around out there, with more being created all the time. And that's not even counting the thousands and thousands of varieties that have been lost over the ages.
My travels this year carried me to orchards and farmer's markets throughout Northeast Ohio. But I didn't just stick close to home; I also traveled out of state to sample the wares of orchards and farmer's markets in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington D.C. Next year, I intend to expand my travels. I already have targeted several orchards west of Cleveland for visits, and I plan to make a few trips to New York, one of the biggest apple-growing states around. This year was easy; I was starting from scratch, so everything was new. Next year, it's going to be a bigger challenge, but I still plan on doubling the number of apple varieties I sample.
Are you like I was, a non-apple fan who's definition of the fruit comes from boring supermarket apples? Curious about learning more and maybe giving apples a second shot at life in your home? You should, and here are a few reasons why:
- Those store bought varieties you've grown up with? Yeah, they suck. Visit the produce section of any supermarket in your area and you'll find the same handful of apple varieties on display: Red and Yellow Delicious, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, a few others. The reason you keep seeing these few varieties over and over again is a.) they're good shippers, b.) they're disease-resistant strains, c.) the public likes them because they're pretty. Notice I didn't say anything about taste in there. That's because most of these varieties flat out suck (apologies to the Granny Smith, which is actually a pretty darn good apple when bought fresh). The public, quite frankly, is not much of a judge of quality when it comes to apples. Seek out different varieties and you'll be opened up to a whole new world of flavor that you never imagined.
- Shipped apples are dead apples; buy local to experience real flavor. In order to get those apples you see in the supermarket to you before they rot, they have to be picked before they're ready. Then they get stuffed in a crate and carted across the country on trucks. By the time they've arrived in the store, they're days old from harvesting, and by the time you actually place one in your basket, it's been sitting around for another few days. That's no way to eat an apple. You need to pick those babies when they're ripe and ready. Taste a fresh apple and you will never, ever go back to store-bought!
- You don't have to be sad when one of your favorite varieties goes out of season; there's always a new delicious apple on the horizon. Once you break away from buying your apples from the store, you'll quickly discover that you can't have the same variety of apple over and over. New season apples begin appearing around July and continue to pop up through December. During that span of time, apple varieties will come available and then go out of season. Once they go, they're gone for good until next year. That may seem like a downer, especially if you've grown up on the idea that the supermarket always carries a particular variety (that's easy to accomplish when you're shipping in from all over the world), but it's not so bad once you learn that the loss of one variety simply heralds the arrival of another. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life, and it ensures that apple tasting never gets boring.
- Apples are ridiculously healthy. The ways in which apples benefit your health are myriad. What's more, we keep learning of new benefits all the time. The latest findings, for instance indicate that eating apples may help sharpen your brain and stave off Alzheimer's.
- Best of the Best
- Burgundy
- GoldRush
- Karmijin de Sonnaville
- Crimson Topaz
- Cox’s Orange Pippin
- Erwin Bauer
- Stayman Winesap
- Ashmead’s Kernel
- Golden Russet
- Zestar!
Outstanding - Baldwin
- Jonathan
- King David
- Kidd's Orange Red
- Honeycrisp
- Pink Pearl
- Ruby Jon
- Winesap
- Calville Blanc d’Hiver
- Ananas Reinette
- Granny Smith
Very Good - Williams' Pride
- Worcester Pearmain
- Pink Lady
- Wickson
- Esopus Spitzenburg
- Braeburn
- Rhode Island Greening
- Vista Bella
- NY 428
- Newtown Pippin
- Roxbury Russet
- Pristine
- Northern Spy
- Galarina
- Swiss Gourmet
- SunCrisp
- Zabergau Reinette
- Chenango Strawberry
- Piel de Sapa (Toad Skin)
- Blushing Golden
- Spijon
- Spigold
- Saint Edmund’s Pippin
- Holiday
- Tentation
- Magnum Bonum
- Kinston Black
- Autumn Crisp
- CrimsonCrisp
- EverCrisp
- Crimson Gold
- Grimes Golden
- Shizuka
- Kissabel
Decent - Twenty Ounce Pippin
- Lucy Glo
- Ginger Gold
- Rubens
- Elstar
- Liberty
- Alkmene
- Yellow Transparent
- Florina
- Jonagold
- Redfield
- Envy
- Akane
- Earligold
- White Winter Pearmain
- Franklin
- Gravenstein
- Wine Kissed
- Summerset
- Wealthy
- Crimson King
- Rubinola
- Viking
- Keepsake
So-so - Lodi
- King of Tompkins County
- Idared
- King Luscious
- Hampshire
- WineCrisp
- Haralson
- Fortune
- Crunch-A-Bunch
- Granniwinkle
- Blondee
- Cortland
- Pinova
- Summer Rambo
- Sweet Sixteen
- Mutsu
- Lubsk Queen
- Ohio Nonpareil
- Lady Alice
- Koru
- Fuji
- Melrose
- Beacon
Poor - Paula Red
- EarliBlaze
- Rave
- Cameo
- Jersey Mac
- Redfree
- Sweetie
- Tsugaru
- Ludacrisp
- Westfield Seek-No-Further
- Junami
- Senshu
- Kandil Sinap
- Blue Pearmain
- Arkansas Black
- Silken
- Smiten
- Jonalicious
- Nittany
- Fireside
- Duchess of Oldenburg
- Honeygold
- September Wonder Fuji
- Spartan
- Rosalee
- Pazazz
- Shamrock
- Lemonade
- Gala
- Divine
- Enterprise
- Quinte
- Jonamac
- Porter's Perfection
Very Poor - Sansa
- Green Dragon
- Juliet
- Golden Supreme
- Golden Delicious
- Delicious
- York Imperial
- CandyCrisp
- Milton
- Autum Glory
- Ambrosia
- DanDee Red
- SnowSweet
- Red Astrachan
- Macoun
- Geneva Tremlett's
- NY 414
- Tydeman's Red
- Hubbertson’s Nonesuch
- Ozark Gold
- Red Transparent
- Jazz
Dear God… - Empire
- Mollie’s Delicious
- McIntosh
- Hawaii
- Margil
- Eve
- Pacific Rose
- Sunrise
- Sonya
- Pixie Crunch
The 9th Layer of Hell - Lady
- Sugarbee
- Frostbite
- SweeTango
- Rome Beauty (Rome)
- Red Delicious
- Romeo