An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

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Cole
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#106 Post by Cole »

John wrote:
Ghosts wrote:John, how about a personal ranking of beer varieties?
Would you believe that I have never had but a few sips of beer in my life? :oops: I do believe we have some beer aficionados amongst us, though. Practically anyone would be more qualified to judge beer than I.
That's surprising, any particular reason for that? Is it alcohol in general you don't drink a lot of, or just beer specifically?
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#107 Post by John »

Badgers wrote:
John wrote:Would you believe that I have never had but a few sips of beer in my life? :oops: I do believe we have some beer aficionados amongst us, though. Practically anyone would be more qualified to judge beer than I.
That's surprising, any particular reason for that? Is it alcohol in general you don't drink a lot of, or just beer specifically?
Alcohol in general. No special reason, unless you consider me finding the taste of alcohol unappealing "special." Of course, this blog should probably be a reminder to me not to paint with broad strokes. Just like there are thousands of different apple varieties, each with their own unique flavor, there are thousands of different beers out there. I'm sure if I tried enough of them, I'd find one I like. I'm just too filled up on apples to go beer-tasting. ;)
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#108 Post by Lions »

New Glarus has you covered.

Note that I have not tried this...
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#109 Post by Bill »

John wrote:I'm sure if I tried enough of them, I'd find one I like. I'm just too filled up on apples to go beer-tasting. ;)
You know, for the apple connisseur...there is hard cider. :lol:


Not to threadjack, but I do like the beer list idea. I'm sure I could come up with a best of from each category. Let's start a thread. I'd like to try a couple new things.
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#110 Post by Neil Thomas »

Warriors wrote:
John wrote:I'm sure if I tried enough of them, I'd find one I like. I'm just too filled up on apples to go beer-tasting. ;)
You know, for the apple connisseur...there is hard cider. :lol:


Not to threadjack, but I do like the beer list idea. I'm sure I could come up with a best of from each category. Let's start a thread. I'd like to try a couple new things.
Sorry yall I can't be much help in the beer department. I am a good high schooler :D
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#111 Post by John »

Nutmeggers wrote:New Glarus has you covered.
Warriors wrote:You know, for the apple connisseur...there is hard cider. :lol:
Now this is what I call "synergy"! :lol:
Warriors wrote:Not to threadjack, but I do like the beer list idea. I'm sure I could come up with a best of from each category. Let's start a thread. I'd like to try a couple new things.
Do it! Like I said, there have to be as many varieties of beer as there are of apples, and there's probably at least as big an audience for a good beer list as an apple list. Share your knowledge so we can profit from it! ;-D
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#112 Post by John »

Apple #118: Junami
Junami (also known as "Milwa") is a softer apple with a light tropical flavor. While the flavor is relatively pleasant, it is too indistinct to make the apple a standout, and the fact that it isn't especially crisp doesn't help, either. It's actually quite similar to Idared, one of its parent apples. That apple also had a tropical sweet flavor yet failed to stand out from the pack. Despite the low rating, Junami, which is a product of Switzerland, is actually quite a bit better than most supermarket club apple varieties.

John's Rating: 2.5
Overall Ranking: #71
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#113 Post by John »

Apple #119: Autumn Glory
The "glory" here is how an apple born of such taste-negligent parents as Golden Delicious and Fuji can earn anything other than a flat "1" on my rating scale. A little of Fuji's tropical overtones come through, just enough to avoid calling Autumn Glory completely bland. I appreciate its crispness, but the flavor simply isn't there to recommend this club variety that you can pick up at Whole Foods.

John's Rating: 1.5
Overall Ranking: #94
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#114 Post by Bill »

Not that I consider anything on Yahoo particularly newsworthy, but....news flash, apples are good for you!

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/eat-l ... 00322.html


I mostly point this out because:
1) Any excuse to bump the apple thread is a good one
2) It's apple season...go eat an apple
3) This reminded me of one of my first comments in the thread was something like, "huh, I always thought apples were not nutrient dense, mostly just fiber and sugar and water." Since then, I've learned just how wrong I was. This articles one of the ways I was wrong. Polyphenols don't show up on any FDA labeling.

I wish NC had better apples. Everybody has the same 8 varieties and they have to truck them like 3-4 hours from the mtns. That said, I'm not moving north just to get better apples.
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#115 Post by John »

The health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables are legion, and apples are one of the very best foods of all for your long-term health. Not only that, but apples are the #1 food that I recommend to clients with weight-loss goals. For many people, the difficulty in having success with weight loss lies in portion control; specifically, you just can't seem to stop eating when you know you should. The reason is the kinds of food you're eating. Foods high in sugar but lacking in fiber send no break message to the brain. They just keep hitting you with the same message over and over: "Sugar! Energy! More!"

Apples have the sugar that we crave and that provides us with energy, but they also have a healthy dose of fiber (so long as you leave the skin on, which you better darn well do since that's where all the nutrients live). Eat a couple of apples and notice what happens - you start to feel full. That fiber sits in your gut and sends a satiated message to the brain. You stop eating because you're no longer hungry, not because you have to will yourself to stop.

If you're struggling to lose weight, try adding an apple or two to your meals. I'll bet that you notice that you don't feel like having as big a meal when you add the apples because you're feeling fuller quicker. It's just an added bonus that apples are so ridiculously delicious. :D

Apple ranking update: Visit the first post in this thread and you'll notice that I have never stopped updating my apple rankings. Indeed, I made another update this very day, and more are coming. I expect to be sampling my last new apples of the season next week: Galarina, Juliet, and a bizarre chance offspring of Juliet that exists in only one orchard in the world and was cleverly dubbed Romeo. Once I have rated these new apples, I'll be posting my 2013 apple season review roundup right here. This is the height of apple season, so print out my ranking list, make a trip to a local orchard, and see if you can find some of the better apples there. Don't rely on supermarket apples if you can help it! They are so inferior to farm-fresh apples, it's like eating an entirely different food.
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#116 Post by John »

Meet the new apples of 2013
I discovered 25 new apple varieties in 2013, some of the them true standouts. Uncovering new apples is a real joy for me. The search itself is half the fun. I have traveled all over the state just to uncover a new variety. This year, I plan to expand my search outside the borders of Ohio to locate even more new apples.

You don't need to get on a plane to find the best apples, though. Most of you have orchards in your locality. I cannot stress enough how much better locally grown produce tastes. Heck, even a locally grown Golden Delicious is at least edible (don't get me started on the waxed versions you'll find in the supermarket).

I challenge you to make a trip out to an orchard come apple season. Mark September 15-Novermber 15 on your calendar. This is when you'll find the biggest selection of apples. Make more than one trip at different times during the seasons to catch different varieties. Try picking up a variety you're familiar with from the supermarket and comparing it with an orchard version. You won't believe the difference, I promise!
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#117 Post by John »

Meet the new apples of 2013

The Bad
  • Romeo (#149) - Romeo is literally a mistake. Windy Hill Apple Farm in Newark, OH ordered Juliet Rootstock from Purdue and ended up with something ... else. Cleverly, they called this unknown bounty "Romeo." It's a star-crossed apple, if ever there were one. Bitter to the core, Romeo is the only apple I rate a "0."

    Frostbite (#145) - Try sticking your tongue on an electrical socket smeared with antifreeze. That's Frostbite. :-P
    Hawaii (#138) - I'm told it's supposed to carry pineapple overtones. I detected nothing at all. Another bland Golden Delicious offspring.
    Red Astrachan (#124) - Summer apples aren't usually standouts, but Red Astrachan is a particularly weak summertime offering. Look for Pristine instead, or better yet, Zestar!
    Juliet (#113) - Has a Fuji-like flavor, and since Fuji is one my least favorite apples ... pass.
    Green Dragon (#112) - A sweet club variety in the mold of Golden Delicious; no surprise, since GD is one of its parents. Sadly, it inherits GD's blandness.
    Divine (#107) - This club variety has a little crunch but nary a hint of distinctive flavor. Why bother when you can do so much better?
    Shamrock (#105) - Consider yourself lucky if you notice any hint of its supposed sweetness.
    Blue Pearmain (#94) - I know people who require an apple to be crunchy or else it's DOA. I don't feel that way myself, but Blue Pearmain is too mushy even for my tastes. To be fair, the one I had came from Whole Foods (ugh) via Vermont. I'd like to try a local version before closing the book on Blue Pearmain.
    Tsugaru (#90) - I like big apples and Tsugaru certainly has the size. Unfortunately, some varieties that run extra large come short on flavor. Mutsu is the perfect example, and Tsugaru is an even softer version of Mutsu.
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#118 Post by John »

Meet the new apples of 2013

The Decent
  • King Luscious (#69) - Lives up to the first part of its name, at least. This sucker is huge; don't even dream of eating it on your own. The sweet flavor doesn't loom nearly as large, though, and the apple trends towards softness.
    King of Tompkins County (#68) - If the light tart flavor were as cool as this apple's name, we'd have a real winner here. Known by a variety of different names, including Tompkins King and King.
    White Winter Pearmain (#58) - Large and sweet. You'll notice a lot of sweet apples falling into my mid-range here. I should note that I prefer tart apples, so if you see me rate a sweet apple as "decent," it's probably going to be very pleasing for someone who prefers sweet apples.
    Alkmene (#55) - Having the incredible Cox's Orange Pippin as a parent only goes so far for Alkmene. Still, the apple has a reasonably pleasant, mild flavor, while not being overly crisp.
    Florina (#53) - After hearing great things about Florina, I came away a bit disappointed. It has Jonathan, one of my favorite apples, as a parent, and it's certainly a fine apple. It's just not a standout. I'd call it a decent sweet apple with medium-to-good crispness. This apple's trademarked name is Querina.
    Liberty (#50) - Nice and crisp with a mild but pleasing flavor. A great apple for those who don't like particularly tart or sweet apples.
    Blondee (#48) - Similar to the more readily available Ginger Gold with its crisp, bright sweetness. Most growers I know diss Blondee as being just a glorified Golden Delicious, but I think there's a little more to it. If you know nothing but GD, Blondee is a perfect graduation upwards.
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#119 Post by John »

Meet the new apples of 2013

The Great
  • Zabergau Reinette (#34) - Love that name! The apple is great, too. It's similar to St. Edmund's Pippin with its rough russet texture and mild flavor.
    Worcester Pearmain (#23) - A poor man's Burgundy. Consider that Burgundy is my single favorite apple and you'll realize that this isn't damning with faint praise.
    Williams' Pride (#22) - Soft but flavorful. It's a tart-first apple with an appealingly sweet undertone. I'm always a fan of apples that combine multiple flavors in one package.
    Ananas Reinette (#18) - West Coasters, you need to be on the lookout for this nifty little apple. It's lunchbox sized, but it packs a wallop of tartness into its compact form factor. Couldn't ask for a better apple to send with the kids to school.
    Pink Pearl (#14) - I love the beautiful pink-stained flesh, and the moderately tart flavor. Truly a beautiful apple inside and out.
    Erwin Bauer (#6) - Tastes like Cox's Orange Pippin, and that's high praise indeed. You'll note the hint of banana when you bite in. The orchard I bought them from grew them big, making it a perfect sharing apple. RATING: 9.5
    Karmijin de Sonnaville (#4) - First, this may be the single coolest name for an apple in existence. Second, this apple rocks my socks. It has a rough texture like Cox's Orange Pippin and a tangy tartness that gets more pronounced as it ages. RATING: 9.5
    King David (#3) - The best new apple of 2013! What a wonderful Jonathan-like flavor! But there's more, so much more. The flavor is terribly complex. It has a vinous aroma to it, and a hint of vinous flavor, as well. Finding this one will be hard, but you will be well rewarded if you seek it out. RATING: 10
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Re: An apple a day: My personal ranking of apple varieties

#120 Post by Apollos »

Hooray! I was afraid you'd run out of new apple varieties to try, John. I'll look forward to seeking these out in the coming year!
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