Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - [NAFEX] (no subject)

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: fuwa fuwa usagi <fuwafuwausagi@muchomail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] (no subject)
  • Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 17:55:09 -0800 (PST)

Someone queried about the relationship between location/climate and the taste
of apples. As my job involves a whole lot of travel, and as Nafex is filled
with people more than willing to ante up an apple or two to a famished
looking rabbit, I have had the opportunity to sample the same type of fruit
in many different localities in the same year. I'll attest to the fact that
the same variety of apple grown in the south taste very different, and the
texture is different, and the harvest time is different than the same variety
grown in the north.

Northern Spy is a great example. Grown in the north and allowed to mature it
is one of the most desirable things I have ever eaten, grown in the south it
is mealy, and rather bland. Arkansas Black is got to be one of the pickiest
things I have ever encountered. It seems down near Ed's piece of heaven that
it ain't worth a darn, but grown over around Little Rock it is quite the
delicacy. Dr. Matthews is awesome in Northern Indiana, but on par with
sweetened sawdust around Chicago. Honeycrisp is another, grown in cooler
conditions, with calcium and a steady supply of water, without excess water
during the last month of maturity it is awesome. Grown in the south, without
regard for how it is grown it is just like sugary watermelon, all crunch and
no real flavor.

Soil plays a big role with some apples, yet some varieties could care less.

So in the end, where you are, how you grow them, and are the suitable for
your area dictates the quality of your apples. Macs are great where the
nights are cool, and not worth a darn where the nights are hot and humid.

And perhaps most important of all is "picked right". Something
Edwardo/Eduardo/TheWonderousMrEd can do, and the fluffy one can't.

Lastly, remember commercial apples are usually chosen to perform over a wide
range of conditions. But they still taste different based on locale.

I guess if I was really trying to start a small commercial orchard I would
consider laying out the cash and test running 200+ different varieties in
addition to starting out a test block of my assumed money crop. With those
200 apples you might hit something that is really special under your
conditions, something that might in fact seem rather unique. In my area we
have a seedling apple called Millington. It is a darn good apple that
originated here. Crisp, juicy, tart like Macs used to be. Strangely it
likes hot humid August-Septembers. Yet outside this area it is not worth a
hoot.

Excelsior,

The fluffy bunny


_____________________________________________________________
The Free Email with so much more!
=====> http://www.MuchoMail.com <=====

_____________________________________________________________
Select your own custom email address for FREE! Get you@yourchoice.com w/No
Ads, 6MB, POP & more! http://www.everyone.net/selectmail?campaign=tag




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page