by Leeann Barton — originally published February 2008
Once, I went to an apple tasting session sponsored by Dave Wilson Nursery. Dave Wilson Nursery is a supplier of bare root fruit and shade trees. The product they sell doesn't look especially pretty, rather like a medium size stick branched on both ends.
Apples were graded on appearance, firmness, ripeness, texture, acidity, sugar and flavor. All of these end up being a matter of personal opinion of what constitutes a really good apple. Some like softer, very sweet apples with a definite eye on attractiveness. Others, like myself, prefer some crunch and tartness to balance out the sugar.
First, choose a variety that is suited for our hot summers. Taste the apples purchased at the local farmers market. Their flavor will be more accurate than an apple purchased from the grocer.
If grocer's apples are grown in a climate entirely different from ours, the difference in taste may be evident. Ask around: fruit growers always love to share what they consider their best.
Fertilization also affects flavor and nutritional content. (If the mineral is not in the soil it cannot be absorbed and retained by the plant.) Apples are most prominent in the potassium they provide to our diets. Why should you care? In a nutshell, potassium has shown to lower blood pressure and help to prevent heart attacks. A lack of potassium is connected with an increase in the incidence of blood clots.
Fertilizing for flavor and nutrition is relatively simple. A light application of nitrogen is recommended in late summer. This way, the usable nitrogen will be stored in the roots until spring. This avoids the problems resulting from too much nitrogen: bitter pit and coloration problems.
I was surprised to taste the subtle differences in the varieties I tasted, each unique, some more pleasing than others. I learned the difference between antique and heirloom apples - heirlooms being a chance occurrence and antiques being intentionally bred. I was surprised to learn many of the apples that I considered modern were actually over a hundred years old. Granny Smith and Arkansas Black, for example, both date to the mid-1800's. Others represented on many older homesteads, for instance Braeburn, Jonagold and Fuji, are less than fifty years old.
In the last 150 years, over ten thousand varieties of apples have been introduced in the United States. Few make it to the market in the form of trees for sale. Fewer yet make it to the grocers or farmers markets for purchasing. Stick with the tried and true.
