Modern apples bigger, less acidic than wild ancestors, study finds

[Sherman A1]

Modern apples are bigger, less acidic, less bitter and store better than their wild ancestors, new research suggests.

The fruit is one of the most heavily produced crops in the world and its cultivation dates back at least 7,000 years, experts say.

Researchers set out to look at how apples have evolved and how apples from long ago compare to modern-day varieties.

They examined 10 apple phenotypes - or traits - to assess how the fruit has changed during domestication and breeding.

https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2022/0324/1288139-modern-apples-bigger-less-acidic-than-wild-ancestors/

[Phoenix61]

1. I love apples. Envy is my favorite. nt

[2naSalit]

2. I've stopped eating apples...

Unless I can get organic MacIntosh, the rest are awful. I don't like the texture or flavor of most of the hybrids on the market.

A few months ago there was a bunch of Honey Crisp apples that were twice the normal size, they were horrible tasting and the texture resembled some plastic representation of what an apple should be like. I couldn't eat it and I find that troubling because I used to like apples.

[doc03]

4. I love peaches but the ones at the store are rarely fit to eat. They are either hard as a

cannon ball or dry as a rice cake. It seems the only store-bought fruit that is reliably good are bananas.
I like Breaburn apples but when I buy them I eat a couple than the rest go to waste. I buy peaches at Amish
produce stands in season, they are delicious.

[Freddie]

8. Yes with peaches

I love peaches but will only buy them at the farm stand in the summer.
I’ve tried for years to eat apples but they’re either too sour or mealy. Even the ones supposedly sweet like Honeycrisp seem tart to me. And in the grocery store you might be getting “old” apples as they store well. I’ll keep trying.

[brush]

3. I remember when Red Delicious apples were sweet...

they aren't anymore and haven't been for a long time.

[rurallib]

5. I had a red delicious tree in my backyard for 30 years

it produced the most wonderfully delicious apples I ever ate.

Red delicious from the store tasted like cardboard in comparison.

[brush]

6. Yep, and mealy tool

[zeusdogmom]

7. I am so glad I have access to a local pick your own orchard

They have The. Best. Apples. Ever. So many varieties including the standard as well as a couple of incredible long term storage varieties the owners have created. I still have a bag of Evercrisp I picked in October and stored in the garage over the winter. Still crisp and wonderful although beginning to signal that I might want to use them sooner rather than later. I haven’t purchased apples in the grocery stores since I discovered this orchard a good 8-9 years ago.

During the summer and fall other fruits and vegetables from other local growers are available. I purchase what I don’t grow myself and preserve in a variety of ways for use throughout the year. I do supplement a bit from the grocery store but less and less each year as my gardening skills improve. Obviously there are some things I will never be able to grow - citrus, avocado, etc. So thankful for this orchard and for good, well stocked grocery store produce departments. And the plant developers who continue to create new and improved varieties.