Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
worst of the crash, the number of farms growing apples declined by 20 percent, and more
than 40,000 acres of orchards were pulled up.
By one agricultural economist's calculations, Red Delicious growers lost money on
every case of apples sold throughout the 1990s. Another figured that fewer than 15 percent
of Washington State apple farmers were earning enough from their harvests to support
their families without outside income.
Having weathered the worst of this, American apple farmers are now cautiously op-
timistic. Because of low quality, poor handling and lack of storage facilities, the Chinese
have not been as successful at exporting as it was feared they would be. More important,
at least for apple eaters, when those new Pacific varieties of apples could no longer be
sold as profitably overseas, they started turning up on domestic shelves. And guess what?
It turned out they had pretty good flavor. From being almost unknown twenty years ago,
Gala and Fuji are now the third and fourth most widely grown apples in the United States.
The Gala harvest has increased by almost 500 percent since the 1990s, and the Fuji harvest
has tripled. And that turned out to be just the beginning. Hard on their heels came Jon-
agold and Braeburn, then Honeycrisp, Empire and Pink Lady (also called Cripps Pink).
Since apples are one of the few fruits that are still sold labeled by variety, American
shoppers are having to learn a whole new set of names, including those for old varieties
that haven't been heard of in decades. Now it's a rare market in any area cold enough to
grow apples that doesn't have at least one farmer selling heirlooms such as Arkansas Black
and Cox's Orange Pippin out of a bushel in the back of his truck. But the odds are that the
same guy will have boxes full of Fujis and Galas, too. Here's a quick rundown of some of
these apple varieties.
• Fuji. A Japanese-bred cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet. Introduced in
the United States in the 1980s, this big, sweet, crisp apple varies in color from golden to a
slight pink blush in cold climates. It holds its shape in cooking and is a great sauce apple
with a buttery flavor. It stores well (in fact, some say it improves with storage) and can be
good into late summer.
• Gala. From New Zealand, a cross between Cox's Orange Pippin and Golden Deli-
cious, Gala was first introduced in 1965 but began to become popular in the United States
in the 1980s. This aromatic, tart apple is golden with pinkish orange stripes. It holds its
shape in cooking and is a great sauce apple with a buttery flavor overlaid with a bit of
spice. It is among the first apples harvested, usually starting in the middle of August, but
it does not keep very well. Don't buy Galas after early spring.
