7 ms·
Something kind of similar goes on in the produce aisle with bags of apples vs individual apples. Bags of apples have a very high percent mass loss when peeled
by VLM 10y ago
Something kind of similar goes on in the produce aisle with bags of apples vs individual apples.
Bags of apples have a very high percent mass loss when peeled and rotted parts cut off and served into apple pies or apple sauce or canned into brandied apples and are very small making a huge amount of labor to peel like ten mini apples per pound.
Individual apples are large and about can select externally flawless apples, and the surface area to volume scaling means for a given amount of finished product your compost pile will have maybe half the compost. Also the labor demand is immensely lower, it takes just as long to peel a baby apple from a bag that smaller than a baseball as it goes to peel a freakishly large individual apple thats bigger than a softball.
Solely on price per pound, bags of apples are mystifyingly cheaper than individual apples per pound, but in terms of final product and factoring in the labor annoyance of prep time, individual apples are often a much better deal.
I suppose much as there are people shocked that I find applesauce making and brandied apple canning fun and recreational and stress reducing, there probably exist people who are shocked that everyone doesn't find apple peeling and coring to be meditative and chill. For people who enjoy spending hours peeling tiny little apples, a 5 pound bag of little apples must be pure joy to them.
- blakesterz 10y agoThat reminds me of the pistachios WITH shells Vs. pistachios without shells. A bag without the shells is way more expensive per pound, but from what I've read it ends up being a bit cheaper per nut because those shells weigh something. Plus those things are just hard to get out of the darn shells sometimes.
- nathanvanfleet 10y agoI would say that you should pay a bit extra so you don't have the emotional cost of having that one pistachio you couldn't possibly open.
- wavefunction 10y agoI've opened that pistachio with force. You're better off leaving it closed! (It seems from my exhaustive studies that pistachios that "won't open" aren't worth opening.)
- erikcw 10y agoAgreed. To me the pistachio that can't be opened is equivalent to the clam that doesn't open in the pot. Now you won't get sick from the pistachio, but the quality is never the same.
- nathanvanfleet 10y agoOr the one you just barely fit your nails in, and try to pull it apart?
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoAnd the shells harbor mold. I'm allergic to pistachios, but apparently its the mold that is the real problem.
- blt 10y agoOTOH, the shells help deter you from eating a pound of delicious pistachios in one sitting.
- criddell 10y agoRemember pink pistachios? I used to buy them all the time and the other day I realized that I haven't seem them in years. This scene isn't going to make sense to future viewers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-TCvaNuKNQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-TCvaNuKNQ
- arprocter 10y agoIn a bag of nuts with shells there are always a few which lose their shells in transit and they never taste as good to me. Could it be some ancient hunter gatherer mental reward system thing?
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoMy grocer's bag of apples is not 50% waste per pound. Its often the same apples in a bag. Volume discount. I suppose that just means they're all too expensive...
- gruez 10y agoI think you misread the parent's post. >and the surface area to volume scaling means for a given amount of finished product your compost pile will have maybe half the compost He means that the big apples have half the waste compared to small apples.
- JoeAltmaier 10y ago"Bags of apples have a very high percent mass loss when peeled and rotted parts cut off"
- 3pt14159 10y agoI buy the smaller apples precisely because there is more skin to flesh. So if I eat two small apples this means more fiber and a little bit more potassium vs if I'd eaten one large apple. Plus I find the flesh is usually more flavourful and less mealy.
- brendoncrawford 10y agoThe smaller apples seem to be more flavorful as well.
- robertcope 10y agoThis is why I buy them. In general, I think small fruit tastes better.
- gmac 10y agoMaybe also more pesticides and more wax, unless you buy organic.
- oftenwrong 10y agoDepends on where you are. In the US, "organic" apples can be sprayed with pesticides and coated with "wax" (actual wax or other wax-like coatings).
- dragonwriter 10y ago> Maybe also more pesticides and more wax, unless you buy organic. In which case it also means more wax [0] and more pesticides [1]. [0] just not petroleum-based [1] but only "organic" pesticides
- morsch 10y agoMaybe in the US. In Germany (and I assume many other places), organic apples are not waxed, and typically don't have any residual pesticides on them.
- 10y ago
- maxerickson 10y agoA lot of people call the bagged apples hand apples and eat them without any preparation. Extensive rotten parts on the bagged apples would also be a klaxon call not to buy produce from that grocer.
- pjc50 10y agoCooking apples are different varieties, anyway. The best reason to process apples at home is if you have them fresh off the tree.
- maxerickson 10y agoFor US common apples, Braeburn and McIntosh both straddle the line between cooking and hand apples. (I think they are both terrible hand apples, but my preference for crispness overwhelms other considerations)
- drunken-serval 10y agoBraeburn pairs well with cheddar cheese. :D