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The apples you saw were picked 5-12 months ago. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/supermarket-apples-10-months-old-2017-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/su

The apples you saw were picked 5-12 months ago. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/supermarket-apples-10-months-old-2017-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/supermarket-apples-10-months-...

fish_fan 9y ago
I imagine it depends on the supply chain of your grocer. Again, new england might have quality, fresh, local apples. Same with washington.
Skunkleton 9y ago
Supposedly you can tell fresh apples from stored apples by the color of the stem. I might just be relaying bullshit though.
wahern 9y ago
No, those apples are fresh. They're cheap because it's apple season. The gala apples on sale are probably too small to do well in long-term storage. Whole Foods isn't the only grocer selling those, either. I bought a bag and just noticed today that my office (a big Silicon Valley company who sources commercially) put out bowls of the same apples (they're conspicuously small and yellow for gala apples). I don't get all this business about Whole Foods being expensive. I went to Costco, Safeway, and Whole Foods this past Sunday. Per usual, the packaged, vacuumed-sealed ground beef was <= the cost elsewhere; $4.99 at WH, $7.99 at Costco, and $6.99 at Safeway. The chicken wasn't on sale today at WF; it was $2.99/lb for a whole fryer that they'll chop up, though often it'll sell for $1.99/lb. But Costco's $1.99/lb packages were sold out, and Safeway is rarely less than $2.99 either. (WF did have organic whole fryers on sale for $2.29/lb, but pre-packaged so they won't chop them up.) I forgot the exact price because I didn't buy any, but the steaks at WF were no more (and perhaps less) than the Costco steaks. You can buy cheaper steaks at Safeway, but they're not worth the money. Generally, for staples (meat, vegetables, canned goods) I've found Whole Foods to be no more expensive, and often cheaper, than elsewhere, unless I'm buying in bulk at Costco (e.g. a case of canned beans). Whole Foods can do this precisely because people blindly buy their premium products, like prepared foods. Whole Foods sells a huge volume of high-margin items. By contrast, regular grocers make their profit from low-margin staples. Thus, for staples Whole Foods will always be competitive. Moreover, because Whole Foods is upmarket their staples (especially vegetables and meats) are often of better quality if only so they don't detract from the overall feel of the store, and in any event they move quicker off their shelves and are thus often more fresh. Compare the butcher counter at WF to your regular grocer, assuming the regular grocer even has one. I can often get freshly butchered, hormone-free chicken for $1.99/lb (never more than $2.99/lb) at WF; at Safeway the only way to get that price is pre-packaged Perdue chickens. Don't get me wrong--I've walked out of Whole Foods having paid plenty. But it's knowingly and by choice. And there are plenty of times where I've walked out of Safeway thinking, "WTF!?". I'm not looking forward to Amazon's cost-cutting measures. If Whole Foods moves down market it means the premium shoppers will go elsewhere and stop subsidizing my purchases. Amazon can subsidize the prices, but I suspect quality and selection of staples will go down.
- olau 9y ago
  > The gala apples on sale are probably too small to do well in long-term storage. Whole Foods isn't the only grocer selling those, either. When you say "do well", you mean they're not going to generate enough revenue? Because big apples generally lose quality faster in long-term storage, according to a book I inherited on how to run an orchard, from 1948. :) Anecdotally, I find that oversize apples are typically less dense.
  - wahern 9y ago
    The skins were pretty thin and I assumed they'd dry out too quickly given the surface area to volume ratio, notwithstanding the measures taken for long-term storage. But you would know much better than me, as I have no domain knowledge whatsoever. All I know for sure is that they tasted fresh--dense, crisp, and juicy--and didn't seem to be covered in much, if any, wax. The price partly seemed to reflect an abundance given that we're in apple picking season; and partly reflect their relatively small size, even for galas, and odd coloring--strangely yellowish (I checked the stickers and the labels twice).
simonh 9y ago
That article is from April before new season Apples became available, so the ones on sale then were from the previous year. Now that fresh apples are available there's no point using ones from expensive long term storage, meanwhile some of the current crop are going into the vaults now for sale later in the year, and early next year.

The apples you saw were picked 5-12 months ago. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/supermarket-apples-10-months-old-2017-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/supermarket-apples-10-months-...

fish_fan 9y ago

I imagine it depends on the supply chain of your grocer. Again, new england might have quality, fresh, local apples. Same with washington.

Skunkleton 9y ago

Supposedly you can tell fresh apples from stored apples by the color of the stem. I might just be relaying bullshit though.

wahern 9y ago

No, those apples are fresh. They're cheap because it's apple season. The gala apples on sale are probably too small to do well in long-term storage. Whole Foods isn't the only grocer selling those, either. I bought a bag and just noticed today that my office (a big Silicon Valley company who sources commercially) put out bowls of the same apples (they're conspicuously small and yellow for gala apples). I don't get all this business about Whole Foods being expensive. I went to Costco, Safeway, and Whole Foods this past Sunday. Per usual, the packaged, vacuumed-sealed ground beef was <= the cost elsewhere; $4.99 at WH, $7.99 at Costco, and $6.99 at Safeway. The chicken wasn't on sale today at WF; it was $2.99/lb for a whole fryer that they'll chop up, though often it'll sell for $1.99/lb. But Costco's $1.99/lb packages were sold out, and Safeway is rarely less than $2.99 either. (WF did have organic whole fryers on sale for $2.29/lb, but pre-packaged so they won't chop them up.) I forgot the exact price because I didn't buy any, but the steaks at WF were no more (and perhaps less) than the Costco steaks. You can buy cheaper steaks at Safeway, but they're not worth the money. Generally, for staples (meat, vegetables, canned goods) I've found Whole Foods to be no more expensive, and often cheaper, than elsewhere, unless I'm buying in bulk at Costco (e.g. a case of canned beans). Whole Foods can do this precisely because people blindly buy their premium products, like prepared foods. Whole Foods sells a huge volume of high-margin items. By contrast, regular grocers make their profit from low-margin staples. Thus, for staples Whole Foods will always be competitive. Moreover, because Whole Foods is upmarket their staples (especially vegetables and meats) are often of better quality if only so they don't detract from the overall feel of the store, and in any event they move quicker off their shelves and are thus often more fresh. Compare the butcher counter at WF to your regular grocer, assuming the regular grocer even has one. I can often get freshly butchered, hormone-free chicken for $1.99/lb (never more than $2.99/lb) at WF; at Safeway the only way to get that price is pre-packaged Perdue chickens. Don't get me wrong--I've walked out of Whole Foods having paid plenty. But it's knowingly and by choice. And there are plenty of times where I've walked out of Safeway thinking, "WTF!?". I'm not looking forward to Amazon's cost-cutting measures. If Whole Foods moves down market it means the premium shoppers will go elsewhere and stop subsidizing my purchases. Amazon can subsidize the prices, but I suspect quality and selection of staples will go down.

olau 9y ago
> The gala apples on sale are probably too small to do well in long-term storage. Whole Foods isn't the only grocer selling those, either. When you say "do well", you mean they're not going to generate enough revenue? Because big apples generally lose quality faster in long-term storage, according to a book I inherited on how to run an orchard, from 1948. :) Anecdotally, I find that oversize apples are typically less dense.
- wahern 9y ago
  The skins were pretty thin and I assumed they'd dry out too quickly given the surface area to volume ratio, notwithstanding the measures taken for long-term storage. But you would know much better than me, as I have no domain knowledge whatsoever. All I know for sure is that they tasted fresh--dense, crisp, and juicy--and didn't seem to be covered in much, if any, wax. The price partly seemed to reflect an abundance given that we're in apple picking season; and partly reflect their relatively small size, even for galas, and odd coloring--strangely yellowish (I checked the stickers and the labels twice).

simonh 9y ago

That article is from April before new season Apples became available, so the ones on sale then were from the previous year. Now that fresh apples are available there's no point using ones from expensive long term storage, meanwhile some of the current crop are going into the vaults now for sale later in the year, and early next year.