4 ms·

> Here in the UK, apples are very well respected and appreciated. I've an anecdote about that. I worked at an orchard and I was surprised that we picked apples

by dmos62 5y ago

> Here in the UK, apples are very well respected and appreciated. I've an anecdote about that. I worked at an orchard and I was surprised that we picked apples while they were still green. They were a variety that would golden when ripe, I believe. Anyway, I later learned that those were apples meant to be sent to UK (orchard was in France) and that in UK there's a large market for unripened apples (large green ones). I always thought it silly.

comicjk 5y ago
Sounds similar to a Granny Smith, which is meant to be eaten green and a little sour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Smith https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Smith "The apple goes from being completely green to turning yellow when overripe."
- nerdponx 5y ago
  They are also excellent for baking, specifically because they are more sour and less sweet (and they have a good crisp texture).
  - fsckboy 5y ago
    apples with a crisp texture, when cooked, often have a rubbery texture. This is frequently desireable for various pastries because they hold their shape, but generally a mealy apple which softens when cooked is preferred for an apple pie or simple baked apple.
gerdesj 5y ago
Those apples sound like "Golden Delicious" which I believe we in the UK import from France. "I always thought it silly" - fair enough but these are very complex things when you look deeply. At the point of pick, the apple is now a self contained thing. It contains all sorts of chemicals, cells, structures and so on, contained within the skin. If you wax the skin then you might inhibit oxidation for a while (tends to make the flesh brown and sweeter) but the added wax means the skin is now not nice. Let's leave waxing for lemons. Temperature will affect most reactions but too cold will destroy fragile tissues, so let's keep things at roughly fridge temperature, so around 5degC. An apple is a very complex beast, sorry: fruit. There are sugars and an extremely complex cell structure to maintain. The thick skin will keep things stable for a short while but it's not enough. So you pick it unripe and delay those processes a bit.

by dmos62 5y ago

comicjk 5y ago

Sounds similar to a Granny Smith, which is meant to be eaten green and a little sour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Smith https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Smith "The apple goes from being completely green to turning yellow when overripe."

nerdponx 5y ago
They are also excellent for baking, specifically because they are more sour and less sweet (and they have a good crisp texture).
- fsckboy 5y ago
  apples with a crisp texture, when cooked, often have a rubbery texture. This is frequently desireable for various pastries because they hold their shape, but generally a mealy apple which softens when cooked is preferred for an apple pie or simple baked apple.

gerdesj 5y ago

Those apples sound like "Golden Delicious" which I believe we in the UK import from France. "I always thought it silly" - fair enough but these are very complex things when you look deeply. At the point of pick, the apple is now a self contained thing. It contains all sorts of chemicals, cells, structures and so on, contained within the skin. If you wax the skin then you might inhibit oxidation for a while (tends to make the flesh brown and sweeter) but the added wax means the skin is now not nice. Let's leave waxing for lemons. Temperature will affect most reactions but too cold will destroy fragile tissues, so let's keep things at roughly fridge temperature, so around 5degC. An apple is a very complex beast, sorry: fruit. There are sugars and an extremely complex cell structure to maintain. The thick skin will keep things stable for a short while but it's not enough. So you pick it unripe and delay those processes a bit.