How does Red Delicious apple taste? Introduction to American apple variety characteristics
Red Delicious is one of the most famous apples in the United States and one of the most widely grown apple varieties. Although the names are similar, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious are completely different varieties. There are many other similarities: both varieties were discovered in the United States in the late 19th century, both require a warm climate, both have interesting histories, and both are essentially sweet apples.
Red Delicious is a “sport” of the original Delicious apple, and its bright red color made it more commercially successful, and it has become a very important commercial apple variety, especially in North America.
Red Delicious is a medium-sized apple with a tall conical shape. Its dark and intense deep red color makes it the quintessential red apple, with strong shelf appeal. Many improved “sports” have been developed, the most famous of which is probably Starking.
Unfortunately, the visual appeal does not match the taste. Red Delicious has a sweet but very mild flavor, somewhat reminiscent of a slightly overripe melon. The flesh is juicy and bland. The skin can be tough. Overall, Red Delicious is a very refreshing apple, but its main characteristic is that it has almost no flavor at all.
Some enthusiasts also believe that in developing higher-colored variants, the good flavor of the original Delicious has been bred out.
Many further red Delicious sports have been developed, including: Oregon, Otago, Red Chief, Red King, Red Spur, Richared, Starking, Starkrimson, Starkspur.
Red Delicious, like Golden Delicious, began to grow in popularity. According to the “Washington Post”, the share of Red Delicious in the harvest in Washington State, one of the main apple-growing regions of the United States, fell from 3 / 4qtrs over 20 years in 2003 to slightly more than 1/3 of production. Lack of flavor is considered one of the factors, and in Europe (where flavor may be relatively more important to consumers), Red Delicious has never been as successful. It is worth noting that the vast majority of American Red Delicious production takes place in Washington State, where the cool autumn climate helps produce the perfect deep red color and distinctive conical appearance. Red Delicious grown elsewhere in the United States often does not have the same level of red coloring, forcing growers to use some of the redder sports, which in turn do not always have the conical characteristics consumers associate with Red Delicious.
Red Delicious is widely used in breeding programs because of its bright red color and crisp flesh. It also has useful growing qualities - it has a reputation for good fire blight resistance and cedar apple rust resistance. Its most interesting modern descendant is probably Fuji. It is also a parent of Empire, from which it inherited some of the melon flavor. It may also be a parent of Cameo.
