You think the Apple iPhone is easy to use? Consider the apple.
No buttons, dials or plugs, just a stem, peel and some seeds. Its insides are not full of mysterious circuits, just flesh as crisp as the fall air. Its batteries won’t die; rather, it will recharge yours. Price? No comparison: Even with the recent drop, at $400, the iPhone costs 1,600 times as much as a Red Delicious (25 cents).
The Colorado crop – of apples, not electronic devices – might be a little down this year because of a freeze this spring, but the 15 million pounds of locally grown apples that will make it to our tables should be in good shape, says Harold Larsen of the Western Colorado Research Center.
He’s looking forward to biting into a Western Slope Cripps Pink Lady, a late-maturing sweet-tart, almost fizzy fruit that will appear here in November. Also perfect for eating out-of-hand: Cameo, Fuji, Gala and Honeycrisp.
And this time of year, we want them in pies, cakes and sauces, even with roasts and risottos.
For pies, look for apples that hold their shape when cooked: Cameo, Jonagold and good ol’ Granny Smith. Some people combine “saucy” apples like McIntosh with baking apples to create a moist filling.
Gala, Red and Golden Delicious are tied for the state’s No. 1 crop, but Reds will soon fall behind as growers switch to pricier and tastier Galas to meet consumer demand. “The Red Delicious was bred to the point where it’s a beautiful red piece of cardboard,” says Larsen. “When they bred for color, they lost the flavor. People are willing to pay more for Galas.”
Like the iPhone.
Lieutenant Dan (of “Forrest Gump” fame) knew what he was talking about when he gave Tom Hanks’s character investment advice: “Lieutenant Dan got me invested in some kind of fruit company.”
Many Colorado fruit companies are switching from apples to peaches, which overtook apples in 2002 as the state’s largest fruit crop, now at 2,200 acres, with a value in 2006 of $17 million. In 2006, about 1,400 acres of apple orchards yielded just $5 million. And grapes are threatening to overtake apples, says Larsen.
The good news is that Honey-crisps and organics are potential growth areas here, Larsen says.
To find Colorado-grown apples, shop at farmers markets or look for the Colorado Proud label at your grocery store.
Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com.
