Posted on 10/14/2007 3:51:02 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
EGG HARBOR, WI (AP) -- Signs advertising Honeycrisp apples dot the Door County peninsula, where travelers and local families eagerly pony up $2 per pound or more for the prized fruit.
That's still cheaper than in Milwaukee, where Barb Lucking paid $3.25 for two Honeycrisp at a farmer's market. They're firm, she said, with "sweetness, but not tartness."
"I'll buy these all the time, where I'll pass up the other ones," said Lucking, 55.
Introduced in Wisconsin 16 years ago, Honeycrisp have been a boon to apple growers, some of whom might otherwise have gone out of business. They command two to three times the retail price of other varieties and grow best in the Midwest, giving growers here an edge on competition from Washington state, which dominates the apple market.
"It's been a very good thing to help keep the apple industry alive in the Midwest," said Doug Shefelbine, who has 25 acres of Honeycrisp on his orchard in Holmen. "The growers finally said, 'At least now, we're finally able to make some money and keep going.'"
The miracle of the Midwestern apple industry was nearly lost.
Four test trees at the University of Minnesota suffered damage during a harsh winter and had been marked to discard when apple breeder David Bedford began work there nearly three decades ago.
"A little bit on a lark, I decided to undiscard it," Bedford said. "A couple years later, they started bearing fruit, and I was pleasantly pleased with the quality of it. I guess it's just one of those little nuances of fate."
Apples' flavor comes from slight variations in their sugar and acid levels. Honeycrisp is considered a "balanced" apple, something between a tart, acidic Granny Smith and the sugary, but sometimes bland Red Delicious.
But more important than its flavor, growers say, is Honeycrisp's texture. Many liken it to watermelon in the way the fruit breaks when bitten, releasing a spurt of juice. Bedford calls it "explosively crisp."
The cells in a Honeycrisp apple are unusually large, twice as big as in some other varieties, Bedford said. That allows each cell to hold more water, which it releases in a burst when cracked.
The university's apple breeding program released Honeycrisp in 1991. Early interest was mostly in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, partly because of the university's location and partly because the tree does best in areas that have a cool early autumn with a significant drop in temperature at night.
Tim Byrne, vice president of sales and marketing for Pepin Heights orchard in Lake City, Minn., distributed samples of Honeycrisp in markets across the Midwest and South during its launch.
"The first response was usually, 'Wow!', because of the texture," Byrne said. "They had never experienced anything like that."
Orchards in the Midwest have been troubled by low prices and pressed by competition from Washington state, which produces more than 60 percent of the nation's apples.
The price of processing apples, those sold mostly to restaurants and bakeries, hasn't changed for decades, said Michael Evans, of Evans Brothers Fruit Co. in Frankfort, Mich. Northern Spy sold for 13 cents per pound in 1973, and his company is getting 12.75 cents per pound now, he said.
They can make four or five times as much by selling Honeycrisp to a wholesaler.
"In this area of the country, probably nothing is doing better than Honeycrisp for the grower," Evans said.
That's partly because of limited production. More orchards are putting in Honeycrisp trees, but it takes about three years for them to bear fruit, so supply still hasn't met demand. Most farm stands are sold out by Halloween, and Honeycrisp disappears from stores soon after.
The apple also commands a higher price because it's difficult to grow.
The tree doesn't deliver calcium to the fruit, so farmers have to spray it with a calcium solution to prevent spots.
Labor costs are higher as well because the apples must be thinned in the spring and then picked in two or three waves in the fall. Most varieties ripen all at once, allowing for one picking. Some farmers also clip the apples' stems to keep them from piercing the thin skin during transport.
"We like to call it not grower friendly, but consumer friendly," said Steve Wood, who runs Wood Orchard Market in Egg Harbor with his father and son. "If we grow Honeycrisp like Macintosh, we just don't get good apples at all."
The apple's quirks have made it less attractive to growers in Washington state, allowing those in the Midwest to establish themselves as the leading suppliers. But with the lure of high prices, interest and production in Washington has grown.
The state will produce 400,000 boxes of Honeycrisp this year, said David Carlson, president of the Washington Apple Commission. Within a couple years, it will generate 1 million to 2 million boxes, with each box containing 40 pounds of fruit.
That would still be only 1 percent or 2 percent of Washington's overall production, Carlson said.
But it could make a big difference for smaller growers in the Midwest. They worry about Washington flooding the market with cheaper produce of a lesser quality.
"That's the fear we have, that there's not as good Honeycrisp that might come out of the warmer part of Washington that people might not be as happy with," Wood said.
Carlson said farmers need to expect at least a little price drop. Honeycrisp were selling at $3.98 per pound at one point, he said. "How many people want to pay that much for an apple?"
You won't regret planting one if you have the room. :)
Foodie Ping!
Made the annual pilgrimage to Gays Mills a couple weeks ago. Honey Crisps were among the purchases made. Yum.
Wisconsin Apple Farmers Thank You! :)
We’ve been on our farm for close to 14 years now, and have steadily added fruit trees to the few scruffy trees that were here in the orchard from way-back-when.
There is room for six more fruit trees, and at least four will be Honeycrisp apples. ;)
We also have Wolf River & Bonnie Best which are Wisconsin natives and also very tasty; they’re not producing quite yet, though.
These apples are awesome. Try one if you can find one.
How do they compare to Spy’s for pie? I don’t want a mushie apple in my pie. Thanks
Great tasting apple. We planted a tree last spring.
I liked the Honeycrisp the one time I tried, but have always returned to my favorite, the Gala from NZ. If it is grown in the Midwest, though, I’ll have to give the Honeycrisp another try.
My great-grandfather used to buy a bushel of Sheepnose (Black Gillyflower) every year and they were the best apples I ever tasted. The one time I was able to buy them they were mealy. And between the deer and my kid with the lawnmower I have not been able to grow my own.
Ditto that, awesome apple!
no apples are better than upstate NY fresh off the tree Macs, or McCouns, or Cortlands.....I know....I used to pick em.
Are they anywhere as good as Fuji apples? YUMMMMMM.
Try the Pink Ladies, they are firm with just the right amount of sweet/tart taste for eating. They also go well in apple cinnamon swirl bread.
That’s the cool thing about FR. Where else can you find Conservatives that know their apples? LOL!
**Freeper Kitchen Ping**
Great name. I saw some at Costco last week and was tempted. Now I’ll have to pick up a flat.
Ping
Normally, I don’t like apples. Most of the time they are too grainy, but not these!
If I get the chance, I’m gonna plant a couple in my yard soon!
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