August means apples and apples remain a North American favorite.
Americans eat 28 pounds of apples per year. In fact, all of North America is crazy for the fruit that has been a dietary staple since at least the 1600s.
In 2019, unlike the previous 175 years, people can now buy a variety of apples. Where grocery stores once carried maybe Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious and Granny Smith, now markets may have a dozen different apples.
Of the 7,000 varieties available, here are the current bestsellers:
Honeycrisp – Released in 1991, the Honeycrisp was the first exception to the Delicious apple’s monopoly. Juicy and sweet, the Honeycrisp is a University of Minnesota hybrid of the Keepsake apple and another, unreleased variety.
Fuji – Born in Fujisaka, Japan, the Fuji is a cross-pollination of the Red Delicious and Virginia Ralls Janet. This super-sweet apple stores well, according to Stemilt, a fruit company.
Pink Lady – Sweet and tart with a firm bite, the Pink Lady makes a good addition to salads since it is slow to turn brown after slicing. The Lady comes from Australia where a researcher crossed the Golden Delicious with the Lady Williams apple. The resulting Pink Lady was the first apple to have its name trademarked.
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