What happened to the Red Delicious apples?

ipoma Issue 02 presents

The Fall of an Icon

How the Red Delicious has become a victim of its own success

  • For 70 years, the Red Delicious dominated the apple market in the USA. But now the iconic fruit has become little more than a decorative object. Why is that? 
  • The Official Interpoma Magazine ipoma Issue 02 provides some insights on this topic through the article 'The Fall of an Icon'*.
  • 'The Fall of an Icon' brings back voices of experts in the field and traces a historical path of this apple sort. Here you find some abstracts and inputs from this article.
  • Do you have some more questions? Contact us now!


  1. The Red Delicious origin and history
  2. Benefits and faults of Red Delicious
  3. In which markets is Red Delicious still popular?
  4. The Red Delicious in the US apple harvest
  5. The Red Delicious apple shortage
  6. More readings

 
*by Bettina Gartner, p.18 ipoma Issue 02, edited by exlibris, ©FieraBolzano ITA 2022

Markus Bradlwarter

Markus Bradlwarter

South Tyrol Variety Innovation Consortium, Managing Director

Red Delicious has become a victim of its own success. The focus has increasingly been on cosmetic appeal, and people forget that the quality on the inside also counts.

Markus Bradlwarter

South Tyrol Variety Innovation Consortium, Managing Director
1 — 1

The Red Delicious origin and history

Like a Coca-Cola bottle 

   

  • Created by US farmer Jesse Hiatt in the 1880s, the Red Delicious was added in the 1920s by the Stark Company in its assortment. From then on it became an 'iconic apple' in the public's mind, and one of the most popular on the market.
  • The Red Delicious stays looking fresh for so long that the New York Apple Association recommends it as a decorative object in wreaths and holiday table centerpieces.
  • 'Like a Coca-Cola bottle, the Red Delicious stands firm on its
    five bumps, encased in its comparatively thick skin' Markus Bradlwarter says.

Benefits and faults of Red Delicious

How storability influences taste and texture

   

  • While having many advantages like being healthy, resistant, and able to be stored for long, Red Delicious Apples are slowly disappearing from orchards and therefore also from supermarkets. 
  • The reason for this is simple: while remaining esthetically pleasing when stored for up to 8 months, the Red Delicious’ taste and texture during this process suffers greatly. Instead of reaching the customer crisp and tasty, they mostly arrive mealy and tasteless.

'India, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, and Argentina are also tradition-bound markets' for the Red Delicious apples, says Walter Guerra, head of the Institute for Fruit and Viticulture at South Tyrol's Laimburg Research Centre.

The Red Delicious in the US apple harvest

  

  • In the US state of Washington, which produces two-thirds of all American apples grow, the proportion of Red Delicious in the apple harvest has dropped from its peak of 75% in the 1980s to just 16% in 2021.

The Red Delicious apple shortage

'Why can't i buy red delicious apples?'

  

  • Today's customer prefers crispier and tastier alternatives like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Gala, and it's only going to be a matter of years until Red Delicious is going to disappear for good. 
  • It is therefore their very success of their storability that have led to the downfall of this once very attractive variety.
  • 'No-one is interested in a bog standard product any more' Markus Bradlwarter says. 'It won’t be long before the Red Delicious disappears from the market altogether.'
  • Do you like this contents? Are you an apple professional or enthusiast? If you're interested just in this topic, you can download 'The Fall of an Icon'. 
  • If you are interested in the whole ipoma Issue 02 Magazine, you can read it digitally also download it. For free.

  


Download 'The Fall of an Icon' article

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Download the whole ipoma Issue 02 magazin

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→ Table of content ipoma Issue 02

→ Quo vadis USA?

→ With Love and Craftsmanship

→ Preview ipoma Issue 03 - Coming soon

→ Read ipoma Issue 01

→ Download ipoma Issue 01

→ Table of content ipoma Issue 01

→ Back to the top

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Giulia Montanaro

Giulia Montanaro

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