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Comment by samch | Hacker News Reader

Nice database (got a brief glimpse before it was hugged to death). Personally, I’ve always really liked this apple rating site (no affiliation):

https://applerankings.com/

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Specialty Produce is also great to check out for produce nerds. They have an app where people can report sightings of specialty produce at local produce markets, farmers markets, grocery stores, etc

https://www.specialtyproduce.com/

(also no affiliation)

This is hilarious thank you.

I used to work for some growers on various bits of custom systems and some of those fruit names were their big sellers.

Some of these are a moving target.

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-honeycrisp-apples-went-from-...

This explains why I can't get a decent Honeycrisp anymore. They used to be seasonal but the ones we get in Washington are not good anymore. Usually you get 3 or 4 varieties of which one is Honeycrisp, one is Cosmic Crisp, and one is Granny Smith. Recently the Cosmic Crisps have been good, but you have to look for a skin that is as red as a Red Delicious and a flame that is yellow or white but never green.

I find the color criteria for Cosmic Crisps seems to work for Honeycrisps too. But good Cosmics are more consistently available.

Yeah, consumers and growers are silly in their own ways which lead to this.

Consumers want the same fruit all year round even though growing fruit(or any plant/vegetable) is very region & season specific.

Growers are big cargo cultists when they see a particular crop getting attention they all rush in. The past 5 years has seen record planting of avocado crops in Australia that now the growers either rip them out or have to sell the farm.

Just enjoy a delicious tasty snack in the appropriate season, and if it’s not on the shelf when you go to the shop then find another in season delicious tasty snack.

Meh. Boom and bust cycles are common in most agricultural industries. Avocados are no different. In fact the industry in Australia seems to have already rebounded

I think it's region dependent and how they travel. A store near me has "organic" ones that are huge and can be 1+ lbs and are very sweet, crisp, and juicy. Then I've seen big box stores selling them by the bag and they're hit or miss but sometimes terrible.

I don't think those factors are left to chance with an apple like Honeycrisp that had a 20-year rollout plan. (or whichever the new hotness is, Cosmic Crisp? I'm partial to Pink Lady.)

Rather, think about all the apples picked that don't meet grocery-store grading. One little bird peck and you're applesauce... ok maybe not exactly.

But the biggest (most vapid) apples go to the store aisle and the little ones (for whatever reason) go to Snack Bags. By the time you see 'em, apples have been graded and picked over to maximize sticker price.

Oddly, for a small grower, the fruits which don't make the cash-crop fresh-eatin' apple cut, might become higher-margin products like cider, jam, pie filling.

It's REALLY hard as an amateur to grow a grocery-store-perfect apple. (I made a lot of applesauce and canned pie filling.)

Blanket apple ratings are silly. You need ratings for apple on hand, baking apple, pig apples, etc.

Pig apple? Is that bad apples that are fed to pigs? Why would you need to rate those? Aren't they just, by definition, lowly rated apples?

maybe it's the apple you use in the pig roast?

the apples that are so far gone with worm/larva frass I called "deer apples". Because I could make a pile and the deer would take them. I've also seen deer "climb" trees to get apples.

Well, the pigs have preferences too

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