apple: Sansa

[redbird]

Yellow apple, mild but pleasant. I think I'd like it better if the flavor more intense and/or sweeter, and a little crisper would also be nice. Cattitude said the flavor reminded him of a banana, and Adrian agreed, strongly enough that she suspects they crossed a Golden Delicious apple with a banana.

Comments

[cmcmck]

Not one I know although I don't count golden delicious as an apple!

[redbird]

The useful and interesting Orange Pippin website tells me that a lot of other apple varieties are descended from Golden Delicious. It is identified as the parent of apples including Gala and Elstar, both of which I am quite fond of, as well as Opal, Pink Lady, Jonagold, and Mutsu. The more distant or "probable" descendants given there include Honeycrisp (a popular apple that is in fact sweet and crisp, but not very interesting).

[redbird]

Also per Orange Pippin, Sansa is a cross between Gala and a Japanese apple, Akane.

[adrian_turtle]

Why don't you consider golden delicious to be apples? I've heard lots of people (including me) say that of red delicious, because those are bred for appearance and sturdiness rather than taste. They don't have much aroma or flavor at all.

But I really like the scent and sweetness of golden delicious. They aren't especially crisp, and they bruise easily, so I can see why a person who mainly likes a crisp, tart, apple would prefer something closer to a granny smith or a russet. But that's different than not being an apple.

[cmcmck]

I'm a Maid of Kent which is the UK's apple central and something as awful as a golden delicious just isn't considered to cut it. We dont grow them much in the UK but people seem to be willing to buy them as a French import and pay over the odds to do so.

I'll admit to my own favourite being the egremont russet.

[adrian_turtle]

Aha! I've never had a golden delicious grown in France, and I'm not surprised that it's terrible. Not because I expect French fruit to be terrible. Just because I expect it to be different from the same varietal grown in places I know.

I've lived in 3 places where good apples grow well. (Michigan, upstate NY, and New England.) Vicki used to live in a couple of others and go to farmers markets all the time.) I discovered I like Northern Spies from Michigan, and Jonathans from New York. And Roxbury Russets from New England. Galas and Macouns grown in upstate NY or New England range from moderately good to excellent, while those grown in WA range from boring to terrible. It's not just storage and shipping. I've been to Seattle farmers' markets. The apples are consistently awful. I don't know why a land so ill-suited to growing good apples insists on exporting them. Maybe it's because they don't want to eat them?

[cmcmck]

The latest nice one we've discovered grown locally (Shropshire) is the red robin which is a new cross between Cox's orange pippin and Worcester pearmain- mostly red with a littl green and firm, sweet (with a nice dry sweetness) and juicy.