The Red Delicious apple was unintentionally created in the 1880s and grown extensively since 1892. However, changing growing conditions and harvest have caused the apple to lose some of its original flavor, texture, and appeal, leading to a decline in consumer demand. Washington state is the largest producer of Red Delicious apples, but their taste and appearance have changed due to mass production. As a result, some of its offspring, such as Fuji, have become more popular, leading to a decline in demand for Red Delicious.
A Red Delicious apple is an American fruit unintentionally created in the 1880s from a random seedling and grown extensively since its introduction to the public in 1892. The first version of this apple was a round, yellowish fruit, but changing growing conditions, fertilization, and the harvest transformed the Red Delicious into a more oval shaped apple with a deep red colour. The taste has also changed, and the apple that was once known for its superior sweetness has lost some of its original flavor, texture, and overall appeal. Since the 1980s, production of the Red Delicious apple has steadily declined due to declining consumer demand.
The Iowan farmer who grew the original Red Delicious named it Hawkeye and entered a contest. Hawkeye won the contest, run by Stark Nurseries, and changed the name of the apple to Stark Delicious. In 1914, it was renamed Red Delicious in an attempt to distinguish it more clearly from the newly acquired Golden Delicious.
Over time, Washington state has become America’s largest producer of the Red Delicious apple. The trees, which need six to eight hours of sunlight each day, do best in hot summer climates. But they are drought tolerant and need cooler autumn weather to thrive. Washington State provided perfect growing conditions and began offering Red Delicious apples for sale year-round. Although the harvest season runs from September to December, the apples are packed in cold storage in abundance, so they are also available in supermarkets the rest of the year.
As the Red Delicious apple was mass-produced in a variety of orchards and more apples were placed in cold storage, their taste and appearance began to change. The new cultivars were longer, redder and less sweet than the original Hawkeye. If growers don’t harvest their crops at the optimum time, the resulting apples may be mealy or tasteless. Consumers noticed these changes and inconsistencies in the Red Delicious variety and bought fewer of them. In 2003, Red Delicious accounted for just 37 percent of Washington State’s apple production, down from 75 percent in the early 1980s.
As Red Delicious production declines, some of its offspring have been more successful. Fuji, a cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet, has become increasingly popular. Red Delicious was also bred with McIntosh apples to develop the Empire variety and crossed with Cox’s Orange Pippin to create Kidd’s Orange Red. As these offspring gain more exposure and grow in popularity, the demand for Red Delicious may decline further.
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