Dark apple

[vilakins]

I bought a bag of organic Royal Gala apples yesterday, and today noticed that one of them either isn't, or is a very strange one. I've never seen an apple so dark. It looks more like a plum.

Have any of you seen such a thing? Is it an extreme variation of Royal Gala, or is it a type I don't know that somehow got into the bag?

You can see there's a fair variation in colour for the others.





At least it gave me a quick topic for today's art.

[Edit] It seems that apples that dark do turn up now and then. We'd just never seen one.

Comments

[trixieleitz]

I have not seen a Royal Gala that colour before. Does it have a similar flavour and texture to the others?

[vilakins]

We haven't eaten it yet. Greg just got back from a day in Wellington so I'd say there will be apples for dessert tomorrow night. :-)

[vilakins]

Do you think it's another type of apple? Have you seen that colour in a different sort?

[trixieleitz]

Not off the top of my head - I have seen some that were very dark red, but not purple (and I don't know what variety they were). I was just thinking that if the other characteristics are similar, it might just be a very dark Gala :)

[vilakins]

I assume it's a Gala since it's in the same bag and you can detect stripes in places. I shall find out tonight. :-) Apples and cheese after dinner.

[linda-joyce.livejournal.com]

I've never seen an eating apple that colour but Beth bought a dwarfed crab apple tree in spring last year and it has flowered and set fruit this year. It's fruit is exactly the same colour as your dark apple. I'll go tak a photo of it later on to show you.

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

That just looks as if its red colour is a lot darker than others - you can see its still got the same sort of 'markings' as the other. I am presumably a genetic effect there ...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Greg thought it looked like a big crabapple too. It looks like the others though except for its colour.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought. It's almost dark maroon in places, like a plum, but you can see faint stripes like the others.

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

Yes. We get those in the shops from time to time:).

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Huh. Neither Greg nor I have seen that colour. Thanks!

[linda-joyce.livejournal.com]

Then it is probably a genetic anomaly after all all cultivated apples descend from crabs.

[bramblyhedge.livejournal.com]

*adopts Witch-from-Snow-White voice* Take a bite of this apple...
;D

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It does look rather like that!

[samantha-vimes.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was thinking how stronger colors often mean better nutrition and flavor. Well, actually, I thought "Om, nom, nom."

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

It looks like a Snow White apple. Eat with care :P

[executrix.livejournal.com]

Before you cut into it, ask if wants to be taken to Your Leader.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Apples are funny things, in that the bit of the tree bearing the fruit is often grafted onto rootstock of a different species. According to Wikipedia "Most apple trees in modern orchards are grafted on to dwarf or semi-dwarf trees planted at high density." I'm wondering if one branch on one of the trees in the orchard could have grown straight from the original rootstock without anybody noticing, and that branch's fruit got harvested along woth the rest.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

The root stock isn't usually a type to give large fruit, and you can usually tell from the leaves if it's a sucker from the roots.

Apples are definitely weird though, think of all those varieties, Bramley is one, that are triploid and need two different pollinators to set fruit. Your apple had three parents, that's not natural!!! (Except that it is.)

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

It's got a tan?

Actually I think it looks tastier than the others. In spite of the darkness of the hue, it's still clearly a Gala.
The Galas in our shops usually come in a variety of colours, usually the generic yellow/ red but sometimes darker or lighter. Though that is the darkest one I've seen!

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

I think they're changing the apple again. The original Gala was smaller, rounder, much more yellow (a lot of them had lovely peachy pink patches), and more tasty (I could SMELL them when I was approaching the produce, so sweet, so APPLE). I'm *pretty* sure they crossed the Gala with the Red Delicious (which I have never liked) to get a larger apple with more red color (but far less taste and grittier flesh) which they named the Royal Gala.

Now I wouldn't be surprised if they crossed the Royal Gala with something else to get the almost purplish red. When you eat it, I wonder if you'll notice a different taste?

[corvuscornix.livejournal.com]

I don't know about Royal Gala but it's not an uncommon colour of apples in general around here. While I prefer green apples to eat, I like to get those really dark ones for Christmas decorations, and I haven't had any trouble finding them at that time of year. :-) I think mine may have been Ingrid Marie:s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Marie) though. But the majority of any particular batch tend to be lighter-coloured for those too, supporting the idea that the purplish ones represent the tail end of the genetic variation.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

We will be having it and another one with cheese after dinner tonight! The taste test will also show whether it's actually a Royal Gala or something else.

Yes, the more colourful the better! I like to buy dark frilly lettuce, red lettuce and cabbage, peppers of all colours--and the rich purple potatoes (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FCAIce2NVWk/SHv-EIFfYxI/AAAAAAAADE8/ydAmR3RYrzM/s400/DSC01621.JPG) you can get here called tutai kuri (which means dog turds because of their shape (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2574/4108543462_d79435da07.jpg)) which are packed with goodness.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

You're the second Finn who knows them! I've seen apples as dark as the ones in that link, but this one is deep purple in places. Yes, I'm thinking it's just an extreme variation of the Royal Gala since the others vary quite a bit in colour, but in the yellow-red range.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I prefer Galas too, and Braeburns. Royal Galas are still better than Red Delicious (for which only the "red" is true). I don't think they've changed them; the others look the same as ever, with their usual variety of yellow and red. I basically got them because they're not too big and they're organic.

We're going to do a comparison taste tonight for dessert since Greg was in Wellington yesterday.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yep, even in that bag there's a lot of variety, from paler yellow to lots of red, but that's got dark purple in it. I think it's just an extreme variation. We're doing a comparative taste test tonight.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

We're going to eat two tonight to compare flavours. I think it's a Royal Gala though; its the same shape and you can see faint stripes.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

:-D You're the second person who said that, and it does look like it! I doubt she'd be jealous of my beauty though. ;-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I haven't actually got one (I loath the National IOW Tory Party and "free world" implies none) so it's being eaten tonight along with another one to see if they're the same type. Sorry, apple, but This Is Your Destiny.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

I was just googling Gala apples- apparently there are many different types because it's so popular. The red one might possibly be a Crimson Gala, a sport that was found in a nursery of Royal Galas.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Aha! I described it as a sport! [googles images] They're nowhere near as dark as mine. I wonder if the orchard noticed it and will breed from it. I don't think apples will grow in our clayey soil but I might keep the pips.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

Or-- it could just be an older apple. I read another site after that and found that they keep a very long time, and the longer they're stored the darker they get, with some becoming a dark red.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

Well, the Gala did originate in New Zealand, so it's worth a try!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It's apple season now, though! I'll see how crisp it is when I eat it tonight.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

They did! I think Braeburns did too.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

Gosh, that is a dark apple. *blinks*

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Apparently they get them in Finland and Sweden, but it was new to me too. I may keep the pips.

[corvuscornix.livejournal.com]

Swede, actually. :-) Though I suspect that in the case of apples it hardly matters, considering how close our countries are. A combination of shared climate and shared traditions probably has us growing/buying much the same kinds.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. For some reason I thought you were Finnish. If it helps, I don't mind if people think I'm Australian.

We ate that apple and another from the bag as comparison last night and I don't think it was a Royal Gala after all. It was crisper and slightly sharper; very nice. If I knew what it was, I'd buy more.

[corvuscornix.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't particularly mind either. (In fact, being considered "un-Swedish" is practically a compliment in this country.) Just thought I'd put it straight, you know, for the record. ;-)

Ah, slightly frustrating then, not knowing what it was. Maybe you should put the core in the freezer for future DNA-testing...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I kept the core, but I have no idea who long it takes to grow apple trees from pips.