More quick bites

Do you miss the harvest? Have some reading. 

(A sequel to previous bites and nibbles.)

The Outlook

Due to the pandemic, the fresh apple sector has suffered.... The lockdown restrictions have led...[to] insufficient labor and a decrease in production efficiency. Due to transport problems, the market supply-chain systems are broken, resulting in poor market performance.

That's a recent assessment from Mordor Intelligence (real name), an industry analyst. The firm identifies a growing preference for organic apples, especially in the U.S. and Europe, though 2026.

Whoa

In four months in 2018, in one epic Twitter thread, author Chuck Wendig did more to advance the fun and wonder of the extended pantheon of apples than this blog has managed to do in 13 years. For example

WESTFIELD-SEEK-NO-FURTHER: Soft, not quite grainy texture — mild and sweet. Not deserving of its EGOMANIAC NAME but a pleasant apple. Not juicy. Has a pearish taste. #heirloomapplereview

— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) November 5, 2018

(Note the date, though, about a month past the time that this fine apple (yes it is) is at its best.) 

This lengthy and wonderful thread is so internet famous that you have probably seen it before. No apologies for bringing it to you again.

Chuck's MO per apple is (1) unfettered commentary that plays off of the apple's name or appearance, followed by (2) honest description, sometimes grudging. Bonus: some of the apples he describes actually exist.

His source for fruit was, apparently, North Star Orchard in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, and boy would I like to visit there in season.

Oh, and photos. A little odd but plenty of them. Chuck put a lot into this!

A year of apple lore

For the past year, Apples and People has been building the world of apples, one richly embellished report at a time.

This venture, based in the apple-rich county of Herefordshire (UK), has commissioned writing, art, and performance, all about the pomacious fruit and the human history and legends that surround it.

Apples and People is currently halfway through the 46 stories it plans to publish through May of 2023.

I reviewed this project last year.

Nibbles

Did you miss this meditation on the McIntosh?

If you hunger for yet more to read, see Orchard Notes's bibliography (which links to this list).

Adam Wells's tribute to apple trees and cider is especially good to read this time of year.

See also the first "quick bites."