These two modern varieties rise to the top in the off season. Their distinctive flavors set them apart from the older Gala-Braeburn generation. But which is best?
Today's head-to-head compares two modern varieties available in North America only briefly around the turning of the year. Both Opal (L) and Junami were developed in Europe, and both embody balance and flavor in a way that the previous generation of commercial apples (lookin' at you Gala , Braeburn , Fuji ) do not. Other than that, these are utterly different.
Frankenfruit The largest apple trade group in America is bracing for problems related to genetically modified fruit. Writing in opposition to the application of Okanagan Specialty Fruits to sell GM apples, the US Apple Association said: The genetically modified apples in the petition offer questionable commercial benefit yet raise serious marketing questions for virtually all segments of our industry. ...we believe that granting the request for deregulation could lead to significant and unnecessary costs to the industry in the form of labeling and marketing efforts that would be required to differentiate conventional apples from the GE apples.
Large Opal's lively lemon yellow is dialed back just a notch by a drop of orange. Conical and ribbed, she is sparsely decorated with large brown lenticels and a brown crown of russet. One sports a small spotty patch of pink blush. Unbroken, Opal has a strong aroma of cider and honey and a whiff of spice. Her calyx is only half closed.