Once Popular Apples Are Fading From Washington’s Orchards

Washington State is all about apples. Especially here in Yakima. Washington produces somewhere around 60% of all apples sold in the United States with hundreds of varieties and new types of apples being grown every year.

With this amazing variety of apples, certainly there are some apples that used to be popular but have gotten lost in the shuffle to make room for new types of apples.

Here are five apples your grandparents, parents, or maybe even yourself may have tried not even that long ago that aren't in production anymore for one reason or another.

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Reasons Why Some Washington Apples Aren't Available Anymore

Not to say any of these apples are gone forever as some private orchards or trees still may have them, but they were moved to make room for more commercially successful apples like the new Cosmic Crisp, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, and many others.

These are types of apples that can be stored longer and stay fresher longer.

Some of these apples may still be found in some orchards or used in ciders, but they're not as popular as they once were.

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Washington Apples that Don't Exist Anymore

Here are a few apples that you may not have seen in grocery stores for a long time.

Winesap
A little tart in flavor and smaller in size had this go away to make room for more Red Delicious and Gala apples.
As apples went on, the public gravitated towards the more sweet apples.

Arkansas Black
Though these apples could last in colder temperatures, these were harder in texture and needed longer storage time to reach peak flavor which made them difficult for commercial sales.

Gravenstein
These were once a very popular apple in the early 1900s, but they bruise easily and don't last nearly as long as far as storage is concerned. They are great for pies and applesauce, though.

Spitzenburg
At one time, these were considered the best tasting apple. However, they don't travel well and harder to grow.

Jonathan
If you love apples you've probably heard of Jongaolds? The Jonathan was the apple that came before it before Jonagold took over its spot. Jonathan apples are best fresh but they get soft quicker than many other apples.

So if there's an apple you really love that's out there now, support it best you can before it goes away.