Apple season: are prices up?
Radio-Canada reported recently that the early spring weather has pushed up apple prices. Noticed at the market yesterday that, while there’s usually a uniform price for all the local varieties, my favourite – the Cortland – is now a little more expensive than the McIntosh, Lobo and Spartan.
At the stall where I bought apples, the woman told me they don’t produce as many Cortlands because they’re less popular now, which makes me sad – they’re the best apples in Quebec. Or do you have another opinion?
Alison Cummins 14:03 on 2012/10/12 Permalink
The Cortland was developed by Cornell university near my father’s hometown (Cortland NY) as a good apple for cooking and salads because it doesn’t brown when cut.
Ephraim 14:08 on 2012/10/12 Permalink
The apples last year were pretty standard at 99c a pound ($2.19 a kilo), with a few specials here and there. This year so far, I have seen a lot of $1.49 a pound ($3.28 a kilo). That’s a heck of a jump. (I don’t buy unless I know the price per pound/kilo.) They try to hide the price by selling it by the litre or bucket.
Brad 15:02 on 2012/10/12 Permalink
I’m a big fan of Cortlands too. We have a friend who’s an apple grower up near St-Joseph-du-Lac, and he turned us on to Honeycrisps this year. They’re a bit sweeter than I usually like, but live up to the “crisp” in the name and they’re a delicious eating apple. I like Cortlands for eating and making apple sauce; for pies and tartes we usually use Russets, which are less juicy and thus don’t make the crust all soggy. Some producers got hit hard by the warm spell followed by hard freeze back in March, but St-Joseph-du-Lac is in a sheltered microclimate and they have a bumper crop of apples this year. I think the larger than usual crop in some areas is helping to cushion the overall price impact, although I imagine at farm markets the price will vary by vendor.
Clément 15:03 on 2012/10/12 Permalink
Phew, for a second there, I thought a graphic designer was going to rant about overpriced Apple products!
But seriously, Cortland are the best. Big, firm, not too sweet and if you store in the fridge, they stay fresh forever. I just bought a 1.3kg bag at Atwater market for 4$ (3.08$/kg).
Marc 15:15 on 2012/10/12 Permalink
Cortland, Lobo, and Empire for me.
Kate 15:31 on 2012/10/12 Permalink
Clément, don’t expect that rant from me. When I think what I paid for my first Apple computer, current prices vs. computing power don’t seem too bad!
That said, I need to price a new Mac soon. Hmmm….
SMD 13:38 on 2012/10/15 Permalink
Spartan and Empire, for their crunch and tartness. Perfect for chunky applesauce.