1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogebam here. Though today they're available 3 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: year round in many parts of the world, apples were 4 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: once strictly a fall time treat, and they remain one 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: of the cornerstones of seasonal cooking in the United States. 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: If you live in the US, your apples probably didn't 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: travel too far to reach you. Only five percent of 8 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: the apples sold in the US are imported. The rest 9 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: are grown domestically intemperate states like Washington, New York, and Michigan. 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: But the apples in grocery store bins aren't usually sold 11 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: when they're harvested. They might have been in storage for 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: up to a year. So unless you take a trip 13 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: to your local orchard, how do you know whether the 14 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: apples you're buying are actually fresh? And if they're not 15 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: doesn't matter. A picture yourself walking down the aisle of 16 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: your local grocery storm, strolling past piles upon piles of shiny, 17 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: round apples. How do you know which ones to buy? 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: Start by looking at the surrounding apples. For the article 19 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: this episode is based on, has to Fork Spook by 20 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: email with Jessica Cooperstone a food scientist at the Ohio 21 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: State University. She said apples are climatric fruit, meaning the 22 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: fruits continue to develop and ripen after they're removed from 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: the tree. Apples and their climatric ilk are highly sensitive 24 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: to ethylene, the chemical compound that causes fruits to convert 25 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: starchy cellulose into sugars, otherwise known as ripening. As they ripen, 26 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: apples release more ethylene, which bleeds the fruit around them 27 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: to ripen faster as well. In this way, one bad 28 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: apple really can spoil the whole bunch. Other climatric fruits 29 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: include bananas and avocados, while non climatric fruits include things 30 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: like strawberries and cherries. Since ethylene is pretty much a 31 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: universal chemical symbol for ripe in climactric plants, it will 32 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: even help ripen fruit across species. You can harness its 33 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: power for yourself. Try putting a hard avocado in the 34 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: same bowl as an apple and see how much quicker 35 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: the avocado ripens. Apple harvesting season is very short, about 36 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: two months in the fall for most varieties, so in 37 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: order to extend their lives after picking, apples are usually 38 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: treated with a gaseous compound that blocks ethylene, and that's 39 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: not all. Cooper Stone explained by modifying the environment that 40 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: apples are stored in, mostly by modifying oxygen, carbon dioxide, 41 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: and ethylene and keeping apples cool, certain varieties of apples 42 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: can be stored for up to one year. This is 43 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: a really impressive feat of post harvest storage technology, and 44 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: most of this development happened in the first part of 45 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: the twentieth century. It's called controlled atmosphere storage. When apples 46 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: are exposed to less oxygen and more carbon dioxide than 47 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: what's found in the air, they in a sense go 48 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: to sleep and don't finish the ripening process, so these 49 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,679 Speaker 1: apples won't spoil. The exact combination of gases and temperature 50 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: necessary to do this varies with the type of apple, 51 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,359 Speaker 1: perhaps unsurprisingly, the types of apples that can handle this process, 52 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: like Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honey, Crisp band Red Delicious, 53 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: are the ones you're most likely to encounter in a 54 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: mass market grocery store, and not every apple is equally preservable. 55 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: Some fragile skinned types well like Courtland, Jonah Gold and Crispin, 56 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: should be eaten soon after they're picked. Otherwise they might 57 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: become too soft and mealy for eating fresh, though they'd 58 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: still be fine for many cooking applications. These days, science 59 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: is stepping in to create new types of more resilient fruit, 60 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: and take for example, the ruby frost apple, which was 61 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: developed by Cornell University especially for winter time consumption. These hybrids, 62 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: crossed between brayburn and autumn crisp, are bred to reach 63 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: peak sweetness in mid to late January, months after they're harvested. 64 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: While some new types of apple like the Ruby Frost 65 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: are the product of careful selective breeding, others are the 66 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: result of more modern genetic engineering. Arctic apples, which are 67 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: genetically modified to resist browning, became one of the first 68 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: GMO fruits to be approved by the U. S Department 69 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: of Agriculture. There isn't a way to tell when an 70 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: apple was picked just by looking at it in a 71 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: grocery store, and in some ways it doesn't matter, but 72 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: you still want to make sure the apples you buy 73 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: will be tasty and ripe. A touch is a better 74 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: indicator than color, since the colors that signify ripeness can 75 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: vary pretty widely. The apple should be firm, but not hard, 76 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: you can press it with your thumb to see, and 77 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: it shouldn't have bruises. Once you bring apples home, store 78 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: them in a cool, humid place like your refrigerator's crisper drawer. 79 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: But even if you do wind up with an aging 80 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: or overly ripe apple that's lost its firmness, it still 81 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: has uses a cooper Stone set. If I've kept apples 82 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: for a long time and find they're shriveling enough that 83 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: I don't want to eat them fresh, I'll use them 84 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: in a cooked application. A slightly wrinkly apple may not 85 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: look as pretty as a freshly picked one, but both 86 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: are totally safe to eat, and the wrinkled ones are 87 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: great and hot oatmeal or baked into a pie. However, 88 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: you definitely want to avoid apples that have mold growing 89 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:26,359 Speaker 1: on them or that have begun to use liquid. But 90 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 1: your chances of getting food poisoning from an apple are 91 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: slim but not zero, so it's important to wash your 92 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: apples before you chow down as well. Once your apples 93 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: are out of storage and thoroughly cleaned, it's time for 94 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: some good old fashioned fall cooking. Any time of year, 95 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: from caramel to crumble to cider. And cake. The possibilities 96 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:52,559 Speaker 1: are all delicious. Today's episode is based on the article 97 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: your grocery store Apple could be a year old, but 98 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: That's Okay on how stuff works dot Com, written by 99 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: Joanna Thompson. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio 100 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: in partnership with how staff works dot Com, and it's 101 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler clang Be. Four more podcasts from my 102 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the a heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 103 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.