Honeycrisp vs Red Delicious - How We Finally Got Good Apples | Planet Money | NPR

The mid-20th century was a bad time to be an apple lover. The produce section of supermarkets only had a few apples, and one stood tall above the rest: Mealy, and tough-skinned, it was the Red Delicious.

Back in those days, apples were a commodity, and the race to provide apples at the lowest price suppressed prices for all apple growers and discouraged apple innovation. A few things helped change that world for the better — and chief among them was the discovery of the Honeycrisp.

This is the story of that miracle apple and the innovation that made the business of better apples sustainable — all while hastening the downfall of the Red Delicious.

This also happens to be the last episode of Season 1 of Planet Money Shorts. "What is Planet Money Shorts?" you ask yourself under your breath in your open office. "A video series you can watch right here," we joyously reply.

Host
Dan Charles

Producers
Bronson Arcuri
Ben Nadaff-Hafrey

Editor
Bronson Arcuri

Audio Engineer
Josh Rogosin

Director of Photography
Mito Habe-Evans

Additional Videography
Nikolai Hammar

Cast
Bronson Arcuri
Ben Naddaff-Hafrey
Marcie LaCerte
Alex Goldmark
Neal Carruth
Aviva DeKornfeld
Camilla Franklin
Sally Helm
Sarah Gonzalez

Series Creative Director
Mito Habe-Evans

Consulting Producers
Alex Goldmark
Bryant Urstadt

Executive Producer
Keith Jenkins

Special Thanks
Gourmet Fresh

Archival Media
AP Images
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Prelinger Archive

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[Azvee]

The youtube algorithm has finally found a video tailor made for my oddly specific passion over the history of apples.

[rogerledgister]

This episode of Drunk History is really weird and unslurred.

[stevenhs]

I visited an apple orchard about 10 years ago when my daughter was a kindergardener. The orchard manager told me that the deer that raided his orchard had a decided preference for Honeycrisps.

[AxelQC]

I hated raw apples until Honeycrisp. Now I can't get enough of them.

[anderssends]

I lost it at the Aussie spreading Vegemite 4:10

[nicholassorice]

I don’t know if anyone else took the time to read the newspaper articles during the spinning newspaper section of the video, but whoever wrote those, I salute your hard work.

[errhka]

Everything about this is incredible - the story, the newspaper articles, the acting, the aussie spreading vegemite - it's all brilliant

[MrEvanfriend]

Red delicious are the absolute worst apples. I like Braeburn.

[TroyerFilms]

These don't get nearly the views they deserve

[byDsign]

I was introduced to the Honeycrisp apple at Costco back in 2014. Haven't looked at any other apple since! ♥

[markmeredith]

I agree, Red Delicious are the worst!

[Woodshadow]

I was one of the taste testers for cosmic crisp.

[comalausa]

I was in a group of people asked what their fave apple was and after I said undoubtedly Honeycrisp, someone else felt compelled to say, "no, I always really just like Red Delicious." ...right...

[crp]

You guys are SUCH dorks! Great video!

[handenbramilton]

Honeycrisp are the apples that made me realize there are more to apples than I previously imagined. Smitten is my fav but incredibly hard to find and not in season very long, with Envy and HC coming in close second.

[babbetteduboise]

Try OPAL apples. You can slice them into a bag and leave them overnight in the refrigerator, they do not brown and they taste delicious. Also, Red Delicious tasted great in the fifties, then breeders messed with them making them big, and tasteless. (Pink Lady is good too, but hard to find)

[franzfanz]

I had a SweeTango apple for the first time and it changed my opinion of apples. So good.

[oceanowl]

What about Gala apples? I remember them and Fujis coming on the scene in the mid/late 90s? I want more apple history!

[dpadr]

You guys had a lot of fun making this :)

[FrancisXavier]

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. Who else loves that opening