[nierman]

I grew up in Washington State and remember eating a lot of Gala, Braeburn, and Fuji apples in that time period; I think those are all pretty good apples to eat "out of hand" (compared to what you list for sure; a granny smith is great in a pie though!). Yeah, some of the tasty varieties like Cameo, Honeycrisp, etc, etc, weren't really widely available until quite a bit later, even if they were discovered in the 80s/90s.

You are right: durability and surviving extended stays in "cold storage" was a big factor.

[b112]

I love fresh broccoli, but as a Canuck, the closest I can get in the winter is often shipped from Mexico, or further away.

While not a different variety like the apples you mention, the result is the same. Dull, flavourless, unpalatable. So much so that I seem to eat much more broccoli in the summer, especially when locally grown, and bought day of pick.

Recently, I realised that fat accumulated also stores vitamins, etc, which is why animal fat is so nutritious. For example, people with an excess intake of some vitamins, can have issues getting those levels down, if it has been going on long enough to accumulate in their fat stores.

My point here is, I have found myself, yearly, gaining some weight at the end of summer, early fall. Not a lot, 10 lbs isn't much when 6'2". But it is interesting to me, for I do love the taste of summer's bounty, and that includes fresh, local apples.

The taste I think is not just the texture, flavour, but also the body detecting the enhanced nutritional content.

The body knows 'this is good', and thus I think wants to store excess nutrition in fat to see through the winter.

Anyhow, yes... love those local, freshly picked apples.

[caymanjim]

You were fortunate to live in Washington. The cultivars you listed are the first that I saw appear widely in the late 90s. I suspect we have you local consumers to thank for popularizing them.