We credit our cold weather with making Minnesota's women strong, the men good looking and the childen above
average. Now we know it makes our apples superior, too.
David Bedford, the University of Minnesota's apple breeder, is advising apple lovers to make sure their Honeycrisps are grown in Minnesota. Bedford, who was part of the team that developed the much-loved Honeycrisp, said the apple was designed to be grown in a cool climate. But because it's proven to be so popular, apple growers in warmer-weather states are now producing Honeycrisps. And that's a bad thing -- for the apple.
"Cool weather is key to the great taste of the Honeycrisp," he said. "So when it's grown in warmer climates, the quality deteriorates."
Bedford recommends looking for Minnesota-grown Honeycrisps at farmers markets and at orchards. If you buy them at your favorite grocer, be sure to ask where they were grown.
To find a market or an orchard near you, go to www.minnesotagrown.com.
And accept no wimpy-weather substitutes.
