Talk:Granny Smith

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Why do Granny Smith apples take longer to brown than other types of apples?

The browning of apples (once exposed to air) is the result of enzymatic oxidation (enzyme mediated oxidation). The distinctly sour flavour associated with the granny smith variety results from its innate acidity, presumably caused by an higher concentration (in reference to other varieties) of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Much like any other enzymes those responsible for mediating the browning of apples are denatured in environments of high acidity, thus the high acidity (approx. pH. 3.25) of the granny smith variety is what affords them their longevity (at least in terms of oxidation reactions) by denaturing the enzyme (a chemical mediator) and thus hindering/slowing the oxidation reaction. 84.92.185.112 07:08, 23 March 2007 (UTC)Anubeon[reply]

Shouldn't this be in the article. I found it interesting. Does anyone have references for it? 70.190.242.30 (talk) 12:51, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, many apple varieties have a pH of 3-3.5, caused mostly by malic acid ["the" apple acid], and the enzymatic browning in apples is caused by high tannin levels, the ascorbates neutralizing the tannins, which coincidentally are usually low in varieties that are highest in ascorbic acid - there are a number of varieties that are high in vit C, but not a lot Red58bill (talk) 03:43, 6 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

My edit summary should read "One article doesn't need two versions of the same picture".PiccoloNamek 00:57, August 27, 2005 (UTC)

I'm a little confused. Are Granny Smith apples the only type of green apple? The fact that "green apple" redirects here suggests that, but then the statement "Granny Smith apples tend to have a harder texture than other green apples" doesn't make much sense. -VJ 21:15, 19 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Rhode Island Greening is a fairly common pie and sauce apple in the US, but I think it would be every bit as hard as a Granny Smith. I've never had two equally ripe ones together, though, to compare. Pollinator 23:50, 19 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

So there are other types of green apples, besides Granny Smith apples? -VJ 03:31, 21 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Fairly common is relative. R.I. Greening account for less than one percent of U.S. apple production (and have fallen out of the top 15 varieties produced in the U.S.) In 1978, before Granny Smith became popular, R.I. Greening was as high as 8th with 2.3% of the total harvest. Granny Smith by comparision has been as high as third most popular (now 4th) and about 7% of the total crop. Rmhermen 18:11, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes or no? I'm a little curious as well. --M.W. 15:28, 23 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes! Don't forget that this is an international encyclopedia, and other green apple cultivars are commonly seen all over the UK and Europe. Wild (read: naturalized) apples are also usually green. 62.113.159.156 01:09, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

So, why is the Granny Smith referred to as "the Green Apple" in this article, and why is it a redirect from "Green Apple"? "Green Apple", at least, should lead to a list of green apple varieties, if not redirect to apple itself. 69.95.240.178 (talk) 18:36, 27 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think this just reflects American usage. The term 'green apple' isn't used to describe an apple variety in the rest of the world, where many apple varieties are green. As a general rule, apples with green skins are acidic and mostly used for cooking. An example is the English Bramley (apple). --80.176.142.11 (talk) 15:26, 20 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It is already fixed, but in American English, "green apple" does not refer to a cultivar, it just means an apple that is the color green. It is also true that Granny Smith is the only green apple you're likely to find in most of the US, even in the Pacific Northwest which is the biggest producing apple region in the world. From a culinary perspective there is not really the need to have more than one green apple in the store, because they're mostly used for baking and the differences would cook out. Other varieties of baking apple will sell just fine to food companies, so some diversification of green apples does exist even while there is only one type in most stores.MacroMyco (talk) 21:46, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Since we all seem to agree that this redirect is misleading, could someone please delete it?62.113.159.156 (talk) 14:36, 18 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I noticed the second picture is a .png file & thus much bigger than a .jpg (for that sort of picture anyway); I'm new to this sort of thing - should I chat to the picture poster, reformat it myself or do something else entirely? Rockcake 07:58, 7 December 2006 UTC ☺

Any special reason why it's "England" rather than "the United Kingdom"? 81.158.1.176 08:51, 8 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wait, wait... it originated in England in 1968, but it wasn't introduced into the UK until 1935? Superjewboy (talk) 04:25, 17 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I had the same question when reading the article. Upon investigation, the cause seems to be these two edits which contradict the reference given, so I reverted them. It makes more sense now. -- Jitse Niesen (talk) 17:09, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

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according to an article in AOL health, smelling a green apple can help relieve claustrophobia. Does anyone know if this is true? —Preceding unsigned comment added by AlexWangombe (talk • contribs) 16:56, 23 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

unlikely - the "smell" of any apple is the same, ethylene gas - apples breathe, taking in oxygen and giving off ethylene gas, which is the "aroma of apples" and a common compound in the plant kingdom .... it's also the case that it appears some folks here are confusing green as the apples natural color with the use of the term green to mean unripe Red58bill (talk) 04:14, 6 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The "smell" is esters and aldehydes, ethylene gass isn't very smelly... 62.113.159.156 (talk) 16:06, 14 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I too am confused by the references to “other green apples”. To date, I have believed that:

1. That Granny Smith’s tree was a mutation or sport, one which would reproduce without reversion to earlier type.

2. That the mutation involved the interesting notion of neotony, which is where juvenile characteristics are retained in the mature specimen. (This is something the article should mention). In human terms it would be like a mutation in which a child never reaches puberty. Effectively, the green apple never ripens properly, but by chance, people (like me) actually prefer the tangier taste, and the crystaline as opposed to floury texture. And it IS a great cooking apple. Aspects of human evolution are neotonous in nature, such as the preservation of smaller jaws over very large ones.

3. Is it true that the original tree is STILL living? Or at least some of its direct descendants.

4. Are “other green apples” other mutations of the same kind?

5. When the article says they grow wild in New Zealand, it sounds like they also evolved there. I presume the author meant that commercial varieties from Australia were planted there and have gone feral. But then that could be said of any number of agricultural products in any number of countries.

Any thoughts on these matters? Myles325a (talk) 07:28, 24 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Granny Smith, like all named apple cultivars, is NOT a mutation but a genetic cross of 2 other varieties, just like children are a cross of their parents .... [2] no "juvenile" characteristics involved; while most apples begin their growth green, the color at maturity may remain green or be an "overlay" of a range of other colors, with the green ground still visible or not .... [3] ANY current Granny Smith tree is a direct descendent of the original - named varieties are propagated by grafting cuttings onto a root stock, the seeds from any apple will grow a completely different variety, the offspring resulting from whatever other tree provided the fertilization of the apple the seeds are from .... [4] the only "mutated" apples are those discovered on a particular branch of a given tree that differ markedly from the tree variety, they're called "sports" and account for the strains of a variety, like the difference between Gala and Royal Gala - the apples themselves are not the origin, but the particular branch they occur on .... [5] the "wild" reference seems to have been removed, properly - "feral" isn't a term that could be applied to an apple variety, as noted above, apple seeds that result in a bearing tree [many don't] will be a completely different variety - and apples don't "evolve", the Granny originated from a cross in Australia, as correctly noted in the article Red58bill (talk) 04:03, 6 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I often worry when I read stuff on Wikipedia because of vandalism. Is it true that a granny smith apple is really a hybrid between two species of apples? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.181.207.84 (talk) 15:46, 1 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

yes, ANY apple is a cross between 2 strains of apple - apple is the species, just like human is your species and your children are a "hybrid" of you and your mate ;) Red58bill (talk) 04:06, 6 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Around two weeks ago I bought several granny smith apples in sydney, I planted the seeds, and they are now growing, some with leaves, It is the begining of winter at the moment, and I have no concerns about their growth over winter, although what percentage will survive (if any) over summer, I will be happy If any survive (I planted around 9).

Also, will they fruit in sydney conditions, or do they need a hibernation period before flowering and fruiting? And, I understand that all apples are extreme heterozygotes, so will my apples be similar to grannysmith, or will they inherit so many recessives that they will appear distinct?.

Thanks, Mike Mike of Wikiworld (talk) 14:10, 31 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

What the hell is it? Googling only redirects toward the wikipedia article, and the article is seriously lacking in references. I'm gonna delete this bit in a couple of days, if there are no objections. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.179.107.68 (talk) 12:50, 27 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

All for that. Have fun finding a reference for it. http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=%22+Lytle+Sweetness+Scale%22+-granny#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=%22+Lytle+Sweetness+Scale%22+-granny&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=f11dbcf84774216c iw —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.148.249.26 (talk) 18:03, 18 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, can someone please delete this? I have Googled and only found ripped off references to this article from other sites. I was going to find out if I could create an article for the "Lytle Sweetness Scale" or maybe link to it if there was an article...but no dice. In fact, I am going to delete it now!121.44.129.211 (talk) 03:46, 23 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Why does sour apple redirect to this article? The article makes no mention of sour apples or of Granny Smith apples being sour. If Granny Smith is the archetypal "sour apple" then the article should make note of this. Otherwise, the redirect would be unwarranted and should probably be changed (to a list of all "sour" varieties of apples).

Similarly, I see that the previously noted redirect for green apple has been changed to redirect to the apple article instead of here. Since that article makes no mention of green apples, perhaps it's better redirected here if this is the most well-known green apple variety. Or the "green apple" page should contain a list of links to the most well-known green apple varieties, including Granny Smith.--71.189.159.190 (talk) 11:38, 14 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Granny Smith apples are indeed quite tart, especially when grown in cool conditions, but I don't see the point of sour apple or green apple entries at all. Some apples are sour and some are green, but it doesn't make sense to have specific pages for these terms. Possibly this is something to do with American usage. --Ef80 (talk) 12:25, 8 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I was surprised that there *wasn't* any mention of their tartness on this page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.89.71.42 (talk) 21:21, 14 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There is an unsourced statement, "In some parts of Canada the Granny Smith is referred to as a Green Delicious."

Really? I live in Canada and I have never heard of them referred to as such, although they could potentially be confused visually with the golden delicious. phreakydancin (talk) 21:26, 22 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The following appears in the article:

Because the Granny Smith is a chance (and rare) mutation, the seeds of the apple, when grown, tend to produce a tart green apple with a much less appealing taste.

But Red58bill, who appears to know something about this told me with no uncertainty that:

Granny Smith, like all named apple cultivars, is NOT a mutation but a genetic cross of 2 other varieties, just like children are a cross of their parents ....

Well, I'm a city boy, I suppose but I know that when parents have kids, those kids don't have to be grafted onto someone else's body to propogate. Why, they have kids just the way their own parents did, with a bit of jiggery pokery and some slap and tickle thrown in for good measure. Well, it's taken me 7 years to come up with that, but there it is. What's the story? Myles325a (talk) 08:34, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Red58bill knows whereof they speak. Text has been adjusted, and with luck may be clearer now. Some science fiction is probably the best resource for the implications of human cloning. Sminthopsis84 (talk) 13:48, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The article states:

Thus, like the navel orange and the Cavendish banana, all the Granny Smith apples grown today are cuttings from the original Smith tree in Sydney.

So what happens when that tree dies? Does the Granny Smith become extinct? How can this one tree be directly responsible for the hundreds of millions of apples being produced and grown around the world?

(Oh, and I didn't know that the Smith tree was also responsible for navel oranges and the Cavendish banana. What a cornucopia! Myles325a (talk) 08:40, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

:-) Language is a marvellous thing. I've adjusted the text; see what you think now. Sminthopsis84 (talk) 13:43, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

According to several sources, the apple was believed to be a cross between a crab apple and a Cleopatra apple.[1][2][3] However the article claims Malus domestica and Malus sylvestris. Which is correct?--Auric talk 15:53, 18 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It is true that granny smith apples in particular are helpful in reducing mucus and clearing the throat for vocal performers? Thanks! --Lbeaumont (talk) 15:40, 22 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]