Everyone knows the nursery rhyme ‘Why is the banana crooked? Because nobody went into the jungle and straightened it out.’ But when it comes to something as commonplace as a round apple, people rarely think about the shape. Yet round fruit and vegetables have a clear advantage over other plants.
Pink Lady apples in Germany
Apples are the most popular fruit in Germany. Every German eats a total of 19 kilos a year and theoretically has a choice of around 2000 varieties. However, only 11 of these varieties dominate the supermarket shelves. The most common are well-known varieties such as Jonagold, Elstar, Gala and Braeburn. In recent years, however, there have been an increasing number of so-called ‘club varieties’, such as the Pink Lady apple, which has a considerable market share of 14%. What is particularly striking about these apples is their healthy-looking red colour, but also their high price. At €2.39 per kilo, Pink Lady apples are almost twice as expensive as the average price per kilo of other varieties in discount stores (as of 2021, Aldi Nord). But where do Pink Lady apples come from? And are they really better than well-known varieties such as Elstar or Fuji?
What is an apple club variety?
The so-called club varieties are exclusive cultivars of apples that are newly crossed from existing varieties. This has also happened in the past, but it is now possible to have the newly crossed varieties legally protected by the Federal Plant Variety Office and the brand name patented. This is what happened at the end of the 1990s with the Golden Delicious and Lady Williams varieties, which were crossed to create the Cripps Pink variety. The origin of the Pink Lady apples therefore lies in this variety. Such legally protected apples may only be grown by farmers who obtain a licence from the manufacturer. And these licences are not cheap. The manufacturer can thus control exactly who grows its apples and how many are placed on the market (artificial scarcity). This and the sometimes gigantic marketing campaigns behind the apple varieties are the reason for the high price of the apple. In the case of Pink Lady, the apple is marketed as a lifestyle product and advertised with large social media campaigns or sold as an experience on ‘Pink Lady Day’ in France. Customers can even join a Pink Lady fan club on the website.
Do Pink Lady apples taste better than other varieties?
As Pink Lady apples are not convincing in terms of price and are sold as an alternative to conventional sweet snacks, they should be very convincing in terms of flavour. The ZDF magazine Zoom carried out an experiment and had passers-by in a shopping street taste six varieties of apples: The supermarket apples Pink Lady, Elstar and Gala and ‘Goldparmäne’, ‘Prinz Albrecht von Preußen’ and ‘Finkenwerder Herbstprinz’ as representatives of the old varieties that are rarely found in shops these days due to their appearance. Surprisingly, 28 out of 50 testers chose the Elstar variety as their favourite, while Pink Lady only received 4 votes. It was often criticised for being too sweet and not very aromatic. The old varieties received almost 40 % of the votes.
Are Pink Lady apples healthy?
‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ is a saying that everyone has had to listen to at least a few times as a child. And indeed, apples contain many valuable substances for the body. The little-known polyphenols in particular can help protect the body against chronic diseases such as rheumatism, some cancers and allergies (Institute of Fruit Growing, Geisenberg University of Applied Sciences). But are there differences in the polyphenol content of apple varieties? The Institute of Fruit Growing found that the old varieties mentioned, such as ‘Eifeler Rambur’, contain significantly more polyphenols than the classic supermarket apples. Pink Lady apples only contain just under a quarter as many polyphenols as old varieties and classic varieties such as Elstar also had a higher concentration. Why do Pink Lady apples have so few polyphenols? This is because Pink Lady is sold as a lifestyle product and has to look particularly good and taste equally sweet. However, polyphenols tend to provide a sour, slightly bitter flavour and also cause the apples to turn brown more quickly. Of course, these properties are not suitable for a highly polished marketing campaign and have therefore been bred out.
How are Pink Lady trees grown?
If you want to grow a Pink Lady tree yourself, you will unfortunately have to do without it. Only farmers who pay high licence fees are allowed to plant these trees. And even if this were not the case, Pink Lady is not suitable as a tree for your own garden due to the high level of care required. In order for supermarket varieties such as Elstar, Pink Lady etc. to produce the high yield required for the German market, they have to be sprayed with pesticides up to 20 times a year. In this context, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety found that pesticide residues can be found on 80% of supermarket apples. You should therefore wash your apples extremely thoroughly and never eat them straight from the packet. Club varieties are even more susceptible to diseases and pests and therefore need to be sprayed much more often, otherwise apple canker and mould could destroy the entire harvest.
So how good are Pink Lady apples really?
Pink Lady apples are more of a lifestyle product and an alternative to the classic chocolate bar. They have little in common with the image of the healthy and sustainable apple. So if you don't like eating fruit but don't just want to eat sweets, Pink Lady is a sweet alternative. If you really want to eat healthy and above all sustainable food, you should choose old apple varieties directly from the farm shop or the weekly market.
