Recently our family was lucky enough to sample a new kind of apple named the Opal. It is a special apple, not only because it resists browning, but also because it can help nonprofits!
From their press release:
"The Opal is a very special apple. An apple that doesn’t brown when you cut it? Too good to be true? It’s a dream come true for mothers struggling to get their picky eaters to eat an apple once it’s oxidized. Not only is the Opal® apple a dream for mothers, it’s great for nonprofits across the U.S. which will now have a shot at part of $50,000 in grant funds from the sales of the Opal apple through its “Youth Make a Difference” initiative."
"In 2012, FirstFruits Marketing, developer of the Opal apple, granted $20,000 to Katie’s Krops, allowing them to expand from 24 to 55 community gardens in 24 states. You may have heard of Katie’s Krops – now 14 year-old Katie Stagliano started the first garden when she was nine. Her gardens provide food for local soup kitchens to stop hunger. Katie’s Krops will benefit from another $20,000 grant this year and they plan to grant in total up to $50,000 in grants to other youth-led nonprofits that address issues such as: food security, nutrition, agriculture, food politics or food education."
Opal apples are available at local grocers like Lund's and Byerlys as well as national retailers like Safeway and Walmart.
We're pleased to report that it definitely lives up to its promise. The apples stayed white for a surprisingly long time after being cut. Even more important, they are a really tasty variety that all of our kids loved.
Our kids preferred the Opal apples over the three varieties of other apples already in our fruit bowls, and quickly ate them all up. When our toddler got into one and left a few tiny bites, we discovered it the next morning and it was still mostly pale fleshed.
We did an experiment to compare how the Opal apples oxidized compared to traditional apples. Click on the "list" button to see the progression over 30 hours.
Note: The Opal apple is a hybrid, which is a natural product of plant selection and cross-breeding that farmers have been doing for hundreds of years. This is not the same process as genetic modification, which is done in a lab and creates food products that would never occur in nature (such as inserting bug toxin DNA into corn). The Opal apple is not GMO and is available as organic, in season.
Comments