I thought I would share this here. A couple of weeks ago, I found an apple tree full of ripe apples on my fiance's 10 acre plot out in the country. I was so excited! I joked that we could call them "organic" as we had not fertilized, sprayed for bugs or even watered them! They have a great, mild taste to them, not sour at all and I was able to use most of them in baking, freezing...I even sauteed some in I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Splenda and brown sugar (put a lid on top to get them to juice up) and froze them to use in my morning oatmeal. I took the remaining ones to work to share and they were all taken by my fellow employees. Here is a pic of the ones I took to work. They weren't the prettiest things, but they did taste good.

That is so cool. I like the way you used them up in different ways. I have some fugly ones too - all organic- and had not thought about the freezing option. Thanks

My parents have an apple tree, but they completely wasted them this year.

Speaking of organic apples, but from the grocery store . . . can you tell a difference in taste between an organic apple and a conventional apple?

I have been trying to buy more organic foods. I swear I can taste a difference between organic and non-organic apples.

Now, for DH, he thinks all "my foods" are healthy and he doesn't like them because he thinks they are "diet".

Anyways, I noticed yesterday that "my" apples were dwindling down. In fact, I am out! Someone ate my apples! I asked DH about it and sure enough he has been eating them. That's fine, no problem. I asked what he thought about them. His answer, was shocking to me, (especially coming from him) was that they were very sweet and he really liked them. His implication was that he liked them better than the "other" ones. Hmm, interesting.

I love apples too and I can also swear that I can taste the difference. I buy conventional ones when I can't get organic and they simply don't taste the same. I will buy organic because they do taste sweeter and there is a complexity to their taste that the regular ones simply don't have.

I sadly can't tell a difference. I even had my ownvegetable garden last year and thought the food I grew taste the same as the store. I wish I could tell the difference, anyone else or am I an oddball.

I love all organic produce and think I can taste a difference!! esp apples... organic apples with some( just a little) natural cashew butter are a favorite treat!

I've found a lot of variation - organics that tasted horrible or had no taste, and non-organics that were wonderful. I think freshness and variety are often the more consistent element.

Often here, organic means "shriveled and half-spoiled." It's actually pitiful how poor the condition of the organic produce. The apples don't even look fit for cooking, they're so wrinkled and "cidery" smelling.

I can get good organic Fuji apples at Sam's Club, but otherwise, non-organic tend to be in better condition.

In late Summer and Fall, I buy local from small family farms and orchards. I find that local almost always tastes better than apples that have traveled great distances. I also trust small farm non-organic over the large-scale factory farm organic (some of the organic pesticides are more dangerous than the non-organic ones and there's no level testing or labeling required).

I like small, local farms because the farmers will actually talk to you and tell you what if any pesticides and fertilizers they use. Many would pass the organic certification, but are so small it's not worth the red-tape and the fees.

You also can also easily tell which farmers avoid pesticide usage by the perfection or imperfection of their produce. If the leaves, vegetables, and fruits are too perfect, too uniform in size, without a single blemish; there's a good chance that the produce is factory farmed and heavy pesticides of some type are being used. But irregularly shaped and sized fruits with small amounts of insect damage, are more likely to come from small, home farms with little to no pesticide use (and they tend to be much tastier, because the farmers are picking them when they're ready).

To some degree, I think of insects as food critics. A small amount of insect damage is an endorsement for the quality of the product. If insects won't eat it, I probably shouldn't either. That doesn't mean I want wormy apples, but most pesticide free apples aren't wormy. They're just like the ones in the pic OP, AnnieDrews included in her post. Not the prettiest apples, but darned tasty

I can't taste the difference between organic and conventional apples, but I can sure as heck taste the difference between apple varieties. Some are gross, some are great--and their organic nature has zip to do with which is which.

It's entirely possible that the reason organic produce tastes better to those of you who taste a difference is that you're buying a different cultivar when you buy organic. I haven't eaten a red delicious apple in years, but give me Fuji, Ambrosia, or Jonagold apples and I will eat one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Some cultivars just plain taste better.

I am seriously jealous of your apples, AnnieDrews! I have never eaten a fresh-picked apple and I would love to so very much.

I am sooo with you on that. I'm very happy to see a few insect bite marks on my leafy greens. It's the oh-so-perfect stuff that you have to watch out for.