Matt Baker wrote:

> I really doubt that the fructose problem would have been a problem for paleo
> people eating paleo fruits.

Rarely, anyway, because even if there were a big crop this
week, by next week it would be gone. Not the day by day of
modern soft drink consumption.

 And it probably wasn't much of a problem for
> much of anybody prior to the perfected (LOL......perverted?) science of
> plant breeding that occurred in this century.  All or almost all the produce
> we eat contains multiple upon multiple sets of chromosomes.  Better eating
> through chemistry.  <g>   Wouldn't it be cool to actually be able to see,
> touch, taste an "Edenic" apple?!!  But even if a single one were still
> around, we might not recognize it with some of our senses.


Try a crab apple. Some are inedible, but a lot of them are
pretty good when ripe, sweet and tart. Not too far off of
the wild tree. Most seeds from apples will grow into crab
apples. The basic genetic stock is not that much changed
from wild trees. We improve apples by grafting, not by
breeding, same as most fruit trees. Try sprouting an orange
seed and letting it grow. The result will be very sour
"wild" like oranges in most cases.

A lot of the non commercial varieties are still around.
Check out any seed company's catalog and you will find
dozens of different apples. The commercial varieties are not
the sweetest by far though. Commercial varieties like
delicious and jonathan are chosen mainly for their shipping
and keeping qualities, and their bright color and shape.
Taste is a distant consideration. They must appeal to the
eye of the shopper first, before the tongue.

Non commercial, traditional varieties are quite different.
They usually have thinner skins, bruise easily, and so many
different flavors that you might hardly recognise them as
apples if you didn't see them first. They are usually much
sweeter than modern commercial varieties.

My Grandfather's hobby was fruit trees. He preferred apples,
and he had a lot of different kinds. He also sprouted apple
seeds and grew the trees. Most of these are not great, crab
type apples, but occasionally they produce really
interesting apples. One I recall was a very pale yellow,
with a pink blush on one side. They were so delicate that
they could not be allowed to fall, even onto thick grass,
they bruised all the way through. They had to be picked and
eaten immediately, or spoil. Obviously an apple like this
could never be sold commercially, no matter how good it
might taste. (actually that particular apple was not the
most tasty, but we always ate them, they were so pretty)

Try a Red June in the early summer, or a Grimes Golden
picked out of the snow in the late fall. Can never be beat
by any store bought apple.