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Pomiferous: The most extensive apples (pommes) database

99 pointsby Ariaruleyesterday at 2:47 PM42 commentsview on HN

Comments

biotinkeryesterday at 8:56 PM

There are dozens of us!

I run a nonprofit group that maintains a similar but different database, ours focuses on identification of heritage varieties, I.e. apples that existed pre WWII. We're in the PNW so we also have catalogs of where they were sold to make their way to us, etc, as we identify trees in old orchards.

I've learned some interesting stuff along the way, like that English varieties keep showing up in eastern Washington because English nurseries shipped to Vancouver in the late 1800s.

Our apple database is here: https://heritageapplecorps.org/varieties/

samchyesterday at 4:00 PM

Nice database (got a brief glimpse before it was hugged to death). Personally, I’ve always really liked this apple rating site (no affiliation):

https://applerankings.com/

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wxwyesterday at 5:53 PM

A lot of fruits seem to have their varietal information flattened out by the time they get to market (i.e. a yellow peach is just a peach yet there are many kinds of yellow peaches).

Apples have not, and I think that's great.

Is this because other fruit varietals are generally not significantly different? Is there some special sauce behind apple distribution?

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dsecurity49yesterday at 4:24 PM

It’s refreshing to see a site that’s just a database without five popups asking for a newsletter subscription. Just pure, unadulterated pomology

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FarmerPotatoyesterday at 5:25 PM

pomiferous looks like a labor of love. Labor is finite.

I use this site for many years: https://www.orangepippin.com

TechSquidTVyesterday at 4:19 PM

Ha! I very recently started something for peppers (Capsicum) https://pepperrank.com/

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linsomniacyesterday at 9:59 PM

Let me take a moment to say: Try an Envy. Apples are my go-to snack over the last decade, and Envy has been my go-to for the last 3-4 years. They are consistently crisp, readily available, have a complex sweet taste, and even after sitting on the counter for a week tend towards crisp rather than mealy. I've had a few duds, but over 500+ the number of meh ones I've run across is just barely out of the single digits.

bigbuppoyesterday at 4:14 PM

I read that wrong at first.

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halaproyesterday at 8:13 PM

I don't understand why the west is so focused on apples. There are thousands of fruits and people just stick to apples, bananas, oranges and grapes. They're not bad, but, like, it's like going to a restaurant and ordering sausage every time.

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FarmerPotatoyesterday at 10:34 PM

Here's another heritage apple site: http://www.westonapples.com

moralestapiayesterday at 3:58 PM

500 error. Hope it comes back online soon, I really want to see this one!