Bad apples?

I'm always surprised when people with their own apple trees don't use the apples. They usually assume the apples are bad because they're not pretty on the outside. In other words, their apples don't look like the apples in the store. Well, that's kind of like comparing yourself to the supermodel that's been Photoshopped on the cover of the fashion magazines. Those apples look like that because they've been sprayed with pesticides and fungicides while on the tree. After they're picked, they're waxed so they're shiny and last longer. Organic apples are picked through, and only the prettiest make it to the stores, because produce managers know that people are prejudiced against ugly apples. The above photo shows you what a few of our Granny Smith apples look like this year. Although they're not perfect on the outside, most of them are delicious on the inside. Sometimes, part of the apple might be bad, but the rest of it is still perfectly edible, and once it's cut up and put into something like a pie or apple crisp, no one knows that it once had an Ugly Duckling past. Although you might think that organic apples are too expensive to buy, are you overlooking free apples in your own yard?