> Something went wrong over the years. They're weirdly resistant to decay.
(Nobody expected the research advances in plant physiology, he, he)
Take that, Whitesnow witch!
https://www.agrofresh.com/solutions/harvista/
(Yup, we can delay aging in apples and is standard since many decades ago. Applacadabra! The magic of science!)
> Something went wrong over the years
Yeah, they bred the for being shippable, over flavor.
https://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/cooking-questions/why-are-r...
Same thing with tomatoes: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/why-do-uk-tomatoes-taste-bad
One thing I can tell you from experience is that they're weirdly resistant to decay. Everything else will go bad in patches. If you've got a bad orange, you've probably got eight partially bad oranges next to it. I saw a bad red delicious apple once, the rest of the case was pristine.