Two Red Delicious apples and a cross-section of a third. It was first recognized in 1880 as a red and yellow striped fruit known as a "Hawkeye". Through selective breeding over the years, new cultivars with improved color and earlier harvest time replaced the original, but only at the expense of the taste and texture. This caused consumer demand for Red Delicious apples to drop drastically in favor of other varieties such as the Cameo, Fuji and Gala.Photo credit: Fir0002