Thanks to global warming, apples are sweeter, losing their crunch

That "apple a day" isn't what it once was.

According to a new study published in Nature Scientific Reports, global warming is causing apples to lose some of their crunch — and it's making them sweeter, too.

Read the entire study here.

Researchers looked at data from 1970 to 2010 at two orchards in Japan where mean air temperatures have been rising more than 0.3 degrees Celsius a decade, and found what they consider is "clear evidence" that climate change is having an effect on the taste and texture of apples, Agence France-Presse reports.

The two orchards chosen for the study had seen no changes in cultivars or management practices for extended periods, allowing researchers to rule out non-climate factors, like technological improvements, in the observed changes in the fruit.

Also see: Apples: a superfruit for weight loss?

The data included measures of firmness, and acid and sugar concentration in the two apples grown at the orchards: Fuji and Tsugaru, the two most popular kinds of apples.

The researchers' analysis found that over time, apples showed a decrease in acidity and firmness and an increase in sugar concentration.

"[All] such changes may have resulted from earlier blooming and higher temperatures during the maturation period. These results suggest that the qualities of apples in the market are undergoing long-term changes," the researchers write.

"We think that a sweeter apple is a positive thing and a loss of firmness is a negative thing," study co-author Toshihiko Sugiura of the National Institute of Fruit Tree Science in Fujimoto tells AFP.

"We think most people like sweet and firm apple fruits, although everyone has his own taste. A soft apple is called 'Boke' in Japanese which means a dull or senile fruit."

Also see: Where you store your fruits and veggies can impact their nutritional value

The researchers note that while the changes are likely too subtle for most consumers to notice, their findings warn that global warning will likely continue to alter the world's third most popular fruit.

"These results suggest that the taste and textural attributes of apples in the market are undergoing change from a long-term perspective, even though consumers might not perceive these subtle changes," the researchers conclude.

"If global warming continues to progress, the changes in the taste and textural attributes of apples could be more striking as blooming dates become even earlier and temperatures increase during the fruit maturation period."

While previous studies have revealed that global warming is causing apple trees to flower later in the season, this study claims to be the first to assess changes in the taste and texture of food as a result of climate change.