I’ve had those, too. Those are nice.
I love Honey Crisps and am willing to pay extra for them. They’re expensive because they’re seasonal, and while I don’t know how well they keep in long-term storage, I’ve had them find their way to the back of my fridge for a few weeks, and while the skin was a bit shriveled, the flesh was as crisp and juicy as ever.
Our friends/neighbors have a commercial apple orchard. We make a lot of applesauce and it’s cool combining different varieties and coming up with a slightly different tasting product. My favorite apple variety is constantly changing.
ETA: they make delicious cider that we go through by the gallon. This year I told my gf the cider was especially good. She thought I was being an apple snob, but when we asked about it, the farmers agreed.
Russets! Russets are the best.
Honeycrisps can be nice but I won’t seek them out deliberately.
Honeycrisps have good press and they appeal to people whose main flavor preference is sweet-sweet-sweet.
Remember back when all you could get were Red Delicious and Granny Smiths? And those yellow ones? Yeah. (Shudder)
Pssst, that’s a potato you’re munching.
HCs weren’t “hype” for me. I bought one with out having any idea they were so popular (hell, they may have not been at the time some 15 years ago) I just new that I freaking loved them from the first bite.
Yukon Golds are the way to go if that is the sort of thing you like munching.
The Golden Delicious apples that grow on the tree in my yard are the best apple. Next best is whatever I go pick at the orchards around here, then finally you get to he Honeycrisp and Cosmic Crisp from the store.
I’ve noticed a few people mention they’re expensive. How expensive are they where you’re at? They are pricier than other apples, but they’re still not that expensive – at least not at my grocer. I checked today and they were $1.39/lb for Michigan Honeycrisps. That is a premium over the $0.99/lb Galas, Braeburns, Pink Ladies, etc., at the same grocer, but that’s still not what I would call expensive.
Aldi had them at $1.99 per pound here in NC.
For several reasons, honey crisp apples have revolutionized the apple industry. It’s the first apple that is reliably of good texture and good taste while also being hardy and transportable.
Before, red delicious, golden delicious, and Granny Smith apples were the Most common but they represented a compromise.
Honeycrisp is also the first name that functions as a brand name (trademark) rather than just as a descriptor.
Planet Money did a fascinating piece The Apple That Changed The World : Planet Money : NPR
I give Honeycrisps just an OK. I think they’re overrated. I like the Pink Lady way better. I like to try the new varieties that seem to pop up every month or so. Cameo, Envy, Jazz and Kiku have all been good. But then after having good luck with a certain variety, they’re not so good. I’m sure it’s a seasonal thing. A new one (around here anyway) that I really liked was Sugar Bee.
Okay, so I’m an apple snob. My favorite apples are:
Ashmead’s Kernal – a small, russeted apple. It’s yellow with a red blush under the russet, but mostly you just see the russet. It’s incredibly sweet, fabulously tart, and has a decent apple flavor. It is also very crunchy.
Macoun – they are hard to grow, and apparently are only good in New England. They also don’t keep very well. But a good Macoun tastes like a good Macintosh only it’s sweeter and the flesh “snaps”. It’s softer than the other crunchy apples, but it still has this distinctive snap in your mouth that’s just really satisfying.
Crimson Crisp – No, not the much more hyped cosmic crisp, although that’s a decent apple. This one has better flavor, and has the nice feature of staying firm when yhou cook it. So not for applesauce, but terrific for pie. Not the richest of flavors, but quite nice.
Jonathan – I like this well enough for eating out of hand, but a fresh Jonathan really shines in pie, where it develops a rich complex apple flavor and holds its shape. As it gets older it loses the firmness, but still tastes pretty good.
Yeah, I had some for the first time this year, that’s a nice apple.
Honeycrisp s a fine apple. Crisp and sweet. It isn’t one of my favorites because I find it bland. Neither tart enough for my preferences nor an especially noticeable apple flavor.
I like Stayman winesaps. I liked them more when I lived in NJ – a lot of apples are regional, and grow better some places than others. I think our season isn’t hot enough for them, and they don’t develop their full potential.
I only like granny smith’s so I hear ya.
It’s nice that we can now buy better apples…but I want to see the same thing happen with potatoes. Currently the common choices are russet (Idaho), round white or red boilers, and, if you’re lucky, Yukon Gold. (These seem to have supplanted the ghastly California long white, which were good for absolutely nothing.)
In Maine, where they Respect the Spud, you can find a dozen varieties at a good farm market. I want to be able to cook a tater here in NYC that is comparable to an Irish side dish. In Ireland they serve you a boiled potato the way the Chinese serve rice: an expected addition to the meal, and sometimes the best part. I don’t know how the micks are so good at cooking potatoes, but I’m on the case.
In NYC? Color me surprised. Here in Dallas, we can reliably get the big four potato varieties - russet, gold, white and red. Usually in a small variety of sizes. We can also usually get heirloom purple potatoes and funky little bite-sized ones in variety bags.
Apples are similar- we can always get red delicious, granny smith, golden delicious, Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp. Pink Lady, Braeburn and McIntosh apples are not entirely uncommon either. Sometimes we get interesting varieties like Jazz, Opal or Pinata, but that’s sporadic.
I find them to be extremely prone to being bruised.
Down here, it was usually only Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smiths. Might have had other ones seasonally.
Around here, Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisps and Braeburns are kind of treated interchangeably – it’s like the “fourth apple” next to Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smiths. Maybe half the time, we’ll have a fourth AND a fifth apple option – this differs seasonally, I think.
I’ve seen Pink Lady and Jazz apples around, but sporadically. Never have seen Opals, Pinatas, or McIntosh locally. The McIntosh is a pretty famous variety (not just because of the computers) … do they not travel/keep well? Any special reason we never get them in the New Orleans area?