I’ve never been crazy about apples. I will eat one when one is offered, or if I happen to be searching around the refrigerator for a sweet snack. I’ll take one to work a few days a week. I’ve never paid much attention to the type of apple I am eating; they all taste pretty much the same to me (Red Delicious, Jonathan, Granny Smith, etc.)
A few weeks ago I was at a local orchard. They had 5 or 6 varieties, with one of them being Honeycrisp. Recalling the article, I went ahead and purchased a half-dozen. I should also mention they were also quite a bit more expensive than the other varieties.
And wow, Honeycrisp is not like any other variety I’ve had. It’s not mushy or spongy, has a sharp “crispness” when you bite into it, and is very juicy. Some people have described it as “an explosion in your mouth” (insert dirty joke here). I’ve also turned a couple coworkers onto them. I tried eating a Jonathan apple a couple days ago and I didn’t even finish it; it tasted downright nasty compared to Honeycrisp.
I just recently ate my first Honeycrisp, and I have to admit, I was blown away. There really is a huge difference between this variety and other apples.
I think Honeycrisps are okay, but not my fave. I like Jazz, and Winesaps are my favorite, but practically impossible to find anymore. The other day I had a variety called Breeze or Breezy or something and they were fantastic. I’ll probably never be able to find them again.
I had a friend who said he hated apples because they were so tasteless. He had never eaten anything but a (so-called) Red Delicious. He didn’t know what he was missing.
I’m partial to Pink Lady apples. Compared to the Honeycrisp apples I tried (which were also very good), they’re a bit more tart and crunchier, but not as big. I suspect they just went out of season, though.
I discovered Honeycrisp apples a few years ago after watching an episode of Once Upon a Time where Regina expounded on their greatness. Didn’t think anything of it. Until a whole bunch of people on the message board said how she had red apples (not sure Red Delicious) and they looked nothing like Honeycrisp, etc. It got so many comments that people made jokes about it being stealth marketing. Anyway, I do like the Honeycrisp (before that I only ate Granny Smith because that and Red Delicious were all I tried). I still like Granny Smith, too. Just wish I knew the best time of year to get them in my area, because I want a flavorful apple. Supermarket watermelon I can look at and know it’s likely not to be good based on color - don’t know how to tell with apples.
Though I may be odd in preferring my apples peeled (really a holdover from red delicious, probably), sliced, and refrigerator cold.
I always liked me a Golden Delicious, when they’re a little early, nice and crisp, almost fractures when you take a bite.
Then I discovered Honey Crisps. A little extra? I will pay.
Washington state farmers’ markets are second to nowhere for getting awesome apples and obscure varieties. My family has 4 favorites which change nearly every year depending on what each year’s crop goes well. Prairie Spy, Sweet 16s, Odins, and Honey Crisp are this year’s favorites. We’ve been getting early samples of Cosmic Crisps for a couple of years and I think they are going to do very well once they are fully deployed.
One of the big things that you have to remember is that the big varieties like Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, Honey Crisp is that they are selected because they store and ship well. Sweet 16s have a very short picked life as their texture goes bad very quickly, but imagine a granny smith with honey and rhubarb overtones; whereas an Odin is a softer textured, cotton candy overtoned version. Dried apple rings of either are otherwordly!
So keep on looking as there are hundreds of other varieties out there.
I came into the thread to mention Opals. Those have been my favorite for the past few years (thank you WA state farmers’ markets!)
I need to see what’s new(er) this year.
I love the Macouns. From upstate New York, they’re a cold weather apple, the season runs October through November. You have to pick them after the first frost.
I went camping in Wenatchee a couple of weekends in Aug. It’s the self pro-claimed apple capital of the US. Also home to the applets and cottlets factory. There are freaking apple processing facilities everywhere including a Tree Sweet factory. Man, there were some good apples at some of the roadside stands. I believe it is the home of Honey Crisp apples.
I’m not a huge fan of apples, really, but Jazz are the ones I look for when I have the rare craving for one–a nice balance of sweet, tart, and crisp-- followed by a simple Granny Smith when I just crave the tart. They all do taste quite distinct and different to me (or, rather, I should say there are several broad categories apples varieties fit into).
When my kids were younger we used to take them apple picking every year. We would go to an orchard that gives you a huge bag for 10 bucks and lets you fill it up with Honeycrisp. They are good but at the store they are 3-4 times the price of other apples that my kids like just fine. I will eat an apple if one happens to be sitting around but otherwise don’t seek them out for myself.
I really like Pink Lady apples. But not Cripps Pink. Costco thinks of them both as “pink apples” and they are definitely not the same.
I’ve been leery about trying new kinds of apples, but I first tried Pink Lady only because Costco didn’t have any Gala. I should probably pick up one Honeycrisp at the grocery store and try it.
Absolutely agree.In recent years, Ive been buying Gala, which is pretty good in all seasons, and priced right. Any apple is great right off the tree, but until recent years, they would not keep well after Halloween. Recent cultivars have a much longer shelf life.