What Kind Of Apples?
 

I enjoy apples, granny smith are my favorite, but I also like red delicious. But I'm wary of trying new kinds of apples because I don't know what they are like and I don't like sweet, soft apples like McIntosh. Can anyone give any suggestions of crisp, tart apples? or crisp semi-sweet?

My absolute favorite apples are Cameo, but they can be hard to find. They're tart and very crispy. I'm spoiled now and have a hard time enjoying other varieties when I can't find my Cameos. I'd say my second choice are Fujis.

How do you eat your apples? My favorite way is sliced thin with a (carefully measured) tablespoon of natural peanut butter. :T

I usually just eat them plain, I like them cold so always keep them in the fridge. Occasionally I'll add a little peanut butter or extra sharp cheddar cheese.

I hate mushy apples. I don't even like Red Delicious because of the bitter skin. A good guideline I've found, is that if the tiny label says it's australian, give it a try. My favorites are Honeycrisp (expensive and hard to find), Cameo, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Royal Gala (if it says just Gayla, it sometimes is a gamble), Fuji, Cripps Pink, Jonagold (better than both of it's parents the jonathan and the golden delicious).

Also, if you google "apple varieties" you can find websites that picture and describe the apple varieties and when they are in season.

Braeburns are my favourite as well. I also love Pacific Rose, although I'm not sure how widely available that is outside of NZ - it's a very new hybrid which has only been sold for the last couple of years...

Ah, Pacific Rose, this was the one I was asking my husband to help me remember when I made my original list. Oh, and I should have mentioned New Zealand as well as Australia. When it comes to pretty yellow/red, crisp, sweet tart apples New Zealand and Australia are tops!

Oh, and the Pacific Rose are at least available in the Midwestern US, as I've bought them in Illinois and Wisconsin. Soooo good, especially refrigerated before eating (but not so long that they asorb fridge odors). Mmmm, now I want apples.

Honeycrisp!!!
 

You said it yourself! Crisp. The very best apple in the world, in the UNIVERSE, developed at my very own alma mater, the U of Mn......best to grow yourself, as I do, but I think they are pretty widely available.....later......they need some cool fall weather to get the best flavor...Honeycrisp has actually been rated the best tasting apple in lots of publications.......if you can find them in a few weeks, you will be pleased...they store very well in the frigde....I have an extra fridge and can store the ones I grow for a few months......good luck!

Last year, at our local farmer's market, locally grown Honeycrisps were being sold for $3.00 a pound. "There is no way, I'm paying $3 a lb for apples," I thought, and then I saw them selling in a local grocery store for $6 a pound. So, of course I bought a couple at the next farmer's market, and instantly felt deep pangs of love/regret. I was RUINED for all other apples.

OK, I got over the lovesickness, when honeycrisp season was over, so I could once again enjoy other crisp, juicy sweet/tart apples. Still, I can't wait for them to show up again at the farmers market. I'll cringe at the price, of course. but I'll pay it. They really are that good!

Road trip to Maryblu's!!

I have not had a honeycrisp, though I love apples. I will be on the hunt for these this fall. However, if I am just wandering around the regular supermarket, I go with medium to small galas (too large can be too mushy) or Fujis.

9 years ago, I had a golden delicious that knocked my socks off. Crisp, sweet, incredibly good. I have not had ANY apple as good since. In fact, I had my sister take some to her 1st grade class for their apple tasting activity. It was the only year that a yellow ever won. She said they all just gushed about it.

Honey Crisp and Pink Lady- I don't like mushy or grainy apples either.

I love Galas. Sweet and crisp and hardly ever mealy. I was at the farmer's market this morning and saw some Honeycrisps. If I had known they are so highly recommended, I'd have bought some to go with my Galas.

When I lived in England, I liked Cox's pippins. But you can't get them here in Canada :(

I like Granny Smiths, but DH doesn't, so we usually buy galas. I eat them plain usually, but if I'm treating myself, I have a small piece of extra-sharp cheddar with them. I think that's a UK thing too - my dad always ate cheese with his apple pie.

Jax

I love Golden Delicious apples. Mcintosh as well and I just discovered a new one - Ginger gold. Firm, crisp and slightly sweet, and a good size, not too big, not too small - yummy.

We have an orchard nearby that grows the best Golden Delicious I've ever had. When they're not in season, though, my next favorite is Gala apples. Macoun is a good crisp apple, too. I'm eager to try the Honeycrisp, I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I like them chilled, with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese.

I also dislike mushy and grainy apples. My favorite lately has been Empire - and they're widely available here in NY.

I used to really like Granny Smith, until I realized that most of them came from New Zealand, which means that giant amounts of fuel are needed to get them to supermarkets in the US. So when you're wincing at the price of $3 apples at the farmers' market, Kaplods, just think of all the good you're doing for the environment! I'm surprised at the high price, though, because most varieties of apples sell for just $1.25 at the farmers' markets here....

I thought the price was absolutely ghastly, because usually the farmer's market prices are very low here too. Even ranier cherries brought in from Washington state were only $3 lb. (We have a few farmers who drive across country, or half way to exchange with other farmers' co-ops)

My guess is that, as with anything, the price is established by what the market will bear. The demand must have far exceeded the supply.

I second Honeycrisp and Pink Lady. Sooooooo good!!

Gala and golden delicious are my favorites. I can't STAND red delicious apples anymore.

My favorite apple is Fuji. But I get mine locally grown at my farmer's market and they are far superior to the Fujis sold in my grocery story. Unbelievably crisp and sweet. The farmer's market also has what they call "lunchbox" Fujis, which are smaller than the average apple--only two or three ounces, a perfect size for snacking. I can also get locally grown Granny Smith but these days I prefer Fujis for snacking.

I try to buy mostly locally grown produce (because of the environmental waste involved in shipping produce and also because I believe in supporting independent farmers) and in the winter about all you can get around here in terms of fruit are apples and strawberries, so that's what I live on until spring.

Mostly I just eat my apples plain, but sometimes I make a dip for them by mixing nonfat cream cheese with a little cinnamon and splenda or sugar-free Torani syrup. I also cook with them. One of my favorite recipes is Apple-Spinach Chicken (although I make it with chard because my SO doesn't like spinach).

Gala and Fuji are my favorites, especially with a TBSP of Peanut Butter.

Honeycrisps are indeed the King of apples! They are usually only available in the early fall - should be hitting your local grocery any day now. If your grocery doesn't carry them, ask (or beg!) the produce manager if he can order them. Once the Honeycrisp season is over, I switch to Pink Lady's - they are very crisp and sweet tart. Just today I found an apple at Wegman's called a Paula Red - it is great - tasty, crisp, sweet tart and juicy, but on the small side. Good luck!

I got some Honeycrisps at the farmer's market yesterday along with my Galas. They are indeed delicious! Thanks for the tip, girls!

Cortlands Cortlands Cortlands Cortlands Cortlands I Love Them

I think the answer is: whichever grows closest to you, because the fresher the better. Nothing worse than getting an apple that's been hauled hundreds of miles in a chilled truck, then kept in a hot warehouse....you know, the grainy/mushy kind??

Where I live CostCo is pretty good about getting fresh WA state new crop apples....they have different varieties at different times but the last Granny Smiths I got there were so good.

They're really good baked with a with cinnamon & vanilla extract.....makes the house smell so good! I love to cook them like that and put them on a whole wheat English muffin with some low fat ricotta cheese. It's very Danish-y!!

maryblu, can you get Honeycrisps @ the supermarket? To be honest, I've never been a big apple-eater (except occasionally my mom slices them up and puts them on salad), there was an article in the Pioneer Press a few days ago about the start of orchard season, and the writer drew a distinction between supermarket apples like Red Delicious and Granny Smith, and orchard apples including Honeycrisp. I've yet to try a Honeycrisp but picked a couple up at a farmer's market on the UoM campus a couple of days ago

Pink Lady hands down :)

Close second would be Royal Gala and Cameo

I bought a bucket of "Lady Williams" from the Bus Depot Markets awhile ago and they were absolutely stunning...I believe they've something to do with Pink Lady apples so that stands to reason.

We have a friendly old man who drops into my work place from time to time with his own home grown Braeburn apples...omg...so good.

Yes...I am an apple-holic

It's nice to see people mentioned Australian fruit :)

ANother, I find Honeycrisps at Krogers. They are lovely. Lyria, how wonderful to have someone come to work to sell their homegrown apples. I'm in the wrong part of the country for apples, so that seems quite wonderful :)

Lyria's choices are absolutely right. Braeburn has been my favorite for the last year or so--how wonderful to have someone come around to sell them! Pink Lady, Cameo, Honeycrisp & Gala are all at our better supermarkets here in Chicago. We're very lucky to be in the Midwest, where there are lots of orchards. Although I notice some of the Braeburns are shipped here from New Zealand--and are quite good.

jtammy, I don't think we have Kroger's in Minnesota (any more: we may have when I was a kid), our big supermarket chains here are Cub and Rainbow. (HIJACK I've been watching that PBS series on The War, there are references to an A&P in Luverne, but if you were to ask me about A&P today I'd say they were strictly an east-coast company END HIJACK)

Anyway, since I made that post I did see Honeycrisps in a Cub, so I accept that they are available in supermarkets contrary to the impression I got from the Pioneer Press story. But I'm glad to know they're not just available in the Midwest

Cameo (in a landslide!), Pink Lady, Honeycrisp and Johnagold!

Funny, I used to think I didn't like apples. The problem is that I just don't like Delicious Apples that have been sitting in the store too long. I love the different varieties I have been trying: Honeycrisp, Cameo, Fuji, Gala. Thanks to all of your comments I have some more varieties to try. :carrot:

Honeycrisp hands down. Then Macs. I found honeycrisp at SuperTarget this weekend. Check there. They had two sizes medium and large. They were at a good price too $2.29 a pound.

week 39
LAWL franchise center
Plan 2 with lites
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I lvoe Macoun apples though I'm allergic to apples. The only apple that I'm not allergic to, ironically, are the apples I hate the most.. which are Granny Smiths...

Honeycrisp - absolutely the best apple I have ever tasted!!

Tied for a far-distant second are Fuji and Pink Lady

My favorite apple is the Empire apple. I have tried Honeycrisp which people tend to rave about but I think the Empire apple tastes a lot better. I do like crisp vs soft apples but I think I like the mixture of sweet and tart in the empire apple.

I like Jonagolds IN season. Same with most of the other apples. I like them for a few weeks but they dont store well. For year round consistancy I buy Fuji, they arent as good as a good Jonagold or other in season apple, but they tend to still be pretty good no matter the season. Jona's can get mushy after awhile.

Right now though...everything is good!