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