quote:

Originally posted by Neel:
The new apple that everyone is Ga Ga about in this area is the new 'Cosmic Crisp'. Trees are not for sale out of the state of WA.
Another few years I think they'll be for sale in other states, that should drop the price of Honeycrisp.

Tried to get my hands on one of those trees when they announced years ago and was told
that it would probably never happen. I jabbed back that my tax dollars allowed their institution to develop that variety and was told to pound sand. I have since tried the
cosmic and find it too sweet, too expensive, and has a funny aftertaste.

Recently purchased some Opals thinking they were golden delicious. They are very crisp
and sweet with a pear like quality. The skin can have brown spots and such but are never
bruised. Definitely worth a look
.

18 varieties discussed:
https://www.thespruceeats.com/apple-varieties-2216283



https://www.thespruceeats.com/...s-for-eating-1388319

I live in apple country and enjoy many different kinds. Fuji and Galas are enjoyable but my favorite is just a strait up York. Yorks are the in demand apples for applesauce. I tried Honeycrisp recently and was underwhelmed. Perhaps it was the particular batch I had but found them bitter. Definitely not worth the extra scratch regardless of how long they last.

My go-to is the Braeburn. Great apple for a lunchbox or a pie. It'll do everything and taste good doing it.

In quantity though, they are in short supply around these parts so I use Golden delicious for my applesauce. I can get them by the crate.

After hearing so many great things about the Cosmic crunch, I tried one today. A less tasty Granny Smith is all they are IMO. Decidedly underwhelmed.

One apple you don't see much of any more is the Mutsu apple. It was the most popular by my neighbors and they would completely clean the tree of apples.

Mutsu is listed in some studies of the most antioxygen:

The Most Nutritious Types of Apples, Ranked by Antioxidant Levels
Melanie Pinola
4/02/14

Some apples might be better than others when it comes to keeping the doctor away. Canadian researchers analyzed the antioxidant levels in eight different apple varieties to find which ones have the highest concentrations of those disease-fighting compounds.

Blue Jack Orchards reports the study results published by the American Chemical Society:

In order of antioxidant levels, the varieties ranked:
Red Delicious (2,012), Northern Spy (1,548), Ida Red (1,479), Cortland (1,323), Golden Delicious (1,265), McIntosh (1,163), Mutsu (1,017) and Empire (782). The numbers are measures of total phenolic content in parts per million.

It's interesting to note that Red Delicious had more than twice the antioxidants as Empire apples. The researchers chose these varieties because they all grew on the same orchard in Ontario, so the growing conditions were the same.

They also found that polyphenol levels—a major source of antioxidants in apples—were five times higher in the skin than in the flesh. So eating apple pie is probably not as healthy for you as eating an apple whole (although you could bake an apple pie in an appleand get the skin too). Either way, when picking apples for health reasons more than for flavor or cooking purpose, think redder may be better.

https://lifehacker.com/the-mos...-antioxid-1556951427

quote:

Originally posted by Loswsmith:
Cosmo Crisp and Sweet Tango (two other high end apple varieties) are my favorites. I love teh "crunch" but need more sweetness/acid in my apple.

I’m a fan too. Honeycrisp was my favorite until I tried a Cosmic Crisp apple.

quote:

The Curse of the Honeycrisp Apple

Sounds like a Nancy Drew Mystery

Just found some more of these at my local Aldi this past weekend, they are awesome:

quote:

SnapDragon
A new New York apple characterized by “monster crunch.” One of its parents is the Honeycrisp, and you’ll love the spicy/sweet flavor. Along with RubyFrost, SnapDragon is one of two exciting new apples that were 10 years in the making and developed by Cornell University’s apple breeding program.

Profile
Extra sweet, with hints of vanilla and spice.
Two-napkin juicy
Crispy texture

Best Uses
Excellent for fresh eating, great for salads, and gourmet recipes. Pack a Snap for a sweet and healthy snack.

Special Hint
If you like Honeycrisp, you’ll love SnapDragon. Annual high demand means the SnapDragon won’t be here long. Get yours before they’re all snapped up.

Availability
Late September through January

Link

I think I mentioned earlier in this thread that as a kid in upstate NY we had family outings to visit apple growers and pick our own. So many decades ago I can't remember where although I want to say in the Amsterdam area...dunno.

But my sister's family now visits this place for fruit picking. They have over 20 varieties of apples. Damn I miss this stuff!

https://www.navarinoorchard.com/

finally saw some Cosmic Crisp so I bought a couple and will try them

We have one of these.
Anna (apple) - Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_(apple)
Last year, it had 12 apples on the whole tree. It was our only apple tree and we were told that was okay as it didn't need another tree to produce fruit. But, we were told, it might be more productive if it was near another apple tree.
We got another (tiny) tree.
This year, it has 12 apples on one single branch! We are going to be making and canning lots of pie filling!

Bruce

I picked up 2 cosmic crisps at the store yesterday and tried them

they were really good, much better than the honey crisp - a bit sweeter

thanks for the lead

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I picked up 2 cosmic crisps at the store yesterday and tried them

they were really good, much better than the honey crisp - a bit sweeter

thanks for the lead

Good deal. Hoping to have a few picked up on the next grocery run. THX

my 2 favorites are Braebun and Cortland

just had another cosmic crisp and I'm now a convert

if I can get both cosmic and honey crisp, I will pick cosmic every time

Grew up in one of the best areas in the country for apple-growing, so was spoiled at an early age. Some of our golf courses had apple trees growing on their own in between the greens and the tees that made better apples than stuff you could get in the supermarket back then.

Spent 10 years in the Boston area, and they had some variety or other that was stupendously large, bright red and picturesque. Beautiful looking in a bin or on a plate, just aching for a 'still life' painter. Sadly, they tasted like someone had dipped sawdust, briefly, in diluted apple juice.

I have to admit, the Honeycrisp are the best that I've seen in supermarkets and are the only variety that I've rebought for snacking on since growing up in the Heart of the Fruit Belt in the '60s. I honestly don't know why I bought the first ones, having been disappointed by commercial apples for about 50 years, but I'm glad I did.

Sounds like I should try some of the other new varieties as well.

Fruit today is engineered to be too sweet anyway - especially apples, oranges etc. I stick with berries - blue, black, raspberries, etc.

Just finished a Cosmic Crisp. Not bad at all but not sure it will replace Fuji's as my regular go to with Pink Lady's as a change of pace.

We don't get NY varieties in these parts.

I'm in Florida and I don't recall any Florida apples for sale.

So, based on the OP and others in this thread, I purchased some Honey Crisps. I didn't notice the price being higher than other apples, but, usually, when I've determined to buy something at a relatively low price, I don't care enough to compare the cost.

Sat down about half an hour ago with half of one, and gave my wife the other half.

It was one of the worst tasting apples I've ever tasted. And, despite it being out of character, my wife agreed with me.

I gave her the rest, and she and our dog, PC, ate it all.

I cut up a Gala, which she likes and I am not fond of, but it was much better than the Honey Crisp, IMO.

Some of the names here are not available in my area, some are. None are real good to my taste EXCEPT the Golden Delicious.

Bob

I imagine that I probably liked Honeycrisp while they were still a number, before they had a name.

As a kid visiting our grandparents we would stop at the University of Minnesota Apple House and try all the new varieties.

Don’t believe it was called “AppleHouse” at the time, just a farm type building with boxes of various apples from the research to purchase.
You could sample all of the apples and purchase a bushel.
Most of the apples were not named just had assigned numbers.

Those were the best of times and apples.