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favorite Favorite apples

S

ShowMeDaSauce

I love HoneyCrisp when in season and lately they are available at bargain pricing. Locally i can get either Michigan or Washington state HoneyCrisp for as low as $1.29/b. Its really hard to beat them for the perfect combination of sweet and tart. Plus the texture is perfect.
 
Ive only found RubyFrost once at Costco. REALLY close to as good as a Michigan HoneyCrisp. Its a variety more commonly grown in NY state. In season these rival a HoneyCrisp.
 
I tried a Koru apple for the first time the other day. WOW. Super good apple and after some research i found out why. Its a cross between the other 2 apples i really like, Braeburn and Fuji. Both are excellent in season but leave a lot to be desired when not. The Kuro is large like a Red Delicious but way more crunchy, way more tart and more sweet. Personally i cant stand a Red Delicious for anything but apple sauce. The texture simply sucks.
 
Ive tried a couple others that can be good such as Pink Lady and Pinata. Gala are ok when at their peak but otherwise they dont do it for me. In season i can get a Kuro for the same price and it blows them away.
 
If possible check out Royal Empire (or sometimes just Empire) apples.  Red with crisp sweet white flesh, on the smaller side, with frequent sunkissed skins.  Absolutely "the best apple that I have ever eaten and travel 3 hours every fall season just to get those apples" kinda good.  
 
The other i want to try is SnapDragon. They are also crazy expensive unless you can find a deal on sale. It and the RubyFrost have not been around very long. Both were produced by Cornell Univ. and only in orchards for retail sales after about 2011.
 
Koru was amazing for the price. Best apple ive tried from New Zealand.
 
Fugi for store bought, and for heirloom home grown never seen in a store.. gravensteins!!!! Love em love em...Makes the BEST apple pies!!!!!

Transparents are really early and really soft, makes great apple sauce for canning and fresh.
 
It really depends on the season. We generally try different kinds at the farmers market, to check which is best this year.

For fresh eating I like Honey crisp, but I prefer Ambrosia.

the best honey crisp I have ever had, wasn't even close to the best Ambrosia.

Galas were particularly good earlier this fall, plus they are decent cooking apples too.

I love a good golden russet apple with a sharp aged cheddar cheese. I don't bother buying if they are woody though.

For baking/cooking I like a mix. Spartan, Cortland, gala. Maybe some russets if they are good.

Salsalady, we can get transparents and gravenstiens at the st Jacobs farmers market plus a lot of other old school varieties. many of the Mennonites that sell there have older trees of heritage varieties.

Snow, wolf river, tolman
 
dragonsfire said:
We once got New Zealand apples in and the Pink Lady was awesome, haven't seen them since, other then that I like Ganny Smith.
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Pink Lady is very common here, you can find them in almost every supermarket. Personally, I find them a bit soft and floury. My go to are Fuji (is this what you meant SL?), they are really crunchy, sweet, and firm. They tend to remain crunchy for a long time too. I keep mine in the fridge where they just about halt their ripening process so you know you can always get a crunchy apple.

On another note, cold oranges from the fridge are great in summer.
 
Been eating this fantastic apple! Googled the little number code, it's a Jazz from NZ.
 
Jazz is a Braeburn/Gala cross. Ive had some really excellent Braeburns when they are at their peak. Fuji is also really good at its peak. I tend to go for Fuji when the other ones are too expensive. Around here the Gala tends to be the most hit or miss. Pretty good sometimes but often the texture sucks.
 
ATM i can get the Koru for 99cents/lb which seems like a bargain. The ones they have are nice and large. SUPER crisp atm too. Fresh Thyme market usually has the best pricing on HoneyCrisp. Its way better than Costco but the ones at Costco are often extra fancy. Last ones i got from FT were $1.29/lb on sale and $1.99 when not on sale. Got to pay attention though to origin. Once in awhile they are from New Zealand and those did not impress me at all. Michigan seems best but the ones from Washington are usually excellent too.
 
dragonsfire said:
We once got New Zealand apples in and the Pink Lady was awesome, haven't seen them since, other then that I like Ganny Smith.
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Granny smith is my default apple. Tart, a little sweet, crisp, and dense. I don't like the airy/mealy apples or super sweet.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
Jazz is a Braeburn/Gala cross. Ive had some really excellent Braeburns when they are at their peak. Fuji is also really good at its peak. I tend to go for Fuji when the other ones are too expensive. Around here the Gala tends to be the most hit or miss. Pretty good sometimes but often the texture sucks.
 
ATM i can get the Koru for 99cents/lb which seems like a bargain. The ones they have are nice and large. SUPER crisp atm too. Fresh Thyme market usually has the best pricing on HoneyCrisp. Its way better than Costco but the ones at Costco are often extra fancy. Last ones i got from FT were $1.29/lb on sale and $1.99 when not on sale. Got to pay attention though to origin. Once in awhile they are from New Zealand and those did not impress me at all. Michigan seems best but the ones from Washington are usually excellent too.
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I was going to say Fuji. Those are great. Pink ladys pretty good too.
 
I think honey crisp is too sweet for me, but I forget.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
 
Granny smith is my default apple. Tart, a little sweet, crisp, and dense. I don't like the airy/mealy apples or super sweet.
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That mealy texture is the instant turn off for me with apples. I loved Red Delicious as a kid but now i cant stand them.
 
I live in an apple area (relatively), a favorite around here was macoun but I never really liked them, they are like a huge macintosh.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I live in an apple area (relatively), a favorite around here was macoun but I never really liked them, they are like a huge macintosh.
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So I had to google it. 'Macoun' apples are a cross between the 'McIntosh' and 'Jersey Black' cultivars
 
Got to try a couple more
 
Juici was very very good. Nice sweet and tart. Good crunchy texture
 
Envy was sweet and good texture but hardly tart at all.
 
Top 3 for me are still HoneyCrisp, RubyFrost and Koru when they are in season.....off season any of them can be kinda crappy.
 
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