What is your Favourite Apple to eat?
- Thread starter GameBoy27
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I actively dislike the taste and texture of Delicious, but I'll accept most any others. Macs for me if they're available.
It's off-topic, but which of the faddier varieties makes the best pies? My go-to has always been the Spy, but like Macintosh they've fallen from favour and are harder and harder to find.
Thanks for the thread, Game.
It's off-topic, but which of the faddier varieties makes the best pies? My go-to has always been the Spy, but like Macintosh they've fallen from favour and are harder and harder to find.
Thanks for the thread, Game.
Granny Smith for me. Fuji is good too. Thank you for asking. Finally we have a meaningful thread.
I prefer the combination of Granny Smith with Macintosh ( 3:1 ratio) for pies.
Macs seem to be readily available in most major stores I've been in but not fond of their "mealy" texture.
For pure eating, Honeycrisp or Tango. Either is great with a slice of Old Cheddar or Goat Camenbert and a glass of Harvest Reisling.
They are also good for cooking/baking as they stay relatively firm in texture with just a right amount of tartness (IMHO).
Second vote for Honey Crisp - an awesome apple to eat, and stores really well. I have a small orchard at my cottage but they're all traditional varieties (Northern Spy, Delicious, Ida Red, Empire, and McIntosh about 20 trees in total). After eating Honey Crisp, I have to admit that I prefer them. For cooking though - the more traditional apples are better, IMO. It's really hard to find Honey Crisp trees - I'd love to get some, but the supply is very controlled. I believe the only Canadian orchard that has them is in the Maritimes. That's why they're so expensive. Pricey but worth it.
OMG This ^^^
What a great idea, sounds so good. I have an open bottle of ice cider from Quebec in the fridge that I never get around to having. I'll try it with slices of Honeycrisp and some Old Cheddar. Thanks for the suggestion!
My second choice would be the small Ontario Macintosh apples, nice and crisp with the right amount of tartness. Granny smith takes 3rd. place.
Like a few others mentioned, I can't stand red or golden delicious.
My pleasure. Good question regarding best pie apples.
I'm right with you on the dislikes and even the likes, although I don't really have a preference - usually depends on price and HoneyCrisp is up there. Like them crisp and sweet, a little tartness is good too. So definitey Mac, Gala, Fuji, Ambrosia, Granny Smith. The thing with granny smith is if you try organic, quite a difference and if the skin is lighter with a tinge of yellow they are actually very sweet versus the pure green tart ones.
Delicious tend to ripen a little earlier, they're best right after the first frost. Freshly picked, they're great - but they store horribly (IMO) - they bruise easily and get pulpy quickly. Literally a day after picking - you can taste that they're getting pulpy. The new varieties are engineered for good storage and transport. I think Honey Crisp actually taste like a fresh Delicious apple - but the flesh is lighter, not as dense, and the apple stores really, really well. The problem with the new apples is that they spoil you, LOL. It used to be that apples had a season - now good apples are available year-round. Again though - I believe that the traditional apples (Macs, Northern Spy, Ida Reds... even Delicious) are better for cooking. The newer varieties tend to lose flavour when cooked - and end up tasting watery and bland.
I think you'll see a lot more votes for Granny smith after this...
An apple a day.....
