Apple flavor chart


Personally, I take exception to the ranking order of some of these, but perhaps HO members will find it useful…

6 Likes

Curious, but which ones do you think are off?

Personally, right off the bat I don’t think Gala’s are the second sweetest

Macouns should be next to Macintosh, Snapdragon next to Empire. Red Delicious are almost always awful and shouldn’t even be on the list!
There are quite a few varieties I’ve never had, with new ones grown commercially every year.

1 Like

I was interested to see just how few of these varieties are generally available in the UK. I only recognise Granny Smith, Empire, Jazz, Braeburn, Jonagold, Golden & Red Delicious and Fuji

2 Likes

Macs are tart when first picked, and quite sweet imo by Dec.

Macs are an Ontarian creation, @Harters https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mcintosh-apple

2 Likes

Not sure why the red Prince didn’t make the list.

Or Cosmic Crisp, a new fave of mine.

1 Like

My fav was Fuji’s… until I discovered Honeycrisps. Not the best to bake with, but my absolute fav for eating raw.

3 Likes

My favorites are Honey Crisp (Go Gophers after the Hawkeyes!) and Fuji.

1 Like

When I was growing up life was simpler: there were Macintosh and (Red) Delicious in the stores, and that was it. We did have Lady Apple trees in the back yard, but usually weren’t able to get the apples when they were ripe, but not yet eaten by insects or worms.

1 Like

I love these too - really nice texture and tart-sweet balance.

I’m surprised Northern Spy and Winesap aren’t included, but NS are primarily a baking apple and Winesaps aren’t widely available commercially.

I’ve had a few Red Delicious in recent years that were pretty good…actual flavor and crunch! I still don’t buy them though.

My fave is Pink Lady…hits all the bases for cooking and eating, with a solid balance if flavor.

1 Like

They’re a fairly recent discovery for me. Before that I used to like Fuji & Crispin, neither of which I thought were overly sweet. Juicy and a crisp texture, more like it. But I’m not really an apple person :grimacing:

1 Like

Always my far and away favorites with Macouns a distant second.

I mostly buy Russets, Honey Crisp, Cosmic Crisp, Sweet Tango, and I try new varieties when I see them.

I’m not a fan of the flavour of Golden Delicious and Mutsu.

1 Like

I live in the Netherlands, Northern Europe, and one of the more famous apple producing countries on the continent. Many cultivars have been developed here.

The three apple varieties I like most are:

Belle de Boskoop - https://www.orangepippin.com/varieties/apples/belle-de-boskoop

Elstar - https://www.orangepippin.com/varieties/apples/elstar

Cox’s Orange Pippin - https://www.orangepippin.com/varieties/apples/coxs-orange-pippin

3 Likes

I tend to play the percentages when buying apples. Fuji and honeycrisp seem to be the most consistent. I rarely get one of those that is subpar. Most of the other varieties are hit or miss for me. Opals are usually pretty good, too.

1 Like



Interesting, John. For me, the third row is entirely absent but I’ve seen all the others , except the snapdragon in row 4, in my local groceries. (I’m the main grocery shopper in my family so I do pay attention)

To Erica’s question, I think there may be some lack of precision on the chart between tart and sweet when some apples have a lot of both. For example, the honeycrisp I’ve bought are sweet, but they’re also a lot tarter than the red/gold delicious and the jonagold.

The red delicious as someone else mentioned are sweet but have no tart at all left to them, not to mention having Gaack! mushy/grainy texture after too many generations of growers in Yakima, WA chasing “red Red RED” skin color as their only inspiration. So shouldn’t a relatively sweet apple, with no hint of tart, not be all the way down at the sweet end?

Gala and Fuji and Ambrosia are for me almost indistinguishable and are all quite acceptable for table eating (not the least because their price is now much lower here than honeycrisp or envy, or especially pink lady which often exceeds the price of ground beef per pound). And yes, they are sweet but it’s balanced by a good hit of tart.

1 Like

Oh how I miss picking Elstars!

1 Like

I really like the Api Etoile apple. But nearly impossible to find.