Honeycrisp Apples
 

I just cut into a Honeycrisp apple and gave some slices to my kids. We all agreed this was the best apple we have ever tasted. The flavors are intense. They are kind of pricey - about $3.00/pound - but very much worth it.

The little label on the apple has a produce code of 3283 and ours was grown in Washington. Apparently, Honeycrisp apples got their start in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Check them out if you can.

http://kstp.com/article/stories/S226169.shtml?cat=162

The Honeycrisp was originally developed in 1974 at the University of Minnesota. It was recently proclaimed the state fruit of Minnesota. :) More info/trivia can be found via Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeycrisp

This is by far my most favorite apple. Sweet, tart, juicy, crisp, it's the perfect eating apple. It doesn't stand up as well as other varieties for baking or other uses, but nothing comes close, IMO, for an on-the-go snack. :)

They are expensive right now (if you can find them) because they're out of growing season. The best time to buy them is in the early/mid-fall. In MN, you can routinely get them for under $1.50/lb and at that price, there's not much difference from other varieties in cost.

They can charge whatever they want for them because people will pay it.

There are two vendors at the local farmers market who have them, one gets $2.50 a lb, the other the same price as all of his apples. $1 a lb.

They tuck them in cold storage (our area they are picked in the beginning/middle of Sept) and pull them out whenever they need a few bucks.

I'll be the first to admit, if the $1 a lb guy is out, I may buy some of the others.

Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Winesaps are my favs.

Never heard of these, but I'll not be watching out--as will others. Sorry if the price goes up, but I appreciate the tip!

I love honeycrisp apples. I had one for the first time last summer and I was hooked. I wish they sold them at Costco like my former favorite, the fuji!

Honeycrisp apples are by far my favorites. Back when I lived in Minnesota, we would often go to the orchards to buy them directly ($$$) but also could find them in the grocery store ($$).

I learned recently that they are grown in France and sold under the name Honey Crunch. I went on a quest to find them and in my excitement bought almost a dozen... only to be disappointed by the flavor. They're not the wonderful Honeycrisps I know and love. :( Like wine, I suppose apples' flavor also changes depending on climate and soil. Wish I could get them from the US.

They've become my favorite raw eating apple. And we seem to be growing more locally in Michigan ^

My interest is piqued...anyone know if these are even available in California, esp. Northern CA, and particularly San Francisco?

I still prefer the coated apple candies. :) Oh how childish I am. :o

Whole Foods carries them in this area. We think of them as "Winesap or Pippin methadone" - I only buy them if the local apple guy at the farmer's market sells out of our favorites before we get there. He grows about 40 varieties, and I'd rate at least 7 or 8 of them better than the Honeycri$$$p.

These are great... Unfortunately, their season appears to be kind of short.

I bought some Honeycrip apples at Costco in California a couple of months ago. I think it was eight big ones for $7 or around a buck a pound.

They were good (certainly much better than the mutated, de-crunched Red Delicious the apple industry loves to push)--but, I much prefer the large Fujis which are in the markets for a little bit less per pound. More complexity of flavor. I think the ones I have been buying are grown in Northern California.

Indeed, but if properly stored they will keep for quite a while.

OK so now I'm curious. Will be in Minneapolis in late December...is there a chance any will still be around for me to try?

I prefer Pacific Rose. Label number 3608. Washington State and perfect.

They look very Braeburnesque.

My favourite is still the Egremont Russet (although I do enjoy the odd Jonagold), but their season is pitifully short (the late season ones are better anyway).

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My mom first tried them in Northern CA (at a Trader Joe's) about 2 months ago. She's hooked on them.

They've started selling flats of Honeycrisp apples and flats of Gala apples at our local Costco. They have a pitifully short season, I'm afraid!

Oh, if you buy them, make sure you get the right package. Much dissapointment in our house when the "honeycrisp" apples turned out to be marked Gala, but were put under the wrong price marker. :(

I tried a honeycrisp apple at a local grower this season. It was good, but I didn't think it was so great that I wanted to buy them over all others. The season is short, and apparently they can be pretty finicky to grow (I think these are not as disease resistant as some others? Can't remember, something like that) which is why they are expensive.

We were getting some apples via our CSA subscription until that ended a few weeks ago. Our favorite for the season was something this farm got from their neighbor farm, golden supreme. This variety is just enough different from golden delicious, and in a good way, better texture, more flavorful. We liked them so much we got a half bushel at an additional cost and went through them all pretty quickly (just two of us).

It may also help flavor-wise that local apples are not treated and/or bred to ship well, so with these the more local you can get them the better. True of most produce, really. All the stuff we got via our subscription seemed much better than what is typical in many stores.

This is the only raw apple I will eat. Got one sitting here at my desk, in fact. ;) Hard to find another variety other than Granny Smith that isn't mealy...and I hate mealy apples. Plus, the taste is unique to my palate.

That being said, something happened to them this year. Last year's crop were medium-sized, but this year's crop seems to have been raised on steroid or something...nearly twice the size.

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Possible, but not too likely. They usually become available in Sept., and tend to go pretty quickly. It's possible that some stores are holding them in cold storage and letting them out slowly, but in my experience they tend to sell as quickly as grocers put them on the shelf. Good luck.

This thread makes me envious, since I have a mild allergy or sensitivity to raw apples, as I do to a few other raw fruits (e.g. cherries, apricots), causing my throat to become itchy.

Candy apples are fine though. :)

The Honeycrisp apples I picked up are large. They look like they are about 50% larger than a regular-sized apple.

California apples are lousy. You need a hard frost to make a good apple. If you want to spend money on premium quality apples, don't bother if they've come from California. And if you've had a honeycrisp that came from California or some other place where they only have wimpy winters, you haven't had a honeycrisp.

Yep. But last year's crop...at least the ones that were sent to Texas last year...were the size of a MacIntosh or a Braeburn. This year I can hardly finish one.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

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I had the good fortune to pick a few lbs of Honey Crisps at an apple orchard in Springfield, VT this fall. Very nice fresh off the tree!

I'll have to make sure to check the sticker. I've had them, and they're good..but nothing overwhelming.

I'm quite content with my fuji's -- with a little extra crunchy Peanut butter on top :)

I went to a Fresh Market today and bought a couple because of this thread. They were very good though I like getting apples off the farm in season the best.

My family will only eat Honeycrisps while they're in season. We get them at a local cider mill for ridiculous prices, but I haven't seen them many other places.

I just learned about Honeycrisp apples this fall. They are great! I'll be on the lookout for them from now on.

Rather a harsh statement, and utterly untrue. However, most of the best California apples are only sold through local outlets, such as farmer's markets or direct from farm stands, so California apples shipped out of state may only be the second rate ones.

However, California grown Pippins are definitely the best - too harsh a winter, and they don't do well at all.

And really, is there an apple nastier than the poor, abused Red Delicious from Washington state that spend months in storage, and hit the supermarkets about March? Mushy, grainy and tasteless.

"Delicious" apples are anything but. :td:

The Honeycrunch (Honeycrisp's name in France) apples I had previously bought at Monoprix were more or less normal size. The ones I bought yesterday at Tang Freres are huge!

After my previous disappointment I wasn't planning to buy more, but this thread and the fact that they looked so good made me pick up two of them. Well... I was again disappointed. The texture is fine but the flavor is just not there. I guess I'll just have to continue my quest for finding crunchy, non-mealy, flavorful French apples.

HoneyKrisps (as my local apple orchard calls them) are indeed the best! We still have a few in our fridge. As a matter of fact, I think I'll have one now!

Oh my.
 

Just bought a Honeycrisp at Safeway.

Pretty amazing apple. super crisp and sweet.

Still love my Fujis, but may have to indulge in a few more of these, while they are around.

Honey Crisp!!! Yum! I found this wonderful variety 3 seasons ago and it is my favorite apple! Such a shame it had such a short growing season. If they are not available I'll buy Pacific Rose or Pink Lady - among other varieties.

I teach a horticulture class at a university and have to agree that this is a pretty incredible apple! I am amazed at the number of apple cultivars that have been created over the years... The real test of its merit will be how long it is around for....

One of the other professors teaches intro to horticulture and has an apple tasting lab every fall, in which the class has the opportunity to try some 50 apples that can be grown in IL! Most of the students are amazed at the flavor and qualities of some of these diverse apples (some of which have been around since the early 1800's). What a great fruit!

If they have the Washington label, it's very likely they were grown in or near Wenatchee, where I live, the "Apple Capital of the World." There's nothing like buying them from a roadside stand, picked off the tree a few hours earlier. One of our local fruit packers has a retail store where they sell all varieties (including Honeycrisp) for $0.79 - $0.99/lb. Another relatively new variety is Pinata, a cross between a Gold Delicious and a Cox Orange Pippin. The Pinata Apple won “Apple of the Year 2004” honors in Europe. Its flavor is very sweet and it has a softer texture. Personally, I still like Fuji apples the best.

I hate those "little labels!" Why do they use them?

1) it tells you where the fruit originated, and
2) they generally have the product code on them for the checker to use when you check out, or for you to use if you're in a self-check-out line.