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Apple Rankings

applerankings.com

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Re: Apple Rankings

#231

Post by horsawlarway »

Honestly - I think this list prioritizes basically just "sweetness" and "crispness" (despite his claimed categories) which is fine - those are generally appealing things for eating. That said - many of the apples in the "shit" category are fucking delicious.

There are days when I want a sweet, crisp apple, and there are days I have a serious hankering for a good ol' granny smith.

Even the classic Red Delicious - which gets a really tarnished name in current pop culture is actually a damn good apple... soft, slightly chewy, sweet - but not too sweet, a little hint of bitter in the skin - it's just a different experience than the super sweet, juicy apples that start to just taste like apple juice.

Then again - I really like apples, and I'm vaguely suspicious that the site maker just likes sugar water.

Re: Apple Rankings

#232

Post by lm28469 »

perfectstorm wrote: post #193

They gave Honeycrisp 5 stars for sweetness but only gave 2 stars to Fuji. that doesn't make sense to me. Fuji is one of the sweetest tasting apples and Honeycrisp is a mix of sweetness and tartness.

It's a list made by a comedian, I wouldn't take it too seriously, reading the descriptions it's a pretty clear that it's at least partially, if not majoritarly, a joke website

Re: Apple Rankings

#233

Post by marze »

dekhn wrote: post #204

To me the source of the apple matters a lot more than the breed itself. Put another way: there is a high variance in the quality of apples independent of the breed. The absolute best apples I've ever had were pick-ur-own at a well-regarded apple orchard in Connecticut. I believe they are McIntosh although it could also be macoun. Every apple is crisp (not mealy), sweet and tart, with a thin skin and lots of flesh. Th…

This is so true. Thinning, tree health, soil health, all make a huge difference.

Re: Apple Rankings

#234

Post by innocentoldguy »

lcuff wrote: post #195

Others mention how pies call for different apples. In the same vein, my father's cousin, a farmer and now sadly no longer with us, had a strong opinion about apples that were best for applesauce. Sadly, I don't remember which variety. He lived in rural Ontario, Canada, and knew the only farm in the area that grew that variety, so that's where we'd go to buy apples when it was time to make applesauce.

I like Ruby Red apples for applesauce because there's no work involved. They come out of the skin as a sloppy puree.

Re: Apple Rankings

#235

Post by favorited »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #220

Funny snarky descriptions, but asssuming you buy the ratings on this site, how do you list the apples by rating? I'm actually curious what he does like!

If you click the "pick an apple" button (instead of selecting from the drop-down), you get the whole index: https://applerankings.com/pick-an-apple/

Re: Apple Rankings

#236

Post by innocentoldguy »

fideloper wrote: post #198
js2 wrote: post #112

I don't know what's with the hate on Granny Smith. I love Granny Smith apples. They are especially good for making Waldorf salad. They are also my favorite to eat with honey at new years. They have a nice crispy texture and are delightfully tangy.

I eat a granny smith every day. They don't deserve this ranking, and this is absolutely a hill I will...uh... lie down on. Not die on. I pair it with some cheddar cheese. Another good pairing with cheddar cheese is Mcintosh. When they're in season, they're great. Lately I haven't been able to find mcintosh apples in the store (or if I did, they're mushy and gross). I suspect that's the case with a lot of these apples…

Mmm. I like Granny Smith apples with cheddar cheese too. Especially in toasted-cheese form.

Re: Apple Rankings

#237

Post by lettergram »

As someone who has 20 off apple trees, while these ratings are fine. There are some reasons to have apples not listed. For instance, I have Arkansas Black apple trees. They are hardier than trees like honey crisp and their apples last 6 months in a chilled environment. Compare that with honey crisp and you’re only talking a handful of weeks.

Re: Apple Rankings

#238

Post by hughes »

stephencoyner wrote: post #229

They are severely underrating cosmic crisp imo. It’s got all the flavor of the best honey crisp you’ve ever had with an unbelievably slow browning rate. You can cut one up and leave it out for hours and it’s still not brown. My only beef with them is that they are too big. One cosmic is practically 2 meals.

Perfect for sharing :)

Re: Apple Rankings

#239

Post by wizofaus »

boomerango wrote: post #105
yalogin wrote: post #90

Without going into the contents of the article, I was surprised to learn recently the number of varieties of apple available. Then I learned apple sweetness and tartness rankings is a thing. I don’t understand why so many exist and need to exist. Why didn’t the whole market just coalesce on a few(2/3) varieties? Do people actively seek a specific variety and all these are in vogue?

It’s doubly strange when you realize there’s basically a single species of banana that we all eat.

Fairly sure all cultivars are the same species. And I dunno about you but I regular see Lady Fingers and Plantains and not occasionally Red bananas at markets here along with the ubiquitous Cavendish, so they obviously are eaten (I've had cooked Plantain in south American dishes a fair bit, but not recently). But it's probably true that most fruits are more heavily dominated by a single cultivar than apples, and there's rarely more than 2 or 3 alternatives readily available. Esp. berries - can't think of when I saw multiple options for blueberries or blackberries and even for strawberries it's rare to have much choice.

Re: Apple Rankings

#240

Post by favorited »

98codes wrote: post #215

I can tell that the person doing the rankings doesn't try to bake with these apples, or do anything but eat them out of hand; this is basically Hot or Not but for apples.

They said they consider factors such as use in baking as secondary:

"After the initial one hundred point evaluation is calculated several additional factors are considered which may add or subtract points. These include: Lineage, History, Sustainability, Uniqueness, Longevity, and Alternative Uses (cider, applesauce, baking)."

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