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Apple Rankings

applerankings.com

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Re: Apple Rankings

#401

Post by eyelidlessness »

molsongolden wrote: post #243
insane_dreamer wrote: post #107

Now this is the kind of important tech/nerd info that I come to HN for! 10/10 Notes: I'm only familiar with several of the varieties on this page, but I definitely agree with the rankings. We used to buy Gala, Fuji or Juici, since there were the cheapest at the store and we didn't know better, but once we tried Honeycrisp we never went back. (Cosmic Crisp also ok but not as good. I'd also rank Envy a bit lower.) Also…

I've actually had very good red/golden delicious when picking them myself at a local orchard. Not sure if they degrade so quickly that freshness was the difference or if the local farm was growing a slightly different varietal less designed for transport and storage.

Whatever truth there is to the rapid degradation, for at least red delicious there’s a long time for degradation because they’re staples in mass markets which don’t otherwise stock fresh fruit (eg schools, convenience stores). Who knows how long those apples have traveled or rested waiting to be consumed.

Re: Apple Rankings

#404

Post by wheats »

chefandy wrote: post #345

Anybody who'd give the two top slots to sweet tango and honeycrisp -- the proprietary, designed-by committee apples that prioritize inoffensive, bland appeal over character-- doesn't deserve an opinion on this topic. It's like ranking a bazillion craft beers and giving the #1 slot to Blue Moon and the #2 slot to Sam Adams. They're the Applebee's and Olive Garden of Apples. Also, the descriptions show that the majorit…

OK let's go, give us your top 3 favs.

Re: Apple Rankings

#405

Post by inferiorhuman »

mike_d wrote: post #391
inferiorhuman wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As with everything it depends. The heirloom varieties that make it to grocery stores (at least in the Bay Area) have a short enough window each year that they're definitely not being kept in cold storage for too long. The window of availability for something like Gravensteins and Pink Pearls out here is about a month. The sweetest apples you're talking about are probably the mealy ones folks are complaining about (al…

> The window of availability for something like Gravensteins and Pink Pearls out here is about a month. The window for pretty much all apples is a few weeks. That is exactly why they all go to cold storage. If the growers don't pack them directly into storage the brokers and wholesalers will. Apples are worth more in the off season. Unless you are shopping at a farmers market or a roadside stand, they have spent some…

Right. And out here the heirlooms I'm talking about are only in stores for a couple weeks (a month at longest)… because they're not likely being kept in cold storage.

Re: Apple Rankings

#406

Post by Blackthorn »

shirleyquirk wrote: post #346
throwaway675309 wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even assuming the flavor of red delicious was at all palatable in any sense of the word, it's impossible to get past the fact that they have the tepid texture of water soaked pile of corrugated cardboard. I think you may be an outlier.

They are, I was shocked to discover, delicious and crisp, but you have 30 seconds to eat them after picking before they turn into the horror you describe so eloquently.

Yeah, I even bought one from a local farmstand to see if they really were better fresh. Nope.

Re: Apple Rankings

#407

Post by Blackthorn »

Dudical wrote: post #344
Karawebnetwork wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Red Delicious 25 Granny Smith 53 McIntosh 45 Cortland 24 Either I have never had a good apple or there is something off with this list and the reviews. Could it be they are using imported or out of season apples? This list is pretty much the apples I have access to locally and they are all perceivably better than some of the international variety that are ranked higher on that website. The comment section for Cortlan…

Red Delicious was described as "mealy", which sounds like an out of season apple. The science behind long term storage of apples made it really common to have edible apples all year round but when critiquing you've got to take freshness into account. This site has a comedy bend but with all the interest I'd love to see it embrace a rotten tomatoes kind of style (the critics vs. the masses).

I've had red deliciouses direct from the farmstand and they're mealy. They really are just bad.

Re: Apple Rankings

#409

Post by Blackthorn »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #398

I immediately went to look up the Cosmic Crisp, which was a research endeavor from Washington State University. It is an excellent apple for eating. I'm at a loss to understand these rankings, as the reviewer claims that the Cosmic Crisp has a thin skin and less-than-average flavor. This is completely the opposite of my experience - the Cosmic blows away every other eating apple on the market, including the Gala. It…

Where do you live? The Cosmic Crisps that make it here to New York (almost certainly out of season), end up having not much flavor. They're still edible though (waaaaaay better than garbage like red delicious), one great thing about the Cosmic Crisp is that they actually store well.
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