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Comment by nl | Hacker News Reader

Apples!

For a while a couple of years back I was an Apple geek (the fruit, not the computer).

It's good to see that the Gala, Braeburn and Fuji apples have already been mentioned.

If you can find them, Jazz apples[1] are a must-try. They are a cross between the Gala and the Braeburn, and the most amazingly crisp apple I've ever tried. I think the flavour isn't quite as good as a Gala, but that crispness is the complete opposite of the Red Delicious.

They are good looking apples, too.

The Pink Lady apple is also a good one. I think that might have my favorite flavour.

http://www.orangepippin.com/ is a good place to learn about the varities available.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(apple)

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Yes, I second the Jazz recommendation. They are as good as, if not better than, Honeycrisp, and usually cheaper. SweeTango was supposed to rival Honeycrisp, but never lived up to the expectation, IMO.

I dunno about you - when I first tasted it, I thought SweeTango was like Honeycrisp on steroids. Although I fully concede that my reaction could have been like the folks in the study where they showed people rate more expensive wines higher than the cheaper ones.

Honeycrisp is overrated imo. They are too sweet.

As a connoisseur of Minnesotan apples, I've always thought the SweeTango was a perfect iteration on the HoneyCrisp. Both are good though.

If you like slightly tart ones, you need to find a Prairie Spy. One of the first U of MN varieties, never sold in stores.

A village just outside Oxford (UK) has a communal apple orchard (http://www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk/land/wolvercoteorchard....)

They have over 30 varieties, many of which are very old and unusual. I'm a lover of crisp, tart apples, and they had one, sort of a cross between a Bramley and a Cox, which was one of the finest apples I have ever eaten.

Their annual Apple Day is coming up. Sunday 5 October 2-4:40pm

You might like this article about "branded apples", like the Pink Lady. That's a branded trademark, not a variety. (I like them too.)

http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21580468-britains-appe...

I read the article, and I don't see where it says that Pink Lady isn't a variety. It mentions the marketing that Pink Lady is sold under, but I don't see where it contradicts the assumption that Pink Lady is a variety of apple. Just marketed and subjected to a certain quality standard.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripps_Pink

the Pink Lady is of the Cripps Pink variety. I suppose a lawyer would say a "Pink Lady brand Cripps Pink apple" :-)

Ah, I understand now. I read your original comment as "Pink Lady is a bunch of different kinds of apples, all under one label".

Yeah, and Jazz is a trademarked name too.

I don't really see a reason I should care.

Pink lady is an incredibly sufficient baking apple, but for raw flavor and texture (and admittedly there's some home town pride here), nothing has ever eclipsed a proper sized Honeycrisp for me.

Have you tried Envy? The ones I've gotten this year have been a great combination (for me) of crispness and great flavor.

I absolutely love Envy apples!

They are very crisp and sweet without the tart flavor other crisp varieties seem to have. They also don't go brown after cutting for a very long time.

Definitely worth the slightly higher price in the supermarket. I very much miss them when they are out of season.

Pink Lady (which I've just now learned is a brand name, and the variety is called Cripps Pink) was my favorite for a while, but I've just discovered Envy. Great stuff, I have one with breakfast every morning.

Now if the pears could be just as good.

A fellow apple geek! (for me, the fruit and the computer)

I whole-heartedly agree on the Jazz apple! My current grocery store consistently has them in stock (which wasn't true of my prior one) so I'm a very happy camper.

Thanks for the Orange Pippin link. Going to check that out!

> The Pink Lady apple is also a good one. I think that might have my favorite flavour.

Also my favorite!

Worth noting that the Orange Pippin site takes it's name from the Cox Orange Pippin variety.

The Cox is an incredible apple that seems to grow well in England.

http://www.orangepippin.com/apples/coxs-orange-pippin

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8381396/Why-Coxs-wil...

Even deep in Iris Murdoch's "The Sea, The Sea" you'll find the Cox being praised by the lead character for being a prince of apples, and putting all others in the shadows.

And very soon, it's Cox season again. What a delight.

I like apples. What a strange thing to say!

Eve is another must-try in my book. I haven't seen them outside of New Zealand yet though.

http://www.loveapples.co.nz/new-zealand/our-apples/eve/

Huge fan of the Pink Lady/Cripps Pink, not crazy about Jazz, Fuji are borderline tasteless IMO.

Another interesting thing is how the size of the apple affects the flavor. My local super market sells two sizes of Fuji apples, 'Large' and 'Lunchbox'. For whatever reason, the large ones have exponentially better flavor than the smaller ones.

Here's a funny one if you like apples, from a number of years ago when we lived in Austria:

http://blog.therealitaly.com/2007/10/22/arnolds-apples/

Ambrosia is pretty good too.

If you are in or near Portland, they do there is an annual apple tasting event:

http://portlandnursery.com/events/appletasting.shtml

Another variety resource:

http://www.mercier-orchards.com/apple-varieties/

> For a while a couple of years back I was an Apple geek (the fruit, not the computer).

You can make this clear by not capitalizing "apple" in this case.

Pink Lady isn't an apple variety - it's just a product trademark. I think most Pink Ladies are actually Cripps Pinks.

And Kiwi Fruit is a Chinese Gooseberry!

Jazz apples are my favorite. Not in stock often. But I always get them when they are.

Russet FTW

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