Raw Review’s

Remarkable! There are certain characteristics that make Honeycrisp remarkable among apples. It has a first-of-its-kind crispness that no previous apple has ever possessed, its juiciness is un surpassed, and it can be held for an unusually long period of time, compared to other apple varieties, in prime condition.

Honeycrisp is at top of apple basket

By Steve Kaufman
Who’s found the apple of his eye

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071117/FEATURES/711170352

If you’re like me, you can never quite get that apple that tastes just right — the one that’s firm and crunchy and tart but sweet. Every year, I find a type I think I like and then, the next fall, I can never remember which one that was. Last year, I struck it rich. Fresh Market on Shelbyville Road in Middletown was selling a variety called Honeycrisp. Rarely has an apple been better named. It’s crisp, it’s sweet, it’s about perfect.According to honeycrisp.com, it’sa product of cross-breeding at the University of Minnesota: mating a Macoun with a Honeygold. It’s grown in Minnesota and is available usually from mid-September until early to mid-December. Last year it was only available around here at Fresh Market. This year, it seems to be available practically everywhere. On a recent shopping expedition, I found it at Whole Foods, Paul’s and Kroger too. There were plenty at each store, but that bounty will run out. At Fresh Market, at any rate, they’re never put into cold storage, as other apples are. Manager Steven Smith told me they go from the orchards to the retailer’s distribution centers, then to the stores. That’s one reason the season’s limited; there’s no excess inventory. They’re not cheap. At Fresh Market on a recent Sunday, they were selling at $2.48 a pound, nearly 50 percent more than other apples. Whole Foods and Paul’s had them for $2.99 a pound that day, Kroger at $1.88.

Are they worth it? Depends how picky you are. The apple is big, it sprays juice down your chin when you bite into it, the taste is as sweet as … and the texture is as firm as … well, honeycrisp, just as the name says.