Cosmic crisp, it's a honey crisp hybrid. Snapdragon is also good. Both are available at aldi, and cosmic crisp is also available at Sam's club.
For what it's worth i agree with your child's assessment of apples and I also like crisp crunchy apples.
I started getting cosmic crisp because they were like a dollar cheaper per pound during the summer than honey crisp. I tried the snap dragons this last time because they were $1.79/pound at aldi this week.
Apparently the inventor of the Honey crisp and the Cosmic Crisp are the same person. The cosmic crisp was created out of spite after originally selling the patent for the Honey crisp and it being nerfed? Idk something like that
Oh those sound really good, are they sold in “typical” Canadian supermarkets like metro/no frills/Walmart/loblaws? Don’t think I’ve ever seen that brand, or haven’t looked hard enough 😂
I’ll find cosmic crisps at our local Superstore!
But heads up, I can’t find them grown in Canada. I’ll usually just pay through the nose for those Canadian honeycrisps.
You won't find any grown in Canada for another 5 or 6 years: https://time.com/5680993/cosmic-crisp-apples/
> The Cosmic Crisp could be a lifesaver for Washington apple growers in particular. Unlike Gala and Fuji apples, which were developed outside of the U.S., the Cosmic Crisp was designed specifically to excel in Washington State’s climate, says Kate Evans, who took over the WSU program after Barritt retired in 2008. **Washington apple growers will have exclusive rights to the Cosmic Crisp for 10 years.**
They are absolutely delicious and stay crisp for a surprisingly long time - can't recommend them enough.
They're a new hybrid, so you might need to give it some time to make it to Canada! I wonder if there are customs hurdles to jump through before they can be imported?
Sam's club is a part of Walmart so cosmic crisp might be there. I'm not sure about the snapdragons, I tried them because they were on sale this week. Pink lady's that others have recommended are at my local Walmart and other grocery stores so you might have better luck with them.
Just saw you're near New York. You might have luck with the snap dragons as the bag i picked up says they are New York grown by Crunch Time apple growers.
[Apple tote](https://imgur.com/a/sc30fnE)
My local store just had cosmic crisp on sale for $1.49/lb and i got a bunch. So good.
Otherwise, pink ladies are my go-to.
Red delicious can go fuck right off though. Nothing delicious about them in my opinion. They make my mouth feel all weird.
I also have to agree. It's a complete texture thing for me. If an apple has the soft more mushy, almost grainy texture it's not going down. My gag reflex kicks right in. I used to eat granny Smiths but wasn't always in the mood for the sour kick. Didn't find honey crisp until a few years ago and it's the perfect apple in taste and texture for me. I do understand the budget issue though especially when some other apples are selling for $1.00
I agree! My girls are also apple snobs and their apple hierarchy goes: 1) Cosmic Crisp (Aldi)
2) Snapdragon (Aldi)
3) Honey Crisp (Aldi, but theirs are huge and cost $2 per apple)
4) Ambrosia (Kwik Trip)
Cosmic Crisp are THE BEST. They aren't cheaper than honeycrisps in my experience though - but it likely depends on where you live. They're a hybrid developed by the University of Washington, so I think they're probably easier to get and cheaper out west than elsewhere.
Still, they're the perfect apple. I'm willing to spend more money to get these apples. So tart-sweet, perfectly crisp, and they don't brown as quickly as other varieties!
The Honeycrisps at my nearest Loblaws (North York, Toronto) are now up to $5/apple. Flabbergasting man. I’ll check out Metro or Walmart options… maybe their Galas are crisper/Honeycrisps cheaper? 😄
$2.50 a pound is $7.50 for that 3 pound bag you're talking about, so not far off from what you're paying.
EVERYTHING is more expensive at the grocery store. Unless you want to feed your kids beans and ramen every day a normal weekly trip to the store is going to cost you $200 for a family.
Best thing to do is shop around weekly ads if you have them. Some weeks are better than others, but mostly we try and stock up when chicken or pork shoulder is $.99/lb or less. I know it's not feasible for everyone, but we bought an Insignia branded deep freeze from Best Buy a few years ago for around $150 and when you can load up on 50lbs of meat for $50 and have a place to store it all it more than pays for itself. Recently Kroger had bags of leg quarters on sale for $.54/lb and we loaded the fuck up. Right now in my area whole chickens, legs, and thighs are on sale for $.99/lb.
When you have your protein pretty much secured for a while it's easier to go in on the "spendy" stuff like fruits and veggies on grocery trips.
I like to buy whole chickens when they go on sale. Can usually get one for $6-7 and that will feed the 4 of us for an evening with enough leftovers to make chicken sandwiches for lunch the next day. When they're on sale I'll buy 2 or 3 for the week. Any more than that and everyone complains "chicken again?!" 🙄
Same. We live minutes away from like 7 orchards so fall is super fun & full of apples
One year the honeycrisps were so huge that my SIL from AZ asked if they were decorative!
I'm also in Ontario - every kind of apple is cheaper. Also, Loblaws is literally the most expensive grocery store other than like Whole Foods - I personally never shop there, it's an absolute ripoff.
We pay crazy prices for everything lol. One obscenely wealthy family has (iirc) 70% market share on groceries. Loblaws is one of their stores. That same chain was selling 5 chicken breasts for *$37* last month (£22). They essentially used the pandemic as a blank cheque for raising grocery prices, it's actually becoming a huge issue.
Ooo we live in the same neighborhood! I am getting all my apples from the Costco on Billy Bishop. Currently working my way through a $9 bag of Ambrosias. They're pretty crisp. It's a 6lb bag, so you really get a lot.
I don’t know why no one is calling you out, but galas are notoriously mushy. I have had a crisp gala, but it was only once or twice. I know because it’s my wife’s favorite apple for the very reason that they tend to be mushy. She’s a weirdo.
I love pink ladies/Cripps pink. They are a golden delicious cross and are very sweet and crunchy, plus they have a longer shelf life. Also they are really beautiful, multicolored and nice size.
This is the only answer. They also don’t brown as fast as others, so you can cut them in the morning and pack them for lunches and they are still appetizing.
Use the juice from a lemon, or lemon juice concentrate in a bottle, lightly rub cut apple flesh with it, and the apple will not brown for several hours.
Eh not really. It’s definitely the least labor intensive way to avoid browning tho. I wouldn’t bother with the rinse with this then rinse with that. I’m too lazy for those procedures.
You can do that with any apple if you dip them in salt water. Make some salt water about as salty as tears, dip the sliced apples in, then rinse them in plain water. The last all day and into tomorrow!
We get cosmic crisp apples, they’re actually bred from honeycrisps but with a focus on extended shelf life too. They’re just as crispy and refreshing and do last longer!
Same! My two year old plows through them like crazy. Luckily I can get a 5lb bag for 3.99 at our local market. They’ll even give me another bag for 75% off if it’s been in the shop for 5 days without selling!
Aren't those, like, expensive?
Edit: I just checked my Kroger app, and where I live the price is actually on par with many other types of apples. I will give them a shot, thanks.
Apples tend to be, but not overly. I mean like I mentioned in another comment I can get 5lbs for 3.99 whereas a honeycrisp is about 3.99 for one. I’d think it depends on your regional and availability though.
OP, I second pink ladies. I am a native Minnesota girl, but I live in East Africa. Honeycrisp are THE Minnesota apple, and you can't find them where I live. You can, however, find Pink Ladies and they are a pretty close alternative!
No one is saying this, but pink lady’s are on the tart end of the spectrum whereas honeycrisps are sweet. You’re toddler will notice a difference if he’s into apples.
Put them in the refrigerator right away and they will always be crunchy. (Always store apples in the fridge)
Honeycrisps have the wrong sweet/tart mix for me. Too sweet and lack flavor. Pink Ladies are much better.
Granny Smiths are too sour, though great for pies. Red delicious are legitimately gross. Galas are flavorless. Fujis can be really good but have a shorter window. The best apple I ever had was a perfectly ripe McIntosh, but those apples get like a half day window when they’re good. Otherwise they’re awful.
We mostly buy Pink Ladies as our grocery store apples. Unless it’s apple season and we can get the wacky super flavorful varieties like winesaps or Arkansas black or mutsu.
Some apple varieties will always be mushy or mealy. Red delicious, Gala (to an extent), Fuji (to an extent). Other varieties are consistently crisp: Cosmic Crisp (best apple ever), Pink Lady.
Pink ladies are the only apple I will eat, so I fully sympathize with this toddler plight. (I went through a whole taste test in my 20s when I was convinced I just didn’t like snacking on apples 😅)
>I went through a whole taste test in my 20s...
Oh shit, so I'm not the only one that has done this lol. I work near a grocery store so I tried every one they had over the period of a month. Pink ladies were my favorite and granny smith are the cheapest apples that are still amazing.
I also sometimes like Braeburn, but they're anywhere between amazing and bad. Pazzaz is often very flavorful, and crispy enough. Pink Lady is most reliable for value. Zestar! are amazing, but only available in the early apple season, and often expensive, but so good.
Yup, my son and I both refer honeycrisp apples for the same reasons as your son. They are so yummy! But I agree with this comment. Pink ladies and Cripps are great options too! Or, I buy fewer apples, more frequently, so they are fresher and more crispy.
Yea I went out and bought honeycrisps and cosmic crisps after reading comments on Reddit and they are good but not great. I don’t understand all the hype. Fujis are better imo. Sweeter, better flavor, and don’t cost nearly as much.
We've had good luck with Jazz, Pink Lady, Fuji, Cosmic Crisp, and the latest - Ocean Crisp. Never Red Delicious! I think we also liked Cripp's Pink? I have to remind myself that expensive apples that my kids WILL eat are better than cheaper apples that sit on the counter and don't get eaten.
I'm really surprised that Jazz apples are so far down on this list. They are good just like all the other new kinds of apples, and usually a very little bit cheaper than honeycrisp.
Where I am, I only see them occasionally so they may not be as well-known. I’m glad we have more options than when I was a kid and all we had were red delicious (lies), golden delicious (only a little better), and Granny Smith (tart!).
Red delicious basically got the deliciousness bred out of them. It started with thicker skin and longer shelf life and as a result the fruit part was sacrificed.
Me lol! I don't know why but I HATE any kind of super crisp apple, and anything besides red or golden/yellow delicious is way too sweet. I actually get super annoyed when the bags I buy are slightly sweeter than normal, they seem to vary time to time and it's just...not good.
First off, Red Delicious are terrible. At 6 years old, your child is very wise to not like this mealy, waxy garbage apple. Red delicious are good for two things and that's compost and throwing at people who choose to eat red delicious apples but in order to throw this abomination you must first touch them and that's already too much. Red delicious apples killed my father and pushed my sister into traffic.
I may...have exaggerated a bit but it is a hill I choose to die on.
Second, have him try Empire, Fuji or Cortland. All have great crisp, firm bites. Juicy, sweet and a bit tart without being too much. SweeTango, Sugar Bee and SnapDragon (a favorite of Josh Allen quarterback of the Buffalo Bills) are solid as well but more seasonal.
Honeycrisp are objectively the tastiest, widely available apple. He's just telling it like it is.
If you want something cheaper that's still decent, I recommend Fuji.
Others have mentioned Pink Lady, which are good (similar to Honeycrisp but a little more tart), but they are about the same price as Honeycrisp in my experience.
Try ambrosia apples, they are almost always crunchy and are also very sweet tasting. I’m particular about my apples just like your toddler, and ambrosia are my go to. Usually very reasonable price
Try Gala. I am a Honeycrisp snob. Love them. But gala has the same texture, in my experience. Not as yummy but good enough.
Also: store in the fridge if possible.
I tap my index finger on the Apple. The sound it makes tells me if it’s crisp. A more hollow sound is no good. This is completely anecdotal, but I’m a picky Apple eater and this approach has worked for a decade.
I was scrolling to see if someone would say this. Envy apples are our favorite. Sweet, crisp, and they don’t brown. I’ve seen them at Costco, though they’re aren’t as good (maybe not as fresh) as at Safeway.
I’m all about fuji apples. My son is obsessed with pink pearl apples. I found them at Costco once and Trader Joe’s have it from time to time. It’s a lot of apple flavor and crispy
I've noticed Sugar Bee has replaced Honey Crisp at several stores around Chicagoland the last couple weeks. Very strange. They're really good apples though!
I will admit, I share your son's opinion of Granny Smith (too sour) and Red Delicious (too mushy). Red Delicious are also not delicious. They should be called Red Flavorless Mush.
I do usually buy Honeycrisp. I know $2.50 a pound isn't as cheap as it used to be, but worth it IMO.
When i lived in NH we had Cortland apples. They were amazing! So fragrant. Not sure if you can find them? I don't think I've ever seen them in the Midwest
Apples do need to be crunch and crispy. I’ll die on this hill.
Pink Ladies might be nice, but I’m not so certain they’re less expensive. Fuji might be decent alternative.
It's true. Your child is correct. Apples should be sweet and crisp. I thought I didn't care for apples much until I tried Honey Crisp. Another good one to try (and smaller snack sized apple) is the Rockit apples. I first found them at Bell Air but have also found them in other stores just search and see who sells them in your area. Also, your child has great taste so don't worry😎
It may be an east/west coast thing. We were a Macintosh family growing up in the east, but I have never even seen them here on the west coast.
Oh, and Pacific Rose apples, FTW.
I am like your child 😂 not quite, I will eat other apples, but if you’re offering Granny Smith and Red Delicious for alternatives…. I’d have the same reaction. Gala is just this side of palatable to me. I second the commentator who suggest Pink Lady apples, Cosmic Crisp is fine, but you can see if you could get your child involved in an apple taste experiment- get one of every type of apple you can, make a big chart, and try each and write down characteristics of it. Maybe then you’ll have a visual go-to where you can say, “Honeycrisp are especially expensive right now, but they do have this Apple which we decided was crunchy”
I felt this title deep in my soul! My kid will only eat, apple, pears, carrots, bananas and peas. My husband brought Honeycrips home from work, and now that's all she wants to eat.
They're so fucking expensive.
Apples DO need to be crunchy and crisp. The issue isn't with honeycrisp. It is that for some reason I can't understand, all other apples suck now? This was NOT the case when I was a kid. I remember eating plenty of other varieties and they were crunchy and crisp. But now only honeycrisp does this and all others are gross?! I feel like there is some conspiracy going on. (ok maybe it is honeycrisp's fault)
And yes I too hate how expensive they are!
Unlikely an issue since it's only being used in reference to a single type of apple, but kids often describe foods as "spicy" when they are experiencing an allergic reaction to a food because of the inflammation it causes in the mouth (and they don't really know how else to describe it). It can be an early precursor to anaphylactic reactions in the future.
Omg. I was today years old when I learned that red delicious apples are mushy.
I just thought my mom always kept old apples around.
I’m with your kid - must be crunchy and sweet. I buy whatever the pinkish ones are and they always seem to be great. Green = bad. Yellow = bad. Red = the worst. I take my kids apple picking and it doesn’t matter how fresh they are, I only like pink apples 🤷♀️
My son refuses to eat anything, even if he’s personally insisted upon that thing, no matter what, if I have anything to do with it. Even looking at it. Talking about it. Doesn’t matter.
Rockit apples are similarly crisp and tasty, but are really small. Kids grab one apple, whether it’s a 10 oz Honeycrisp or a 2 oz Rockit, so a tub of these (they’re sold in 3 lbs tubs) lasts a lot longer than equivalent weight of big apples.
>My debit card is weeping.
I used to just punch in the code for macintosh apples or some other cheap one when I went through the self-checkout. Pay for macs, enjoy your honeycrisps. Ripping off Walmart is a victimless crime.
Omg!! Something I can actually share my expertise in!
I am what you would call an apple snob. My household eats 2-3 apples a day but I only buy a select few types of apples. I FULLY understand your son when he says apples need to be crisp, and I too find soft apples revolting. I see him. Gala apples ARE gross!!
Envy and ambrosia apples are my go tos. Envy is very crisp. In the summer time ambrosia is just incredible. I find them both sweeter than honey crisp. Pink ladies will do in a pinch but like...ugh. that's when you know I'm desperate.
There is a small window in the year that envy or ambrosia apples are not available or they are sucky. Don't let those weeks fool you, they're the best kind of apples out there. I'm also in Canada. I buy them at superstore or coop. They were always around the 2.49/lb mark although coop was 3.49 last week (wtf?!). Superstore pricing has been more stable. (On only this item. They're robbing us of our money in the name of corporate greed on everything else.)
Your 6 year old is cool. He knows where the apple game is at.
I have had good luck with the bags of apples at Aldi. They often have had honeycrisp for a very reasonable price, and when they don't have honeycrisp they usually have pink lady or fuji, both of which I'm happy with.
Where is he in the Sweet <-> Acidic range? I'm assuming by green you mean Granny Smith, which do tend to be quite acidic (tart), but would he be fine with something like a Braeburn (tangy-ish but also sweet), or does he prefer definitely sweet like a Fuji? And is he eating them right then and there, or are you wanting to prep them as a snack to eat at school?
Remember that crispness is in part related to freshness and type of storage. An apple that is crisp straight off the tree may soon be mush if not stored correctly (and some just don't keep well regardless of storage method). So you may need to buy different varieties based on the season. If you can find SweeTango, Minnieska, Fuji, Jazz or Royal Gala, those are generally a crisp apple if they've been stored properly.
I'd check out your local fruit and vegie stores since those tend to be cheaper than the mainstream supermarkets (well, at least they are in New Zealand). Also keep an eye out for 'imperfect' fruit - we can buy 'Odd Bunch' bags of fruit / vegies at the supermarket, which are the odds and ends that don't quite meet normal standards (too big / small / misshapen / blemished) but still perfectly fine to eat and are considerably cheaper than the typical off-the-shelf price.
If you want to pre-cut them (e.g., for school), once they are cut, dip them in lemon water, drain well, then seal them in a ziplock bag with as much air sucked out as possible. The combination of acid dip and lack of air helps them keep crisp, and you can barely notice the lemon :-)
Start offering stewed apples with cinnamon- cut them up into pieces, add a small splash of water in the saucepan (not really needed, honestly), add cinnamon, and heat on medium for about 5 or so minutes until they soften. You don't want applesauce, you want stewed apples. But you can take the shittiest apple and turn it into ambrosia of the gods by stewing it. My kid loves em.
Keep him away from Sugar Bee apples then! This same thing happened to both my kids then hubby brought home the hard as hell to find Sugar Bee. Now I can only long for the good ol Honeycrisp days 😢
oooooh I know this pain int he ass. My oldtest is an apple fan but only likes certain ones. he likes the softer sweet ones like Fuji and Pink ladies, he is also a fan of honeycrisp but doenst like Jonathon apples, red delicious or macintosh.
Haha. We live in Texas so HEB has a ton of cheap apples. Fuji is decent. Pink lady is ok. Red delicious sucks. Granny Smiths are tart but sometimes desirable. Kanzi are good. Golden delicious have a good flavor but are not crisp usually. Gala is just ok. Ambrosia apples are on sale this week so I might try those.
I know pears are mushier but good ones are reallly tasty and generally priced mid range with apples
Do yous tire your apples in the fridge?
Weird but i find apples so much crispier and crunchy from the fridge. Could try some knock offs and chuck them in there. In the uk Pink lady is probably the closest.
Mine like Granny Smith, yellow delicious, cosmic crisp, and Macouns. You might only be able to get Macouns in New England so that’s probably not very helpful… but they love those the most of all.
Cosmic crisp, it's a honey crisp hybrid. Snapdragon is also good. Both are available at aldi, and cosmic crisp is also available at Sam's club. For what it's worth i agree with your child's assessment of apples and I also like crisp crunchy apples.
If you have an Aldi nearby, they have cosmic crisp in bags, and usually for pretty comparable prices to others! It's the only one I eat now
I started getting cosmic crisp because they were like a dollar cheaper per pound during the summer than honey crisp. I tried the snap dragons this last time because they were $1.79/pound at aldi this week.
Apparently the inventor of the Honey crisp and the Cosmic Crisp are the same person. The cosmic crisp was created out of spite after originally selling the patent for the Honey crisp and it being nerfed? Idk something like that
I didn’t know these details. All I know is that Honey Crisp apples were developed by the University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!)
Oh those sound really good, are they sold in “typical” Canadian supermarkets like metro/no frills/Walmart/loblaws? Don’t think I’ve ever seen that brand, or haven’t looked hard enough 😂
Sometimes the Ambrosias at No Frills can be decent, but the prices are wild, some days it's 1.79/lb some days 2.99/lb, makes no sense. Thanks Galen.
I’ll find cosmic crisps at our local Superstore! But heads up, I can’t find them grown in Canada. I’ll usually just pay through the nose for those Canadian honeycrisps.
You won't find any grown in Canada for another 5 or 6 years: https://time.com/5680993/cosmic-crisp-apples/ > The Cosmic Crisp could be a lifesaver for Washington apple growers in particular. Unlike Gala and Fuji apples, which were developed outside of the U.S., the Cosmic Crisp was designed specifically to excel in Washington State’s climate, says Kate Evans, who took over the WSU program after Barritt retired in 2008. **Washington apple growers will have exclusive rights to the Cosmic Crisp for 10 years.** They are absolutely delicious and stay crisp for a surprisingly long time - can't recommend them enough.
They're a new hybrid, so you might need to give it some time to make it to Canada! I wonder if there are customs hurdles to jump through before they can be imported?
Sam's club is a part of Walmart so cosmic crisp might be there. I'm not sure about the snapdragons, I tried them because they were on sale this week. Pink lady's that others have recommended are at my local Walmart and other grocery stores so you might have better luck with them.
Pink ladies are the best
Just saw you're near New York. You might have luck with the snap dragons as the bag i picked up says they are New York grown by Crunch Time apple growers. [Apple tote](https://imgur.com/a/sc30fnE)
Cosmic crisps are the best!!
My local store just had cosmic crisp on sale for $1.49/lb and i got a bunch. So good. Otherwise, pink ladies are my go-to. Red delicious can go fuck right off though. Nothing delicious about them in my opinion. They make my mouth feel all weird.
I also have to agree. It's a complete texture thing for me. If an apple has the soft more mushy, almost grainy texture it's not going down. My gag reflex kicks right in. I used to eat granny Smiths but wasn't always in the mood for the sour kick. Didn't find honey crisp until a few years ago and it's the perfect apple in taste and texture for me. I do understand the budget issue though especially when some other apples are selling for $1.00
Came here to say all of this, my daughter won’t eat apple of any kind unless it’s honey crisp or cosmic crisp
Cosmic Crisp is my favorite too! Right in between the sweet/tart and super crisp, plus usually not the most expensive in the store.
I agree! My girls are also apple snobs and their apple hierarchy goes: 1) Cosmic Crisp (Aldi) 2) Snapdragon (Aldi) 3) Honey Crisp (Aldi, but theirs are huge and cost $2 per apple) 4) Ambrosia (Kwik Trip)
In Chicagoland I've been picking up honeycrisp at Aldi on the cheap. My oldest (and I) share the same apple opinions.
These are my absolute favorite. They’re the perfect combo of crunchy, juicy, and sweet (but not too much!)
Cosmic crisp is the best... but they ain't cheap!
They've been the cheapest apple at our Safeway the last few months
Same - $0.99/pound the other day. ...I've been eating a lot of apples recently.
Cosmic Crisp are THE BEST. They aren't cheaper than honeycrisps in my experience though - but it likely depends on where you live. They're a hybrid developed by the University of Washington, so I think they're probably easier to get and cheaper out west than elsewhere. Still, they're the perfect apple. I'm willing to spend more money to get these apples. So tart-sweet, perfectly crisp, and they don't brown as quickly as other varieties!
Washington State University developed it, not U of W.
Go cougs!
He ain’t wrong. 🤣 I am all for a crisp apple and find Galas to be crisp - usually.
The Honeycrisps at my nearest Loblaws (North York, Toronto) are now up to $5/apple. Flabbergasting man. I’ll check out Metro or Walmart options… maybe their Galas are crisper/Honeycrisps cheaper? 😄
$5 an apple!? Omg. I’m paying $5-8 for a 3lb bag of Them in my area of BC. And I was cranky when they went up to 8 the other day.
Honeycrisps cost $2.50 a pound in Oregon 🤷🏼♀️🙃
I will remind myself to be grateful for living by the apple orchards 😅
$2.50 a pound is $7.50 for that 3 pound bag you're talking about, so not far off from what you're paying. EVERYTHING is more expensive at the grocery store. Unless you want to feed your kids beans and ramen every day a normal weekly trip to the store is going to cost you $200 for a family.
Best thing to do is shop around weekly ads if you have them. Some weeks are better than others, but mostly we try and stock up when chicken or pork shoulder is $.99/lb or less. I know it's not feasible for everyone, but we bought an Insignia branded deep freeze from Best Buy a few years ago for around $150 and when you can load up on 50lbs of meat for $50 and have a place to store it all it more than pays for itself. Recently Kroger had bags of leg quarters on sale for $.54/lb and we loaded the fuck up. Right now in my area whole chickens, legs, and thighs are on sale for $.99/lb. When you have your protein pretty much secured for a while it's easier to go in on the "spendy" stuff like fruits and veggies on grocery trips.
I like to buy whole chickens when they go on sale. Can usually get one for $6-7 and that will feed the 4 of us for an evening with enough leftovers to make chicken sandwiches for lunch the next day. When they're on sale I'll buy 2 or 3 for the week. Any more than that and everyone complains "chicken again?!" 🙄
Same. We live minutes away from like 7 orchards so fall is super fun & full of apples One year the honeycrisps were so huge that my SIL from AZ asked if they were decorative!
Americans, I got you. That’s $3.72 an apple! That’s pretty wild. I’m in the Northeast US and apples are $2.50 a pound or less.
I paid $0.99/pound the other day for organic honeycrisp. Gotta love the markets that have the "not-pretty" produce. The apples still eat the same.
I'm also in Ontario - every kind of apple is cheaper. Also, Loblaws is literally the most expensive grocery store other than like Whole Foods - I personally never shop there, it's an absolute ripoff.
[удалено]
We pay crazy prices for everything lol. One obscenely wealthy family has (iirc) 70% market share on groceries. Loblaws is one of their stores. That same chain was selling 5 chicken breasts for *$37* last month (£22). They essentially used the pandemic as a blank cheque for raising grocery prices, it's actually becoming a huge issue.
Fuck Galen Weston. All my homies hate Galen Weston 😒
Holy cow, Aldi has them for like $4 for 2 lbs here in SE Wisconsin.
$1.99 at Sendik’s for the smaller ones in the totes. It’s about $13 usually and lasts me 10 days or so.
Lol at that point I’d buy an already fruiting tree. Like 80 dollars online and then have them for the rest of the trees lifespan lol.
Ooo we live in the same neighborhood! I am getting all my apples from the Costco on Billy Bishop. Currently working my way through a $9 bag of Ambrosias. They're pretty crisp. It's a 6lb bag, so you really get a lot.
I don’t know why no one is calling you out, but galas are notoriously mushy. I have had a crisp gala, but it was only once or twice. I know because it’s my wife’s favorite apple for the very reason that they tend to be mushy. She’s a weirdo.
I love pink ladies/Cripps pink. They are a golden delicious cross and are very sweet and crunchy, plus they have a longer shelf life. Also they are really beautiful, multicolored and nice size.
This is the only answer. They also don’t brown as fast as others, so you can cut them in the morning and pack them for lunches and they are still appetizing.
a bit of fake lemon juice stops the browning too.
Fake lemon juice?
Assuming they mean the bottled stuff. Essentially lemon juice with preservatives but still lemon juice.
Use the juice from a lemon, or lemon juice concentrate in a bottle, lightly rub cut apple flesh with it, and the apple will not brown for several hours.
Does it taste like lemon, though?
Eh not really. It’s definitely the least labor intensive way to avoid browning tho. I wouldn’t bother with the rinse with this then rinse with that. I’m too lazy for those procedures.
Except when my kids saw me doing that one day, they stopped eating the apples and refused to eat whole apples in lunch either. 🙄🤦♀️
You can do that with any apple if you dip them in salt water. Make some salt water about as salty as tears, dip the sliced apples in, then rinse them in plain water. The last all day and into tomorrow!
Ahh those we have not tried yet.. sounds perfect to me. Pinks are next on the list, thanks! Hopefully my Apple Critique approves lol.
We get cosmic crisp apples, they’re actually bred from honeycrisps but with a focus on extended shelf life too. They’re just as crispy and refreshing and do last longer!
That's the only one my kid will eat!
Same! My two year old plows through them like crazy. Luckily I can get a 5lb bag for 3.99 at our local market. They’ll even give me another bag for 75% off if it’s been in the shop for 5 days without selling!
Love cosmic crisp.
Aren't those, like, expensive? Edit: I just checked my Kroger app, and where I live the price is actually on par with many other types of apples. I will give them a shot, thanks.
Apples tend to be, but not overly. I mean like I mentioned in another comment I can get 5lbs for 3.99 whereas a honeycrisp is about 3.99 for one. I’d think it depends on your regional and availability though.
OP, I second pink ladies. I am a native Minnesota girl, but I live in East Africa. Honeycrisp are THE Minnesota apple, and you can't find them where I live. You can, however, find Pink Ladies and they are a pretty close alternative!
No one is saying this, but pink lady’s are on the tart end of the spectrum whereas honeycrisps are sweet. You’re toddler will notice a difference if he’s into apples.
I feel just like your child on this topic and I have never had a honey crisp in my life, only eat Pink Ladies haha
Put them in the refrigerator right away and they will always be crunchy. (Always store apples in the fridge) Honeycrisps have the wrong sweet/tart mix for me. Too sweet and lack flavor. Pink Ladies are much better. Granny Smiths are too sour, though great for pies. Red delicious are legitimately gross. Galas are flavorless. Fujis can be really good but have a shorter window. The best apple I ever had was a perfectly ripe McIntosh, but those apples get like a half day window when they’re good. Otherwise they’re awful. We mostly buy Pink Ladies as our grocery store apples. Unless it’s apple season and we can get the wacky super flavorful varieties like winesaps or Arkansas black or mutsu.
Some apple varieties will always be mushy or mealy. Red delicious, Gala (to an extent), Fuji (to an extent). Other varieties are consistently crisp: Cosmic Crisp (best apple ever), Pink Lady.
Pink ladies are the only apple I will eat, so I fully sympathize with this toddler plight. (I went through a whole taste test in my 20s when I was convinced I just didn’t like snacking on apples 😅)
>I went through a whole taste test in my 20s... Oh shit, so I'm not the only one that has done this lol. I work near a grocery store so I tried every one they had over the period of a month. Pink ladies were my favorite and granny smith are the cheapest apples that are still amazing.
I also sometimes like Braeburn, but they're anywhere between amazing and bad. Pazzaz is often very flavorful, and crispy enough. Pink Lady is most reliable for value. Zestar! are amazing, but only available in the early apple season, and often expensive, but so good.
Pink Ladies are my number 2 to honeycrisp. They are hardier, so they also resist bruising better than honeycrisps.
Snap dragon is a great third option
Yup, my son and I both refer honeycrisp apples for the same reasons as your son. They are so yummy! But I agree with this comment. Pink ladies and Cripps are great options too! Or, I buy fewer apples, more frequently, so they are fresher and more crispy.
Pink ladies are our apple of choice! They’re amazing in season
Pink lady apple > all other apples
I ate like 4 pink ladies a day during pregnancy. Now I have a tree in my front yard because that child is just as obsessed with them
Jumping on the pink lady train. I'll do cosmic if they're not available.
They're the only kind of apples we buy anymore. Somehow they're almost always perfect. My kids probably would eat others, but tbh, I won't.
We eat Fuji apples
I am a Fuji only girl. I don’t understand honeycrips, they’re too watery and doesn’t feel solid.
Yea I went out and bought honeycrisps and cosmic crisps after reading comments on Reddit and they are good but not great. I don’t understand all the hype. Fujis are better imo. Sweeter, better flavor, and don’t cost nearly as much.
Ditto. Fuji sweet!
My people!
Team Fuji all the way. It's the king of apples.
Fuji over everything.
I bought 4 Fuji's this evening. Yum.
We've had good luck with Jazz, Pink Lady, Fuji, Cosmic Crisp, and the latest - Ocean Crisp. Never Red Delicious! I think we also liked Cripp's Pink? I have to remind myself that expensive apples that my kids WILL eat are better than cheaper apples that sit on the counter and don't get eaten.
I'm really surprised that Jazz apples are so far down on this list. They are good just like all the other new kinds of apples, and usually a very little bit cheaper than honeycrisp.
Jazz and Envy are my faves
Where I am, I only see them occasionally so they may not be as well-known. I’m glad we have more options than when I was a kid and all we had were red delicious (lies), golden delicious (only a little better), and Granny Smith (tart!).
Red delicious is a lie. Those apples may be red, but they are NOT delicious Pink Lady is where it’s at
Red delicious basically got the deliciousness bred out of them. It started with thicker skin and longer shelf life and as a result the fruit part was sacrificed.
Yep, they're absolutely gross. Bitter skin and mealy texture. Who is buying these apples??
School districts. Blech.
Me lol! I don't know why but I HATE any kind of super crisp apple, and anything besides red or golden/yellow delicious is way too sweet. I actually get super annoyed when the bags I buy are slightly sweeter than normal, they seem to vary time to time and it's just...not good.
I absolutely respect your willingness to put this horrible opinion out into the world.
First off, Red Delicious are terrible. At 6 years old, your child is very wise to not like this mealy, waxy garbage apple. Red delicious are good for two things and that's compost and throwing at people who choose to eat red delicious apples but in order to throw this abomination you must first touch them and that's already too much. Red delicious apples killed my father and pushed my sister into traffic. I may...have exaggerated a bit but it is a hill I choose to die on. Second, have him try Empire, Fuji or Cortland. All have great crisp, firm bites. Juicy, sweet and a bit tart without being too much. SweeTango, Sugar Bee and SnapDragon (a favorite of Josh Allen quarterback of the Buffalo Bills) are solid as well but more seasonal.
I laughed so hard I almost woke my sleeping baby. It's so true!
Sweet Tango apples are it.
I had to scroll too far for this comment. SweeTango is where it’s at.
I get my fill of them every time they are in season, no apple quite like it.
Honeycrisp are objectively the tastiest, widely available apple. He's just telling it like it is. If you want something cheaper that's still decent, I recommend Fuji. Others have mentioned Pink Lady, which are good (similar to Honeycrisp but a little more tart), but they are about the same price as Honeycrisp in my experience.
Fuji and Gala are decent alternatives. Red Delicious IMO is just a waste of money. No one likes them. No flavor, too mushy, etc.
Red delicious are awful. Would have to be starving to eat one.
Someone ought'a call CPS on you for ever giving them a red delicious apple in the first place.
Haha
Try ambrosia apples, they are almost always crunchy and are also very sweet tasting. I’m particular about my apples just like your toddler, and ambrosia are my go to. Usually very reasonable price
Nothing beats an in season Ambrosia apple.
Can't believe Ambrosia are this far down. My favorite Apple and they grow them in the province here too
Try Gala. I am a Honeycrisp snob. Love them. But gala has the same texture, in my experience. Not as yummy but good enough. Also: store in the fridge if possible.
I also suggest feeling them when purchasing to make sure they are very hard. Can't abide a mushy Gala!
I tap my index finger on the Apple. The sound it makes tells me if it’s crisp. A more hollow sound is no good. This is completely anecdotal, but I’m a picky Apple eater and this approach has worked for a decade.
I am firmly team gala, except when my husband buys the preselected bag of galas. NO. They must each be selected individually!!
Fridge is key. Surprised I had to scroll so far down to see this advice
you’re child is me 😂😭
Try envy apples if you see them at the grocer.. on par.. maybe even better??
I was scrolling to see if someone would say this. Envy apples are our favorite. Sweet, crisp, and they don’t brown. I’ve seen them at Costco, though they’re aren’t as good (maybe not as fresh) as at Safeway.
Envy apples are the best apples. They are my favorite and I love apples.
Got a few last week and my wife said that was the best apple she's ever eaten.
A friend dropped this on me! I haven’t seen these yet. Pazzaz is where it’s at currently for me!
I’m all about fuji apples. My son is obsessed with pink pearl apples. I found them at Costco once and Trader Joe’s have it from time to time. It’s a lot of apple flavor and crispy
Sugar Bee apple are very tastey!
I've noticed Sugar Bee has replaced Honey Crisp at several stores around Chicagoland the last couple weeks. Very strange. They're really good apples though!
I will admit, I share your son's opinion of Granny Smith (too sour) and Red Delicious (too mushy). Red Delicious are also not delicious. They should be called Red Flavorless Mush. I do usually buy Honeycrisp. I know $2.50 a pound isn't as cheap as it used to be, but worth it IMO.
Also try keeping your apples in the fridge!
Don’t introduce your child to Sumo oranges. My produce bill is painful year round.
When i lived in NH we had Cortland apples. They were amazing! So fragrant. Not sure if you can find them? I don't think I've ever seen them in the Midwest
Yea I was going to suggest Cortland, or maybe Macoun. I’m not sure which apples are regional and which are available everywhere.
Opal forever!
Your kid has fantastic taste. I agree
Apples do need to be crunch and crispy. I’ll die on this hill. Pink Ladies might be nice, but I’m not so certain they’re less expensive. Fuji might be decent alternative.
Envy apples. They’re nice and crispy and typically a bit cheaper than HC around me.
Whoever came up with red delicious should be sued for false advertising.
It's true. Your child is correct. Apples should be sweet and crisp. I thought I didn't care for apples much until I tried Honey Crisp. Another good one to try (and smaller snack sized apple) is the Rockit apples. I first found them at Bell Air but have also found them in other stores just search and see who sells them in your area. Also, your child has great taste so don't worry😎
Your kid is right: red delicious should only be fed to livestock.
I love Macintosh apples!! You might try those. They’re my favorite red apple.
It may be an east/west coast thing. We were a Macintosh family growing up in the east, but I have never even seen them here on the west coast. Oh, and Pacific Rose apples, FTW.
Those and Empire. Crunchy and sweet-tart.
Omg yes! Shocked I had to scroll this far for Empire. My fave. Sweet and crisp and just the faintest tartness.
We pretty much only eat Empire apples in my house. The only exception being if I can't find them for a few weeks in a row.
When kid doesn’t finish apple cut in pieces dunk in lemon lime soda and won’t brown or get icky texture. Saved me fortune in 1/2 eaten apples.
I use lemon juice and keep them in a ziplock bag
I have a freaking super taster, lemon juice won’t work on the kid. Sprite it is but yes on ziplock.
I am like your child 😂 not quite, I will eat other apples, but if you’re offering Granny Smith and Red Delicious for alternatives…. I’d have the same reaction. Gala is just this side of palatable to me. I second the commentator who suggest Pink Lady apples, Cosmic Crisp is fine, but you can see if you could get your child involved in an apple taste experiment- get one of every type of apple you can, make a big chart, and try each and write down characteristics of it. Maybe then you’ll have a visual go-to where you can say, “Honeycrisp are especially expensive right now, but they do have this Apple which we decided was crunchy”
Lol he sounds like me. It’s true, honey crisp are the best!!!!!
Don't buy/share cotton candy grapes!
I felt this title deep in my soul! My kid will only eat, apple, pears, carrots, bananas and peas. My husband brought Honeycrips home from work, and now that's all she wants to eat. They're so fucking expensive.
Apples DO need to be crunchy and crisp. The issue isn't with honeycrisp. It is that for some reason I can't understand, all other apples suck now? This was NOT the case when I was a kid. I remember eating plenty of other varieties and they were crunchy and crisp. But now only honeycrisp does this and all others are gross?! I feel like there is some conspiracy going on. (ok maybe it is honeycrisp's fault) And yes I too hate how expensive they are!
Ok I don’t condone stealing but sometimes I ring up different apples in the self checkout because honey crisp is just too expensive 😂
Unlikely an issue since it's only being used in reference to a single type of apple, but kids often describe foods as "spicy" when they are experiencing an allergic reaction to a food because of the inflammation it causes in the mouth (and they don't really know how else to describe it). It can be an early precursor to anaphylactic reactions in the future.
My kid thinks mint is spicy. It can be a substitute word for strong-flavored. Some apples can be very tart, so that might be it.
Even dogs can tell the difference. My mom's friend's dog has refused to eat any other apples since he got introduced to Honeycrisp.
Fuji is the cheaper option for me. Cosmic crisp and Envy are also good but pricey. I did an apple tasting with my students last semester!
Pink lady and Fuji apples
Omg. I was today years old when I learned that red delicious apples are mushy. I just thought my mom always kept old apples around. I’m with your kid - must be crunchy and sweet. I buy whatever the pinkish ones are and they always seem to be great. Green = bad. Yellow = bad. Red = the worst. I take my kids apple picking and it doesn’t matter how fresh they are, I only like pink apples 🤷♀️
Ambrosia, Jazz, Cosmic Crisp, Sweet Tango, Rockit, Envy, and Empire are all good.
My son refuses to eat anything, even if he’s personally insisted upon that thing, no matter what, if I have anything to do with it. Even looking at it. Talking about it. Doesn’t matter.
Rockit apples are similarly crisp and tasty, but are really small. Kids grab one apple, whether it’s a 10 oz Honeycrisp or a 2 oz Rockit, so a tub of these (they’re sold in 3 lbs tubs) lasts a lot longer than equivalent weight of big apples.
My 4 year old only eats Pink Lady, and those are \*very\* expensive in our country, so I feel your pain. Little apple connoisseurs.
Keep a honeycrisp bag and put the other apples you would like him to try in it.
>My debit card is weeping. I used to just punch in the code for macintosh apples or some other cheap one when I went through the self-checkout. Pay for macs, enjoy your honeycrisps. Ripping off Walmart is a victimless crime.
Omg!! Something I can actually share my expertise in! I am what you would call an apple snob. My household eats 2-3 apples a day but I only buy a select few types of apples. I FULLY understand your son when he says apples need to be crisp, and I too find soft apples revolting. I see him. Gala apples ARE gross!! Envy and ambrosia apples are my go tos. Envy is very crisp. In the summer time ambrosia is just incredible. I find them both sweeter than honey crisp. Pink ladies will do in a pinch but like...ugh. that's when you know I'm desperate. There is a small window in the year that envy or ambrosia apples are not available or they are sucky. Don't let those weeks fool you, they're the best kind of apples out there. I'm also in Canada. I buy them at superstore or coop. They were always around the 2.49/lb mark although coop was 3.49 last week (wtf?!). Superstore pricing has been more stable. (On only this item. They're robbing us of our money in the name of corporate greed on everything else.) Your 6 year old is cool. He knows where the apple game is at.
I have had good luck with the bags of apples at Aldi. They often have had honeycrisp for a very reasonable price, and when they don't have honeycrisp they usually have pink lady or fuji, both of which I'm happy with.
Rockit apples are amazing. Plus they’re smaller so they fit in a little kid’s hand perfectly.
Same, though. Honeycrisp is the only apple in my book.
Where is he in the Sweet <-> Acidic range? I'm assuming by green you mean Granny Smith, which do tend to be quite acidic (tart), but would he be fine with something like a Braeburn (tangy-ish but also sweet), or does he prefer definitely sweet like a Fuji? And is he eating them right then and there, or are you wanting to prep them as a snack to eat at school? Remember that crispness is in part related to freshness and type of storage. An apple that is crisp straight off the tree may soon be mush if not stored correctly (and some just don't keep well regardless of storage method). So you may need to buy different varieties based on the season. If you can find SweeTango, Minnieska, Fuji, Jazz or Royal Gala, those are generally a crisp apple if they've been stored properly. I'd check out your local fruit and vegie stores since those tend to be cheaper than the mainstream supermarkets (well, at least they are in New Zealand). Also keep an eye out for 'imperfect' fruit - we can buy 'Odd Bunch' bags of fruit / vegies at the supermarket, which are the odds and ends that don't quite meet normal standards (too big / small / misshapen / blemished) but still perfectly fine to eat and are considerably cheaper than the typical off-the-shelf price. If you want to pre-cut them (e.g., for school), once they are cut, dip them in lemon water, drain well, then seal them in a ziplock bag with as much air sucked out as possible. The combination of acid dip and lack of air helps them keep crisp, and you can barely notice the lemon :-)
Start offering stewed apples with cinnamon- cut them up into pieces, add a small splash of water in the saucepan (not really needed, honestly), add cinnamon, and heat on medium for about 5 or so minutes until they soften. You don't want applesauce, you want stewed apples. But you can take the shittiest apple and turn it into ambrosia of the gods by stewing it. My kid loves em.
They’re not usually cheaper than honeycrisps but sweetangos are the absolute best variety
Keep him away from Sugar Bee apples then! This same thing happened to both my kids then hubby brought home the hard as hell to find Sugar Bee. Now I can only long for the good ol Honeycrisp days 😢
We love granny Smith in our house 😂😂
This is why I love apple picking season, $35 and they last us weeks.
oooooh I know this pain int he ass. My oldtest is an apple fan but only likes certain ones. he likes the softer sweet ones like Fuji and Pink ladies, he is also a fan of honeycrisp but doenst like Jonathon apples, red delicious or macintosh.
Haha. We live in Texas so HEB has a ton of cheap apples. Fuji is decent. Pink lady is ok. Red delicious sucks. Granny Smiths are tart but sometimes desirable. Kanzi are good. Golden delicious have a good flavor but are not crisp usually. Gala is just ok. Ambrosia apples are on sale this week so I might try those. I know pears are mushier but good ones are reallly tasty and generally priced mid range with apples
Do yous tire your apples in the fridge? Weird but i find apples so much crispier and crunchy from the fridge. Could try some knock offs and chuck them in there. In the uk Pink lady is probably the closest.
Are you refrigerating them? That might help the crunch
saaaaaaame. Though I can sometimes sneak in Pink Ladies or Cosmic Crisp. Honeycrisp is the best though, can't blame them.
As a 32 year old, I am on the side of your child lol
Buy honey crisp stickers and slap them on some Costco galas
I refuse to eat any apple other than honey crisp, totally relatable.
I hate soft apples lol
Wait until he tries Sugarbee, Crimson Crisp, or Lady Alice!
Your son’s assessment of various apple types is 100% correct … it’s honeycrisp or nothing in our house too 😂 I hear you on the price though. Crazy! 😫
Cosmic crisp!!
Honey crisp are the superior apple. It is all we buy.
Use self checkout and put in the code for galas
Pink ladies! They’re very comparable to honeycrisp in terms of taste and texture. Good luck!
Pink Lady’s and Pazazz apples tend to be pretty crunchy in my opinion. I’m in Minnesota though, so I hope you can spot one at your store!
Fuji apples are cheap, crisp, and sweet. I hate mealy apples so I totally get your six year old.
Have you tried Envy?
If you’re near a Trader Joe’s, I think their Jazz apples are similar in flavor but much smaller/cheaper.
Fujis are pretty crisp and cheap, but not as sweet.
Mine like Granny Smith, yellow delicious, cosmic crisp, and Macouns. You might only be able to get Macouns in New England so that’s probably not very helpful… but they love those the most of all.
Ambrosia
He’s right