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I can think of lots of apples whose flavor I prefer to Honeycrisp -  
Macintosh included.  But the complete esthetic enjoyment of eating an  
apple includes the texture, and honeycrisp does have a nice texture  
coupled with its completely acceptable flavor.  and Honeycrisp  
maintains that texture surprisingly well in ordinary home- 
refrigerator storage.  I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of them in  
the markets.

Ginda

On Nov 6, 2006, at 10:42 AM, Brungardt, Sam wrote:

> Honeycrisps (mostly from Washington and Michigan) are still in the
> stores here in Minnesota, where the cultivar was developed.  In fact,
> they've been selling for $2.49/lb., but a large chain (Cub) has  a
> special in the Twin Cities this week for $1.69/lb.
>
> Several weeks ago I took some to Kansas, which I'd bought on sale in
> Windom, and gave each of my siblings a few.  They really liked them,
> especially one of my sisters, who asked me to get her two large bags.
> Well, I'm a little resentful of paying $2.49/lb., so I sampled  
> possible
> alternatives and ended up buying a bag each of Jonagold, Ambrosia and
> Honeycrisp.  I sampled an apple from each bag and found I liked the
> Ambrosia's flavor best of all because it had a complexity, a rather
> spicy aftertaste, that Honeycrisp lacked, although admittedly its  
> flesh
> was not as breaking. -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mark or Helen
> Angermayer
> Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2006 10:52 PM
> To: North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: [NAFEX] taste test-grocery apples
>
>
> A few nights ago my wife, kids, and I had a taste test of some  
> apples I
> got from the store.  We originally did it just as something fun,  
> but as
> an afterthought I decided to pass the results on.  I know many would
> rate commercial apples inferior to non-commercial varieties, as may  
> well
> be the case, but we tested what we have easy access to, and for us  
> right
> now, it's the grocer.(My new apple trees are still several  years from
> bearing.)
>
> Anyhow, I bought the following apples-Fuji, Gala, MacIntosh,  
> Honeycrisp,
> Braeburn, and Pink Lady.  They were all grown in the U.S.  It was a
> blind taste test(except for me, since I set it up).  All of us
> independently rated the apples from best to worst.
>
> Every one of us rated the Honeycrisp at the top.  And three out of  
> four
> of us rated Mac at the bottom.  However in defense of the McIntosh, it
> was mushy and that might have contributed to it's low ranking.  As for
> the rest of the apples, their rankings were fairly scattered.
> Personally, except for the best and worst apple, I had trouble ranking
> the others which were all good.
>
> I know it's all anectdotal anyway, since so many factors can affect
> taste, i.e. picking, soil, rootstock, local climate, etc.  Still, I
> wonder if we'll see more of those Honeycrisps on the shelves?
>
> Mark Angermayer
> Zone 5 Kansas