An apple from New York with a sweet flavor that is crisp and delicious - with a name like Candy Crisp is has to be right?
When you at the words "crisp" to the name of an apple people get excited.
For some that is the most important thing about an apple. This is probably the result of years of soft, mealy apples that at the stores that only looked good.
The rise of Honeycrisp created a new standard for crisp apples.
Another apple that has crisp in it's name but looks very different from Honeycrisp is the Candy Crisp apple. I first encountered it at Whole Foods back in 2012. I actually don't find them there anymore.
What is a Candy Crisp Apple?
This apple was discovered in Hudson Valley area of the state of New York. It came from a chance seedling. The ones I bought were grown in Ellsworth, Michigan at Royal Farms, which is known for their cherry juice concentrate.
The apple ripens in early October and can last in storage for 4 months, which makes it a great winter apple.
The apple is a nice golden color once it has spend some time off the tree. When first picked they are more of a greenish-yellow as you can see in the photo above. The photo below comes from apples that have been in storage for a couple months.
Candy Crisp looks similar in a shape to a Red Delicious (it's likely that the Red Delicious is part of Candy Crisp's parentage) with bumps on the bottom like a Red.
The Candy Crisp skin is smooth with no russeting (browning of the skin). Most of the apples had a nice appealing red blush on them.
My Experience with this Apple
Here is how I rated these apples on a scale 1-10.
| Crispiness | 8 |
| Tartness | 2 |
| Apple Flavor | 5 |
| Sweetness | 10 |
| Juciness | 9 |
If this apple wasn't crisp and sweet I would say it's guilty of false advertising. But it definitely meets up to it's name. It's a very sweet, crisp apple.
There is pretty much no acidic to be found. It's an incredibly juicy apple, second only to the newer Juici apple variety.
When compared to a Honeycrisp apple, a Candy Crisp is significantly sweeter but doesn't have the same bite you get out of a Honeycrisp.
This variety would make a great option as part of a mix for apple cider. Flavor wise its not bad, but not anything spectacular. It has almost a pear like taste. The lack of any tartness does make the taste a bit one dimensional. But overall it's a nice apple to be munching on in the winter, and munching it out of hand is this apple's best use.
Can You Bake With Them?
It's a bit too sweet for baking or cooking on it's own. I would mix them with some tart apples (like a Granny Smith or Northern Spy) if you wanted to make a pie or applesauce.
It would especially be a good mix in applesauce, as you could get away with only using the apples natural sugar (read more about making no added sugar applesauce)
Not a Great Salad Choice
One more thing to point out is that the apple oxidizes rather quickly. It was already starting to turn brown as I was slicing pieces off to eat.
Probably not a good choice for a salad bowl in terms of aesthetics.
More Apples Varieties to Try
Here are some other varieties you should be looking out for.
Have you tried this apple? What did you think? Leave a comment below telling us. Be a helper and share where you found it. You may make someone's day with your insider info on where to get them! If you are a true apple lover, you'll want to check out all of our apple reviews.
Leave a Reply