What are Sweetie Apples?

I am all about following what’s the latest and greatest in the apple world. There are new varieties coming out all the time. Everyone wants to have the next Honeycrisp. Broetje Orchards in Washington are growing a new apple called the Sweetie. It is distributed by First Fruits Marketing. They also released the Opal apple a few years back. The apple itself originated in New Zealand.

Are Sweetie Apples GMO
No. They were made by crossing a Gala and a Braeburn the old fashion way. As of now they are no commercially available genetically modified apples (read my post on GMOs & Apples).

My Experience with this Apple (Rating Scale 1-10)

Overall Feeling: This apple sure lives up to it’s name. It is super sweet, crisp, and juicy. One of the sweetest apples I ever had. But really no tartness to balance that and in the end no real flavor. It was like eating water. I couldn’t wait to be done with it. I have no desire to try one of these apples again. It does look pretty and has the sweet, crisp, and juicy elements that people seem to ask for. Have our standards gotten so low that those are all we care about and flavor doesn’t come into the equation?

Are Sweetie Apples Good for Cooking or Baking?
In my opinion the only useful thing this apple may have is added to a batch of applesauce containing tart apples, to add some sweetness. They are way too sweet and flavorless to bake with.

Of course this is all just my experience. What’s yours? I am sure they are people out there that still do enjoy this apple and I am not going to complain about someone eating fruit. If you wish to try Sweetie Apples, they should be available at the end of September and beginning of October in these locations:

Pacific Northwest
Haggen
Safeway
Winco

California
Safeway

Texas
Central Market
HEB

Midwest
Byerly’s
Lunds
Hy-Vee
Meijer

Florida
Sweetbay

Here are some apple related kitchen tools I recommend:
Amco Dial-A-Slice Adjustable Apple Corer and Slicer : Allows you to slice apples into either 8 or 16 pieces
Zyliss Soft Skin Peeler : The best peeler I have ever owned. Does a great job peeling an apple.
Mirro Foley 2-Quart Stainless Steel Food Mill : A great tool for making your own applesauce. You can make the sauce without having to do any peeling.