“Sweet as Honey”: We Asked 3 Chefs to Tell Us the Best Apple, and They All Named the Same One

As soon as the calendar flipped from August to September, a bit of the autumnal spirit swept through my life. I’m wearing warm hues like orange and adding an extra shake of cinnamon to my morning oatmeal. I also picked up a few apples during my morning walk. There were a near-dozen varieties at my local supermarket, and, as I looked at the well-stocked apple display, I asked myself the following question: Well, which one should I even get?

When buying apples for snacking I’ll typically grab whatever’s on sale that week. But as a grocery editor and avid baker, I want to start this fall differently and shop more intentionally. So I tapped my trusted chef friends to see which of the many types of apples they put in their shopping carts. The unanimous recommendation? Honeycrisp. 

The first person I asked was Grayson Samuels, a baker friend of mine at Elbow Bakery. He said that he eats an apple every day and is an “apple and peanut butter fiend.” He’s always reaching for a Honeycrisp in this (and most all) situations. As the name suggests, they’re “sweet as honey, and satisfyingly crisp.” 

Next, I chatted with my friend Annie Arriaga, a freelance baker and content creator (who does pop-ups all throughout New York City) about her favorite apple. She and her boyfriend actually used to be apple farmers in Oregon, so I was extra invested in her response. They both love Honeycrisp, despite noting that they’re on the pricier side. Honeycrisps are thin-skinned, so you get “right to the apple sweetness.”

And last, but certainly not least, I asked my aunt Thiraporn (long-time chef and restaurant owner down in South Florida) if she has any allegiances when it comes to apples. Apples aren’t super common in Thailand where my family is from, so I wasn’t expecting her to proudly and firmly say that she’s a “Honeycrisp fan.” She even swaps them for green papayas in papaya salad because they “stay crunchy.” Plus, they’re sweet enough that she can skip the palm sugar. 

Are we all that surprised? Honeycrisp was one of the first apples crossbred in the 1960s by the University of Minnesota’s apple breeding program. Since launching across grocery stores in the ’90s, it has become an apple all-star. Loved by the masses … including chefs. 

What’s your favorite apple? Tell us about it in the comments below.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: “Sweet as Honey”: We Asked 3 Chefs to Name the Best Apple, and They All Said the Same One