I'll consider that next time I'm browsing apples!
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mobius017
I'm amazed how many of these I've eaten. IIRC, I like Golden Delicious or Gala myself, because I thought they were sweet. I think I might have tried Honeycrisp at one point, too...and I think I liked it? I'll have to try one of those specialty ones sometime, though--an apple that's fizzy like a soft drink? That's got to be something else!
lIlI
No cronch = no life
Apple firmness ranges from soft (McIntosh, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious once you get through the skin), to crisp (Gala, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Ambrosia), to very hard (Granny Smith).
Apples can be flavorless (Red Delicious), sweet (Gala), sour (Granny Smith, Pink Lady). Specialty apples that are more expensive tend to taste wildly different (Honeycrisp almost tastes like an orange, Lemonade Apple tastes fizzy like soda, Ambrosia and Envy are extremely sweet). McIntosh start out sour at the beginning of the season, but then turn sweet.
Some apples are more juicy than others (Granny Smith is quite "dry", but biting into a Braeburn and Fuji can literally splash juice out from your mouth).
Some apples retain their shape while baking, others don't. Some turn brown faster than others when you slice them (Cortland stays white longest and is similar to a McIntosh but more firm).
I think the most popular apples in terms of familiarness are McIntosh, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, and Gala. But it's because they've been around the most and are the cheapest. But half of them taste like cardboard. Honeycrisp is a rising star (going to overtake Granny Smith as #1 apple soon based on magazine data), getting more popular each year and the price reduces each year, I think this apple (along with other more expensive, specialty apples) have immense flavor and juiciness.