When Exactly: Tuesday Jan. 20 - 12:45 am
Cultivar: Honeycrisp
Purchased From: Union Market (Brooklyn, NY)
Size: Medium
Color: I don’t know, I’m colorblind.
Eaten How: unadorned.
Review:
Puckercruncho?
These non-local/organic Honeycrisps (from Washington, hotbed of mass apple production) are truly strange fruits. Just like the last Honeycrisp, this fella had certain Honeycrisp characteristics that were skewed just enough to be creepy and other traits that had been reversed completely. In effect, it was a bizarro Honeycrisp. Puckercruncho.
Like the previous Union Market Honeycrisp, this apple had a more densely-packed texture than what I’m used to with the New York variety. However, this guy did have the wake-your-neighbors crunch that, above all other attributes, defines the cultivar. Indeed, my first bite tore off about one-fifth of the apple.
A faintly rosy outer aroma caught me offguard, bringing to mind an Idared, an apple about as different from a Honeycrisp as you can get. The delicate rose secent lingered throughout the entire tasting. Creepy.
Last I checked, Honeycrisps were juicy and sweet. This fruit was sour as heck and juiceless due to the dense texture. A light orangey sweetness was detected but the predominant flavor here was lime and a lot of it. What kind of fever-dream Honeycrisp was this? Maybe it was the climatic discrepancy between Washington and New York causing these differences. Or growing practices. Or terroir? I dunno.
This Honeycrisp’s serious lack of sweetness was an issue for me, but the improvement in crispy-crunchiness over the last Honeycrisp made up for it. Thus I’ve landed just where I landed before, with a pleasingly crunchy, tart fruit that I would never guess was a Honeycrisp. Again, not bad but not quite right. I’m starting to freak out.
Grade: B-
