This Is the Crunchiest Apple You Can Find, According to Apple Growers

This famous apple variety, as four experts agree, is the crispest, crunchiest apple at the grocery store.

It’s finally fall, which means it’s apple season. Whether you celebrate the turn to colder weather with apple-picking, apple-baking, or straight-up apple-eating, these fall months are the best time to take part in apple activities.

As an apple-a-day person who is on the constant search for the very crunchiest I can find, I figured that instead of taste-testing my way through supermarkets and farmer’s markets, I would consult apple experts who could point me in the direction of the crispest apple around. So, that’s just what I did.

The Apple Experts I Asked

• Mike Martucci: Co-Owner of Masker’s Orchard in Warwick, New York

• Kyle J. Holman: Brand Manager and Director of Marketing at Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey

• Josh Morgenthau: Owner and Operator at Fishkill Farms in Hopewell Junction, New York

• Brianna Shales: VP of Marketing at Stemilt Growers in Wenatchee, Washington
  

The Crunchiest Apple You Can Find

The winner of the crisp apple award? The Honeycrisp. “The Honeycrisp is the crunchiest variety that's commonly available in supermarkets,” says Morgenthau. “Its texture comes from its unusually large cells, which burst with juice with every bite.”

First developed in the 60s and widely available by the early 90s, this winter-hardy apple is known for its sweet, consistent, concentrated flavor cut with just the slightest acidity. The variety also, as the four experts attest, deserves to be renowned for its crisp flesh.

“The Honeycrisp was a revolutionary variety that changed the market’s expectations for this trait,” explains Holman, noting that the apple set the stage for several other crunchy varieties that followed in its stead (like the EverCrisp, Cosmic Crisp, and SweeTango, for example). Shales agrees, exclaiming, “It’s just been hard to beat since its creation!”

What Makes for an Exceptionally Crunchy Apple?

Put simply, “It all comes down to cell structure,” says Shales. “Crisp apples have firm, tightly packed cells. When you bite into the apple, these cells rupture, releasing juices and creating that characteristic crunchy texture.” This is why, as Holman explains, the maturity of the fruit is important: “When apples are underripe, they can be mealy or soft; conversely, when apples are overripe, they’ll lose their moisture and crispiness.”

The crispness of an apple can also be determined by the thickness of its skin. “The thinner the skin of the apple, the crunchier it will be,” explains Martucci. Therefore, “thinner-skinned apples tend to be the ‘eating’ versus ‘baking’ apples.” 

How Is an Apple’s Crispness Judged?

“Crispness and juiciness are often judged by apple breeders by utilizing a penetrometer which calculates a firmness score,” explains Holman. “Crispness, hardness, juiciness, and skin toughness are the traits apple breeders are analyzing.”

Shales adds, “Apple breeders often measure texture by evaluating how much pressure it takes to break the cells (known as the firmness or "crunch factor"). Crispness is also judged by the sensation it creates when bitten. Breeders and taste panels test different apple varieties by biting and scoring the snap and bite resistance.”