7,500 world wide, 2,500 nationally, but only 10 varieties of apples grow in Washington state. Red Delicious, Jazz, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Gala and Honeycrisp can be found at our local grocery stores. As the seasons change, which kinds of apples are more worth the price per pound than others?

Everyone that was  interviewed agreed in some form that Red Delicious is the worst apple in the orchard. It has a weird tangy aftertaste and a bland flavor, as said by multiple sources. Although it is the cheapest choice at Safeway.  

Jazz was described as being a mellow taste at first, then slowly growing sharper, and going back down to mellow: A rollercoaster of flavor. The taste has tartness to the sweetness, to give it a balance. It is one of the more expensive options, but one of the top choices.

The sourest option is Granny Smith, also commonly known as “The green one”. Many of the people interviewed said the flavor started calm, but then became sharply sour and lingered. It was repeatedly reported to go well with caramel to even out the sweetness of the caramel with the sour of the apple. For $1.29 per pound at Fred Meyer and $0.59 individually.

There isn’t much to say about Golden Delicious. “They’re too soft” was the consensus by anyone who tried them. Individually, they are roughly twice as expensive as Granny Smith but doesn’t have the strength in flavor to make up for the price.

“I don’t like it… makes me sad.” Sophomore Eleanor Roeth added about Braeburn apples. She said the texture was soft and the flavor bland. $1.99 per pound at Safeway is too much for a fruit described as so pitiful.

The response to tasting a Gala apple was several sounds of disgust. -10 out of 10 was the rating said by students and parents alike for it’s bland and watery taste. At $0.84 individually, many would prefer to buy Granny Smith.

Honeycrisp apples are rated #1 by the majority of the people who were interviewed for its strong flavor and hard consistency. “They are awesome, they stay crisp longer… I haven’t made pie without them… great with peanut butter.” Said Margot Van Orman, a lifelong baker. For $2.99 a pound at both Fred Meyer and Safeway, it makes Honeycrisp one of the most expensive.

With a few exceptions, the more expensive the apple, the better quality it is. For the best tasting, Honeycrisp won easily but was the most expensive. Red Delicious is the cheapest, but one of the worst tasting ones. It truly depends on the ratio of how much you are willing to spend and what kind of taste you want. So next time you ask, “How’d you like them apples?”, you know exactly how you like them apples.