Which Apples Are The Sweetest? We Tried And Ranked Them

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Have you seen how many types of apples there are in the produce section these days? It seems like every couple of months there's a new species promising to be sweeter and juicier than all the others. There was a day when you had Granny Smith, McIntosh, Pippin, and the delicious brothers, Red and Golden, to choose from. Now, the apple section is overflowing with possibilities with snazzy names like Rave and Envy. Who knew produce could be so glamorous?

The sweetness factor is likely to be the most important consideration you make when buying apples. But figuring out which of these new-fangled apple varieties are sweetest means buying apple after apple and keeping track of how each one rates. Why go to all that trouble when I can do it for you instead? 

I'm fortunate enough to have just about every apple species currently available waiting at one of three grocery stores in my area. Being an apple fan (yes, that's a real thing) for most of my life, I've paid closer attention than I probably should have to the sweetness of all the flashy new styles as they've rolled out. But somehow, several escaped my notice. It's time to get back to the top of my apple game with a taste test to see how the sweetness of these apple varieties stack up against each other. 

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Any home cook familiar with apples knows Granny Smith is the one you go to for pie making and three-ingredient apple cobbler. The firm flesh makes then ideal for slicing, while the tongue-tingling tartness lets you add whatever sugar your favorite apple recipes call for without over-sweetening the finished product. Being coveted for their less-sweet nature, there's no more fitting spot for this apple to land than last place (true apple connoisseurs saw it coming from a mile away).

Though this is absolutely the least sweet apple on the list, it's still ends up having plenty of sugar to balance out the tartness. It's definitely not the overly sour Granny Smith apples I recall from the days before I knew where the sweeter fruit in the store was. The grassy freshness is still palatable for anybody who prefers a more sophisticated presentation from an apple.

It's obvious that if you're looking for a truly sweet apple, you won't be knocking on Granny Smith's door. But if you like a piece of fruit that zigs when it should zag, this could be the right amount of sugar for your taste.

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Ah, good old McIntosh ... one that used to be a dependably sweet apple, several steps above Red and the perfectly-balanced Golden Delicious. With so many other breeds competing for the top spot, it feels like this old-fashioned favorite gets pushed to the bottom of the heap these days. I was happy to find them in stock at Sprouts, an unexpected surprise considering I haven't seen any McIntosh apples in the stores around me for years. I was sure it would be a winner.

Alas, it was not. Why do I remember this apple being much sweeter than it is? Maybe it was only sweet in comparison to the other mealy, flavorless apples I was used to. This time around, it was tan to a fault, filling in the back of my throat with an acidic sting that I wasn't ready for. Sour apples are all fun and games when you know what to expect, or maybe when you're making a Dutch apple pie where sugar is a featured ingredient. But I was expecting so much more.

When it feels more like you're biting into a water balloon filled with vinegar, nothing good that can come of it. It's a bottom of the list option for sure.

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It's not wrong to hope an apple named SugarBee would be supremely sweet with floral notes of honey swirling through its sugary juice. When a grower uses an actual cartoon bee mascot in a honeycomb shaped label, the expectations are set pretty high. Even if honey can offer 1000 different versions of sweetness depending on where it's grown and what its producers are exposed to, there's a reason it's become synonymous with naturally-sweet flavor.

So when I bit into the sample slice, I was incredibly disappointed to find out that this apple has almost no flavor whatsoever. The juices were watery and lacked personality, and I struggled to notice the tiny bit of sweetness that did come through. This is one of those rich people apples that costs a diamond ring and a Mercedes-Benz, so finding out it's barely worth slicing open was pretty disappointing.

The name is a lie; there does not seem to "bee" any sugar in this apple — and it's an expensive one, too. Save your coins for better produce.

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I've always been enticed by Cosmic Crisp apples, for the space themed name more than anything. They usually appear in bags of random fruit in the markdown section of my grocery store, though I've never taken specific note of how they taste compared to the Gala and Fuji apples that are usually in the bag too.

Sad to say, Cosmic Crisp was not an out of the world sweet apple moment for me. There was something lacking in both the apple and the sweetness parts of the equation. A strange aftertaste lingered on my tongue, almost like there was some sort of artificial sweetener added to the apple. I don't think that's possible, but it does appear that a combination of factors that brings this apple to the tree also plays too fast and loose with the sugary bits of the breeds DNA.

If you're a sweet apple lover like I am, this isn't a top pick. It's not even an alternate pick. I'd rather have an orange.

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I've never even heard of SnapDragon apples, let alone tasted one, so I had no idea what to expect. It's a specialty apple that looks like a Red Delicious but tastes like someone forgot to add the apple flavoring and doubled the sugar instead. This isn't a terrible thing, and since the subject of this ranking is sweetness, SnapDragon is definitely a contender in the category. If it was an exploration of the applest apples that ever appled? That would be an entirely different story.

Even with its obvious sweetness lifting it higher in the list than it probably should be, SnapDragon isn't what I would call a tasty apple. It's simply sweet, and that's all. it would be preferable if breeders remember to include a generous dose of genes or molecules or pixie dust or whatever it is they use to bring the apple flavor forward. 

The final word: This dragon is lacking flavor, but not a sweet tooth. Still, I can't move it any higher up the list due to it's decidedly dimmed-down apple essence.

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Often mealy or mushy and with a hit-or-miss sweetness factor, Red Delicious long ago fell from their place of honor in the apple world. They may still come in sizes that fit nicely in a lunch box, but if you can't count on a sugary burst when you bite into one, what good are they?

And this taste test confirms that they are a familiar but washed out version of an apple that's lost it personality entirely — if it ever had one to begin with, that is. There's no sweetness here, just a bland suggestion of an apple flavor, like somebody whispered "you taste like an apple" over the fruit before packing it up for shipping. It turns out I was right, and Red Delicious apples aren't delicious at all.

The texture may have been a bit better than I remember, but in the race to be the sweetest apple around, Red Delicious is a red light — full stop. Turn around and find a better apple to add to your basket.

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The name Pink Lady makes this apple sound like it may have a more floral flavor or rosy flesh when you cut into it. I've seen them featured occasionally in my grocery shopping adventures, but I've never taken the time to give them a try. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't the one I was most excited about tasting — new apples are just that tempting to me.

Pink Lady is nothing to blush about, as apples go. There's a lushness to this apple that accompanies the subtle sweetness, an essence of tea and honey that show up before the apple flavor kicks in. It's just not as distinctly sweet as I was hoping. There's no doubt it's a sweet apple, it just seems to hold back where some of the more straightforward apples rush in.

With its delicate balance and reserved tasting notes, it's a perfect selection for the center of the ranking. As long as you know what you're in for, you can enjoy this lightly sweet apple with no regrets. Also: the flesh is apple-colored, not pink. Mystery solved!

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I've never tasted a Rave apple before, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to give this breed a whirl. It feels like a specialty apple, one that may have taken a lot of trial and error to achieve the perfect flavor balance. The complexity of flavors that surround the sweetness in this apple make it a definite must-try for fruit fans who like something a little more upscale in their crisper drawer.

How can an apple taste upscale, you ask? Believe me, I wasn't expecting it either. But the minute this apple hit my tongue, I was struck by how much the flavor resembles rosé. There's a complex merging of not-quite-sour and semi-sweet tones that kids are sure to find off-putting, though it could be a real discovery for adults who aren't fans of sugary treats.

If I were to revisit Rave apples, it would be for a cocktail gathering, served with crackers and cheese as part of a snack board at a party where grown-ups are the main audience. It's just the right amount of sweet for a moment like that.

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The apple world must think pretty highly of this relatively new hybrid to name it after a deadly sin. I can see why it would be such a coveted piece of fruit. Rather than being smooth and shiny, the skin is mat and sort of velvety, which tells you you'll have a higher end moment from the first bite.

And that sort of subliminal marketing does its job incredibly well here. More than any of the other apples I've tried, envy replicates the candy makers version of an apple flavor, bringing loads of sweetness with a truly characteristic apple flavor underneath. Instead of the bright green apple flavor of those Halloween lollipops, it has more of a lovely red apple quality you might find in chocolate shop bonbons.

The price of Envy apples seems to be comparable to other varieties, which is a nice find for such a flavorful piece of fruit. It's a great sweet apple option, if you can find it in stores near you.

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I see Fuji as an apple full of failed potential, thanks to the wildly fluctuating sweetness this variant is capable of. Sometimes, they're sugary to a fault, conjuring up a cider-like juice from the first bite. Other times, they're devoid of both sweetness and flavor and end up in the compost heap half-eaten.

This time, Fuji was beyond satisfactory, pushing sweetness that almost overwhelms the apple with its aggressive sugary personality. It sounds strange for someone with a definite sweet tooth to find an apple that hits too many high notes, but I know my limitations. While it may be more than I can handle, it also turns a definite winner in the sweetness category.

I'm glad I had the chance to revisit the Fuji apple concept. The sweetness has put it back on my radar as an apple with appeal. And who doesn't love an apple that inspires dad-style wordplay? 

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This is one apple I can always count in to deliver sweet apple goodness no matter what. I can't recall an instance where a Gala apple has been anything less than perfectly sweet and brimming with authentic apple flavor. It may seem weird that I recall my apple encounters so vividly, but when you find something that works, you take notice and you stick with it.

This time around, Gala does not disappoint in the least. Not only is the sweetness here supreme, the apple flavor is also peak brightness, with a floral presence that almost taste like candy. This is definitely a snacking apple more than a dipping apple; something with this much sweetness to offer should stand on its own rather than being coated in chocolate or caramel.

Testing it this time reminded me of why it became my favorite apple when it started taking over the produce section. It's still sweet enough to hold my heart.

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This dependable pomme is a regular sugar factory, with oversized fruit that seem like they might fail to sweeten up due to their sheer bulk. It's one that always gets my attention when prices are rolled back, especially since a pound of fruit here is usually only about an apple or two. The combination of volume and sweetness means I can snack on one honey crisp over the course of a day rather than feeling like I have to eat the whole thing in one sitting.

True to my previous experiences with Honeycrisp, it showed up with sweetness and spades for this taste test. It has the strange effect of waking up all of your taste buds even though only the sweet ones are impacted. It's a slow awakening, too; the sugars emerge like fireworks as you chew, leaving you with a more satisfying flavor by the time you're finished.

Even at full price, Honeycrisp is a dependable apple for a sweet experience. But if you happen to find them on sale, treat yourself and load up on as many as you can afford.

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If you're going to use the word "sweet" when you name your apple species, you should make sure it has the goods to back it up. This time, it's no marketing fluke; SweeTango is actually sweet and tangy at the same time, with a vibrant sugary zing that strummed my taste buds like an electric guitar. I was convinced that something so cleverly labeled would fail miserably, like its ambition was too good to be true. Boy, was I ever wrong.

The best description for the profile of this apple: It has the sweetness of a Honeycrisp and the vivid piquancy of a green apple. Both qualities hit simultaneously and took me on a ride like no apple ever has before. Yes ... I take my apples this seriously. After getting stuck in the groove with Gala and Honeycrisp, I'm stoked to find a new option to explore.

Anyone in the market for a super-sweet apple that keeps its sugary wallop in check with equal tanginess has a friend in SweeTango. I may try this one as a slow cooker baked apple, no additional sugar required.

Steven Luna/Mashed

I gathered up as many varieties of apples as I could get my hands on to make this raking thorough. With such a range of grocery stores in my vicinity, I was able to pick the most prominent species and a few lesser-known types to create a well-rounded list. The number of apple breeds was surprising; the ones that go on sale most frequently represent a small portion of the overall selection. It's weird to say, but it was kind of an eye-opening experience.

For the taste test, I carefully sliced out a wedge of each apple and tasted them to determine their sweetness while gauging how well they captured a classic apple flavor. What started to form as I worked my way through was a spectrum that featured fully sour apples like Granny Smith and McIntosh on one end, super-sweet apples like SweeTango and Honeycrisp at the other end, and a few bland and flavorless options surrounding semi-sweet and floral apples that keep their sweetness contained.

Once I had an apple color wheel, so to speak, I arranged them in sequence and double-checked to make sure I hadn't categorized any of them incorrectly. And now, I have 13 sliced-open apples to work my way through. I'd better start eating.