Envy Apple Review
"The Guilty Pleasure"
86
Excellent
Another banger from New Zealand, this wicked minx has unparalleled taste, juiciness, and crisp flesh that won’t turn brown even after days. Unfortunately, the transcendent taste of this ungodly sin-fruit is weighed down, literally, by its unreasonable density and excruciating skin that is thicker than Satan’s grundle. But despite the hardness of this immoral rock, the carnal pleasure derived from each juicy bite may very well be worth the subsequent years of atonement served in the form of jaw therapy.
BONUS POINTS: +2 Taste, +1 Oxidation Rate, +1 Consistency
Taste
Crispness
Skin
Flesh
Juiciness
Density
Beauty
Branding / Consistency
Cost/Availability
- FLAVOR PROFILE -
SWEETNESS
5/5
★★★★★ 5/5
TARTNESS
1.5/5
★★★★★ 1.5/5
INTENSITY
3/5
★★★★★ 3/5
ENVY APPLE BIO
PARENTAGE
ORIGIN
New Zealand
YEAR
2008
AVAILABILITY
Year-round
BEST USES
OTHER NAMES
Scilate
half on sale is rotten, cover in stiker ,
The stickers are removable, but I empathize with your lamentation.
I love Envy apples, sweet, crispy, skin are not chewy like others
You are very wise!
Nailed it yet again. It takes some serious jaw strength to get into (which isn’t something I’d ever paid attention to before reading these) but the flavor is worth the effort. Will definitely buy again! (And they should pull the underperforming brother off the shelf.)
Follow up – a lot of the best tasting apples seem to lose on density with your scoring system. From some reading I’ve done it appears that the extreme juiciness of newer cultivars is largely due to higher cell count, which may account for the density. IMHO it’s a fair tradeoff for more juice and flavor (I’ll just do jaw stretches first!) Improving the skin should be a higher priority cuz you aren’t going to choke on harder flesh.
That’s good information! I believe it is possible to have the best of both worlds.
My more recent Envies have been improvements as far as density – from the same producer. I’m not sure if it improves with longer storage or I just managed to pick the very hardest one the first time.
Follow up on my follow up – I’ve continued to buy these as my default variety, and while they’re still good there’s been a noticeable change the longer they’ve been in storage. They’ve continued to be increasingly less dense and easier to bite into, but still crisp – these latest ones I’ve bought are the first bordering on too soft; I believe they’re coming to the end of their viable lifespan. The flavor has also mellowed out, losing a bit of the earlier tartness (which was higher than your 1.5) but remaining rich and still very tasty. The peak (in this region) seemed to be around February when all of the traits were the most balanced, but it’s never a bad choice!
Apples are like any other fruit, you’ve got to eat them at peak freshness. Sometimes an apple straight from the tree is a totally different apple from one sitting in storage from months. Some apples flourish in storage and actually taste better over time.
Yeah, and it’s interesting how much difference there is between varieties. I do think the Envies benefit from a few months rest. They’re not going to hold out all the way into the next season, but assuming these are from last Fall’s Harvest they’ve done quite well. Certainly better then many other varieties that start out good but go downhill quickly. Can’t expect to have many quality options in the summer, at least not locally grown, but I think I’ll switch to this new batch of cosmic crisp for as long as they last. At this point they’re edging out the Envies.
I’ve noticed the same thing. It’s now late December and the apples form the same store are lower in density. I happen to like dense apples (Pink Lady, e.g.) and I cut mine up before eating so biting into them isn’t an issue. The latest batch of Envys I bought this week are much less dense.I happen to like the thick skin on Envys, it’s not rubbery and it gives a good chew at the end of a bite.
we have these sharp things called knives that you can use to avoid a trigeminal nerve spasm
you can actually cut apples into pieces instead of eating them the way that a wild animal would
I am very disappointed in Envy apples. I do not mind a very firm apple, but I despise the bland sweetness. I will never buy these again.
Try them earlier in the season next year. The Envies I’ve eaten are some of the most flavorful apples I’ve ever had. Even now they’re still decent, but the ones where you are might have dropped in quality sooner.
Or if you bought them from Trader Joe’s that’s the problem. I swear they must take the rejects that every other store refuses because almost all the apples I’ve had from there are awful. Considering the quality of their other products it’s highly disappointing.
If you core them first, you don’t notice the jaw effort, the skin, or the density. One of the best apples in the world.
They are the best!!!
I was unimpressed. To me, it was a bland taste so I won’t be buying any more.
Envy is one on my absolute-go-to apple. I used to eat Fuji all the time but now it’s Envy.
Thank you for the tip in letting it come to full flavor, I’ll remember and try it out. The most expensive too, in my area.
Any serious apple tasting is done after peeling the fruit first. The skin is usually distracting and rarely adds any valuable taste characteristics. With all due respect, complaints about the skin makes me wonder about the seriousness of this website. Being an apple grower, I wonder why anyone eats apples whole, with the skin, unless driving or something that requires use of a hand.
This is interesting, since I feel like a main drawing point of apples or most fruits is that as long as they are unpeeled they’re fairly hearty. Maybe I’m lazy, but i like the portability and ease of not having to peel my apples unless cooking. So for me (and I presume most apple eaters) the skin is an important consideration, especially since a thick rubbery skin easily ruins eating a great tasting apple. Very interesting to hear that tastings are done peeled.
Raw apple with skin contains over 300% more vitamin K, almost 150% more vitamin A, 115% more vitamin C, 20% more calcium, and about 19% more potassium than a peeled apple, this is why I eat apple whole.\
Portability is one of the selling points of apples in general. I have never in my life peeled an apple to eat raw.
We must have very different taste buds because this is the worst pole I’ve had the displeasure of tasting.
It was like suger compressed into a black hole of nothing. No taste besides just sweet. Boring, AND overwhelming. I’d literally just eat a red delicious which is at least just boring.
Envy? Not at all, a pitiful tasteless excuse for an apple, sweet? Yeah. Taste? None
Score: 30
Envy apples are sweet but seem to lack esters. They are bland. They are very slow to discolor after being sliced which makes for an excellent presentation on a salad or with charcuterie but it doesn’t deserve high marks for flavor.
Best Apple on the market.
As a granny smith lover, tough skin and dense flesh is little challenge to me, and today is my first time trying these apples. You’re right, they’re a delight. Taste reminds me of honeycrisp.
Got some Envy’s at the local Winco and these are fantastic
Fortunately, I bought this apple by mistake. It was mixed in with a some Juicy apples. I really like the freshness, crispness and sweetness this apple offers. The skin is a little thicker, but certainly not enough for me not to buy it. Envy is my new fav…you won’t be disappointed!
I seen these cheap and they looked good. I liked them. The description is accurate. I don’t eat non-organic peels because they usually taste bad to me anyway.
Envy is another recent favorite of mine. I am seldom disappointed when I buy them. Perfect description.
Recently tasted my first Envy apple, I have been raving about it to all my friends and co-workers! Had to come and check where my new fav apple is ranked, happy to see others agree! 🙂
Sweetest
Crispiest
Juiciest
Whitest
Great in fruit salad.
I am addicted to this apple I only discovered here in Brisbane about 5 years ago at a Woolworths. Only on shelves for a short period. I wish I could buy a crate/box.
Thank you to ALL farmers for feeding us. You are wonderful. ❤️
I recently decided to go down an apple rabbit hole, and the Envy apple was my first victim.
I definitely agree that the skin is a little too tough, but I kinda like that. My life has been marred by soft, mealy apples, so Envy was a respectable change of pace. It was almost comically crisp, like when you get the perfect crunch out of a potato chip and everyone in the room stops to admire it.
Now, maybe I picked a bad one, but the taste just wasn’t there for me. The very first bite had a hint of sweetness, but there was no other flavor to be found. I cleansed my palate, assuming that I was the problem, but there still just wasn’t much flavor. I’m willing to give it another go, but now that I’ve found this website I assume I’ll only be purchasing Honeycrisp from now on.
My favorite apple, I’m totally disappointed if I can’t find it in the store. Especially good with peanut butter, but then again, what isn’t.
Ate another one today and it tasted amazing
The one i ate yesterday was like a potato and dissolves , but still sweet
I tried one of these recently and it was just alright. It was pretty bland and texture was not pleasant but marginally better than a Red Delicious. Maybe I need to get them closer to where they’re grown or check when they’re in season?
I like the thick skin–not rubbery like Granny Smith but with a good bite. The sweetness is a touch bland but the texture is very dense and crisp. I like them in salad. Cosmic Crisp is still one of my favorites along with Pink Lady and SweeTango but I like these for a change-up and I’m all about texture in food and so far, I’ve gotten very pleasing texture in Envy apples.
I tried this apple for the first time today after seeing it so highly rated on your site. I love the juicy, crisp texture of the Envy variety , but it’s bland sweetness was a big disappointment. It was really bland and really sweet without any complexity, like eating crisp, juicy sugar without any “apple.”
You got one that was too late (or improperly stored). Early to mid season they have a great balance and complexity but the tartness falls off until it’s bland and mediocre.
Very happy to see that my favorite apple ranks so high! I honestly don’t mind the denseness, it makes it really satisfying to bite into in my opinion.
Absolutely wonderful when cold pressed
Ugh…I took a chance and got these from Kroger the other day instead of my trusty Honeycrisp. Big mistake. Surprised by the high rating, though maybe I just got some bad ones? Bland and mealy af, even Cosmic Crisp blows these away. Now I’m suspicious of this dudes whole ranking system lol.
Judging from the rating and previous comments, I must’ve gotten a bad batch. The taste is acceptable but the flesh was mealy. Pretty sad considering Pink Lady apples are around the same price and I never had consistency issues like this. Back to my lady it is.
I’ve gotten addicted to these; they are a large oblong apple and less bland than the recent Honeycrisp here (US.) The crispness is delightful, very juicy, not as tart as I’d like but a pleasant sweetness. The skin is slightly tough but crisp; I eat them quartered or in eighths with the core removed. They are to me what the Delicious apple should have been but got derailed over the years to a mealy, rubbery skinned tasteless sadness. I keep buying these so I must like them a lot;
I came straight for envy when I heard of this site. Envy apples are my favorite, I won’t even buy other kinds. The crunch and crispness are unmatched.
Trying my first envy rn. Love the crunchy but dang they are very sweet, but like a certain type of sweet? I dont know if I would get them again but not to bad. I am not sure if the fact i have to cut apples to eat them changed the experience
I’m actually eating one right now. I live in Hawaii and Apple are expensive & never really been an apple eater until now. Gorgeous apple so tried my luck and bought a few about a month ago. These are like crack! (Never done crack btw) I can not get enough of these apple! Perfect sweetness, delightfully crisp and so juicy I have two streams of juice running down my arm. Whoever made this variety-THANK YOU!
I’m actually eating one right now. I live in Hawaii and Apple are expensive & never really been an apple eater until now. Gorgeous apple so tried my luck and bought a few about a month ago. I can not get enough of these apple! Perfect sweetness, delightfully crisp and so juicy I have two streams of juice running down my arm. Whoever made this variety-THANK YOU!
I’ve gotten crazy-addicted to these Envy apples. I like an apple and a stick of cheese as lunch (or even breakfast) and the large size makes them a meal. The crispness and juiciness is better than the famous Honeycrisp. I like the skin; it’s thick and crisp, not rubbery so gives a pleasing chew. The apple is sweeter than acidic, but the mild apple flavor is subtle and pleasant. I’ve only had one bad batch that were a bit soft; most of the time they are premium quality and a very delicious fruit snack.
Lived for 27 yrs and this is the best taste apple. No 2nd
I’m glad I tried some Envy apples prior to seeing these comments/critiques (less chance of being biased). I like the E’s — skin is pretty solid, but hey, I like Arkansas blacks, too, and those’re pert-near rock-hard. Interesting flavors/notes, sweetness, body. Mine came from Wholefoods in Raleigh, NC. I doubt I’ll see them in my local stores (an hour from Raleigh’s Wh’foods).
This is my favorite apple. A honeycrisp can be too intense sometimes, this milder flavor is nice after a hard day of freebasing heroine. I gotta try the SweeTango though…