Envy Apple Review

"Great Apple for Robust Chewers"

86
Excellent
Envy Apple

Another banger from New Zealand, this delightful beauty has unparalleled taste, juiciness, and crisp flesh that won’t turn brown even after days. Not even close to the greatest of all time, this apple is still the envy of anyone looking at a shelf of Red Delicious.

Unfortunately, the transcendent taste of this very attractive sin-fruit is weighed down, literally, by its unreasonable density and excruciatingly thick skin that lingers in your mouth like a replacement tongue. Not recommended for sufferers of TMJ – this apple is worth the bite if you can commit to years 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

Red Apple Icon
5/5

TARTNESS

1.5/5

Red Apple Icon
1.5/5

INTENSITY

3/5

Red Apple Icon
3/5
ENVY APPLE BIO

PARENTAGE

Braeburn x Royal Gala

ORIGIN

New Zealand

YEAR

2008

AVAILABILITY

Year-round

BEST USES

Munching only

OTHER NAMES

Scilate

26 thoughts on “Envy Apple Review”

  1. 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.)

    1. 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.

        1. 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.

          1. 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!

          2. 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.

          3. 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.

  2. 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.

    1. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

    1. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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!

  10. 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.

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