Granny Smith Apple Review
"The Original Sour Apple"
🏅 #2 RANKED SOUR APPLE | 🏅 #2 RANKED BAKING APPLE
There was a time, not so very long ago, when apples came in two varieties: “Red” and “Green.” Generally, “Red” apples corresponded to the now contemptible Red Delicious and “Green” apples referred to the famed Granny Smith. For decades, children in school cafeterias across the world sang the praises of the mouth-puckering alternative to the “Teacher’s Pet” Red Delicious. This was an apple for the cool kids, it inspired its own candy flavor, and showed how truly original its eaters were.
How sad it is that so many unfortunate souls still cling to the stray bits of personality they gleaned from proudly declaring themselves a Granny Smith fan when they were but mere tots. It is the dawn of a new age in Appleandia and Granny Smith (an actual British ex-pat who lived in Australia) is long dead. It is time to bury her apple along with her. Admittedly, this is a superb baking apple perhaps the best, but as for munching, the Granny Smith’s densely packed flesh and insurmountable skin create a most unpleasant eating experience.
Here are the straight facts: the Granny Smith’s tough flesh and skin will quite literally make your gums bleed, it was borne from the trash of Granny Smith’s French crab apples, and science has determined that this is the most undigestible apple in the world (which, to be fair, is actually good for gut flora). To all the Granny Smith acolytes: it is time to grow up. There are now superior sour apples on the market.
BONUS POINTS: +1 Uniqueness, +1 Historical Significance, +1 Baking
- FLAVOR PROFILE -
SWEETNESS
2/5
TARTNESS
5/5
INTENSITY
4/5
GRANNY SMITH BIO
PARENTAGE
French Crab Apple x Unknown
ORIGIN
Australia
YEAR
1868
AVAILABILITY
Year-Round
BEST USES
OTHER NAMES
Green Apple, Sour Apple
This absolutely resonates because Granny Smiths were my choice as a kid when they really were the only alternative to Red Delicious. Within a few years Galas, Braeburns, and Fujis started to appear on the scene and apple eaters everywhere breathed a sigh of relief, myself included.
On an unrelated note I checked your bio and I recently watched Adventure Beast. Top marks! I really hope it gets renewed!
Oh, and I recently bought a bag of granny smiths specifically to feed my goats because I knew I wouldn’t eat them myself like I kept doing with the others! It’s working, lol.
Holy moly, thank you very much!
I have never had a mealy granny smith. The tartness balances the sweetness of peanut butter perfectly. it’s still the best apple around.
Agreed. Apple with peanut butter is an amazing before-bed snack and Granny Smiths are perfect for the job. While the Appleist usually has pretty solid takes, his apparently inferior gum strength prevents him from enjoying a delicious treat.
Haha, I have to admit, my gums aren’t the strongest.
i like these apples i eat the whole thing even the core
They’re also great to slice up and put in sandwiches, the tartness gives the sandwich a nice spike of flavor. I’ve been using them to recreate a local coffeeshop’s sandwich at home, made with turkey, applewood bacon, pepper jack cheese, sundried tomato aioli, a bit of red onion, and granny smith slices.
That’s true they are a good sandwich apple
I agree. Give me all your Granny Smith rejects
Mid that’s what you are as a human being
Based.
As a kid, I found the tartness of this apple absolutely heavenly. Now I can only eat them if they are combined with slices of sweeter apples or baked in a pie.
I wont lie, the toughness of the granny smith is part of the appeal for me, because I’m a little freak. That, and it’s the most readily available sour apple to me. I have texture sensitivities that only the honeycrisp can exempt itself from, I get a “sandy” apple and I wither into dust. The granny smith has never been sandy. It never does me wrong like that.
Exactly! Granny Smiths are some of the only good ones out there /because/ they’re crunchy, the squishy mush that comes from every other apple is the worst. Ever eat a mushy grape? It’s the same for apples. Granny Smiths are the best.
You read my mind and put it in words. To me the thick skin isn’t a bug, it’s a feature, a challenge. Biting into a Granny Smith apple you know you will get a satisfying cartoony *cronch* and that elevates the apple-eating experience significantly to me. Cronch-less apples are my worst nightmare.
i read that as “crotchless apples” for a moment and was very confused
I’m also a texture freak and I 100% agree about the wet sand wrapped in thick plastic people call other apples. However, I find that large chunks of apple always seem to choke me when I try to eat these, and when they don’t I get ptsd and/or bleed my gums on these.
i love these apples. love em. come on man
Sorry!!!
AY FUCK YOU MAN THERE AINT NOTHIN TO FUCKIN LOVE GO BACK TO YOUR SAD GROUP OF DEPRESSING SUPPORTERS AND ENJOY YOUR FUCKING ROTTEN. FRUIT YOU GOD DAMN NINNY ITS MORE WORTH IT TO TELL YOU HOW GOD DAMN WRONG YOU ARE THEN TO ACTUALLY GO THROUGH WITH TYPING OUT THAT ENTIRE SENTENCE
I wanted so badly to defend my beloved Granny Smith, but i have to admit – while i love it in a good apple pie, and sliced+peeled they can make a good treat, my poor gums have been shredded any time ive tried to bite into a whole one. I figured thats just how apples worked. Knowing now that i dont have to choose between a quick snack or intact gums, my whole worldview has changed. I am a different man now
You are on your way to greatness!
I have never known a Granny Smith to give me any sort of gum pain. Do you all have gingivitis?
The consistency of this apple I think puts it into a higher tier, if I could get this same color, flavor and texture in an apple with a thinner more tender skin, it might replace the honeycrisp as my favorite. And I don’t know about anyone else but peanut butter and apples only works with a sour apple like the Granny Smith, all the red apples I’ve tried have ended up too sweet and it clashes like a bad dessert.
These are the best apples
I agree with many commenters here. Granny Smiths are commendable for their reliability. I’ve had bad Fujis, bad Galas, bad Pink Ladies, bad Opals, and nary a good Red Delicious, but I have yet to be failed by a Granny Smith. The skin may be as inedible as the foil pouch that cheez-its come in, but it serves the same function: what’s inside is preserved at a consistent texture and flavor.
Foil pouch that Cheez-Its come in – lol
I think this apple should also be noted for being helpful in fighting off cancers. Apples are good for you but Smiths really help keep your health up. – Digestinator
I didn’t know about that!
You gonna just take all that, Appleist? Ya been called out!!… Honestly, I agree ol’ Granny is past her prime. But a two point bump into the barely worth it category seems reasonable. Maybe a boost in branding on the F100? Clearly the brand is strong. Or, as you know, just a little more in taste would go a long way.
This is a fair point. I will adjust.
The Granny Smith Apple is absolutely the best for making apple pie, and eating with other things. Just… Don’t eat the skin. It’s too thick, and slices your gums. Overall to me it’s a 6/10, would be an 8 if it weren’t for the god awful skin.
Growing up I’d purely eat honeycrisp but my love for tart and sour grew with me. I changed to Granny Smith a couple of years ago and I haven’t looked back since.
The granny smith apple is a very rotten little lady and I can’t resist taking a bite.
Hahaha
YOU ABSOLUTE SLUT. GRANNY SMITH IS THE WORST APPLE IN EXISGTENCE GRANNY SMITH IS AN ABOMINATIUON AND A DUSGRACE TO SOCIETY
Granny Smith apples are the only apples I like and I dip the slices in lemon juice for extra kick ♀️
You are immensely powerful.
Lemon juice! A new world lies before me!
Always has been and continues to be my favorite kind of apple, the tough crunchiness and thick skin you criticize here is part of why I like them so much! I’m not as fond of softer apples because the texture bothers me, and even though I do admit the skin’s a little rough on the gums, it’s something I am fully willing to put up with for this delicious crunchy thing.
I believe Granny Smiths deserve special consideration for the fact that they’re all grafts from the same tree; you can’t grow a granny smith tree from just a granny smith seed (though that can create a suitable root stock for a graft). Every other apple has the advantage of cultivation, development, etc. Not these mutants. Precious glitch-fruit clones.
I feel as though Apple Rankings needs a “Baking” consideration, or stat ranking, or other such separate indicator.
As a couple other commenters have mentioned: Granny Smiths (along with some other gross sour apples) are awful for eating, but make the best pies. The tartness contrasted with the sweetness of the sugar is what makes a tasty pie. (Similar to how rhubarb by itself is foul, but strawberry rhubarb pie is amazing.) Making an apple pie with good eating apples will only net you a bland saccharine wet fart of a pie, along with ruining a bunch of perfectly good eating apples.
If Granny Smiths disappear from grocery stores it will be very difficult to make apple pies, and that would make me very sad.
I had to check granny smiths, and now I don’t need to look at any other apple on this website. a person can not like granny smith, but a ‘definitive apple ranking’ can not put granny smith in ‘not worth eating’ tier. it’s my favorite apple and by the looks of the comments, it’s other people’s favorites too.. just not the favorite of this site builder. :thumbs down: :thumbs down:
FUCK YOU YOU DUMPSTER FIRE OF A HUMAN FUCK YOU AND YOUR FUCKIN OPINIONS THERE AINT NOTHIN SPECIAL ABOUT NO GOD DAMN GRANNY SMITH THE REASON WHY YOU LIKE SUCH A FRUIT IS BECAUSE YOUR FUCKING DUMBASS GARBADGE PARENTS DROPPED YOU AS A CHILD YOU FUCK
Your mother should have washed your mouth out with lye soap
While at first (and along with many apples I’ve seen here for review) I was a bit personally offended at how this apple was ranked, perhaps I was too harsh, as your criticisms are fair and correct… I, in fact, have had my gums bleed from eating this apple.
After reading up on your ranking system, I find many of these reviews to be quite fair despite the initial glance at that big red number. The F100 is truly the most comprehensive fruit ranking scale I’ve ever seen. Great work!
Wow thank you! Happy to have you on board!
I’m eating one here, diced into cubes. Yum! Tart, crisp apples are my favorites, but only the Granny Smith achieves perfection. The newer bred-for-maximum-sugar content apples on the market gross me out–kinda like a flashy, shallow person.
Look, as someone from Eastwood where these apples are from and where we hold a festival every year I need you to know you’re wrong and this is a declaration of war.
Come at me!
Yup, these criticisms are all valid, though I’m still a fan of Granny Smiths. I don’t eat them raw very often because they are rather tough, but sometimes I just want that amazing tart flavor. Their distinct taste is what makes them great, and they do make the absolute best apple pies.
OK but hear me out. A very very thinly sliced Granny Smith accompanied by a couple of dark chocolate sea salt caramels. My go-to dessert.
Yeah that sounds delicious
the one problem with all the alternatives other than the kanzi is that they are simply nowhere near as tart. the only alternatives should be ones that share the 5/5 on tartness. thats the whole point of the granny smith and these sad 3/5 tartness apples simply wont cut it
also, you dont judge tart apples for being tart, nor sweet apples for being sweet. while mealy is completely unacceptable and makes my soul leave its body, a firmer apple can be a real plus when eating, as it is incredibly satisfying, so as long as it’s not impossible to bite, im not sure why you take points off for it. i dont know if the F100 scale is up for peer review, but if it is, this is a peer suggesting you should probably consider this. if it isn’t then just keep on doing ur thing dont let me stop you
If someone bred a granny smith tasting apples with thinner skin and less dense flesh they’d be a millionaire
Exactly!!!
They’re the only one that tastes like this, and the firmness is so refreshing.
i just feel… disappointed. maybe it’s because my granny smith is brazilian but it tastes like slightly sour cardboard
This is such a FLOP ass take. Granny smith is THAT GIRL. She’s tart, she’s crunchy, she’s versatile, SHE’S CONSISTENT. No other bitch in the game does it like Miss Smith. All those other untalented, flavorless, inconsistent, musty bitches you ranked higher simply cannot compare! She’s the gold standard, the industry’s favorite. All those other apples are a TREND, a PHASE, we as a society will leave them behind, but Granny Smith will continue to sit pretty at the top. Can’t no other bitch dethrone the MF QUEEN, she ain’t going NO-MUTHAFUKKIN-WHERE. She’s an ICON, she’s a LEGEND, and she will always be THE MOMENT. Put some respect on the good sis’ name… PERIOD’T
100% 10/10 fire emoji
I feel like one of their best features though is how consistent they are. While most other apples are either really good or inedible depending on the batch, granny smiths tend to be very consistently crisp and tasty. They’re also so lovely with sweet peanut butters!!! I do agree that they’re incredibly hard, though.
As a snack, it is only enjoyable when combined with peanut butter. A mealy Granny Smith was a recent experience for me. You’ll kick yourself if you buy the gigantic GMO-sized ones, so just don’t.
I have been mostly in agreement with your apple takes but you are completely wrong about granny smith. This rating is an insult.
This ranking of granny sh*ts apples is too generous. For years my parents tortured me- mind, body, and soul- with these abominations in my lunch box. Every day I faced a choice between starvation and plaguing my stomach. Some days I was able to resist, others I succumbed. The bitter horrors I experienced still wake me up at night.
I was so excited when my find told me about this place, and all my hopes were dashed on finding its run by a heretic who doesn’t even appreciate the greatest apple.
Then I realised you’re in the USA and understood a little. There’s so many thick, waxy skinned Granny Smiths over here. I only buy them when from Chile. When I was in the UK, I got the ones from South Africa, which were absolutely the best. A little more fragile in the skin and flesh – while being more consistently firm, there’s so many massive mealy Granny Smiths over here and it should be a crime – while being juicier too.
The most sucky apple. Green apple gatorade is vile
IMO Granny Smiths should only enter one’s piehole from the innards of a pie which is where it excels. As far as a stand-alone munchable apple…have you GS diehards never tried a Lucy Glo?
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new user here. i found out about this site about 10 minutes ago and decided to start right with the apple i had the best luck with, figuring maybe you experts have another suggestion. what a letdown tbh.
at first, i didn’t even see the “eat these apples instead” thing on the page, it’s in such a non-prominent location. as a web dev, i’m giving you 2/5 on the ux of that, and the only reason that’s not 1/5 is because the bloody thing exists in the first place. at first i left the page, thinking you just insulted my taste in apples and provided no guidance beyond “just go like something else like an adult” (which, as someone with arfid, is a hella touchy subject). you’re lucky i came back and found the list of better apples — but at least it does exist, i can’t argue with that. but that brings us to the next problem:
literally all three of the supposedly better options you mention are seasonal. even more so, they overlap a lot, you’re left with no apples for late spring and summer. i tried checking out your list of best sour apples and there’s not a lot there either, just more winter stuff. the pink lady is the only one that seems to be another year-rounder and it’s pretty far down the sour list, despite being allegedly quite good, which makes me think it’s not really that sour. so what can you actually offer to someone who likes the taste of granny smith?
i’m also noticing some worrying trends in density rankings and such. one of the main reasons i like granny smith so much is because i like the high density, it makes for a really good texture. mushy stuff is a no-go for a lot of people like me. and the skin is not really an issue if you cut the thing in quarters instead of just biting into it. i’m not saying you’re wrong, mind you (i have no delusions that i’d know apples better than you), just that you seem very subjective and thereby unhelpful to someone with clearly different tastes than you.
i’m not married to granny smith, hell, i didn’t even know it had a fandom to begin with. but what are your recs for someone who doesn’t want to deal with a whole bunch of complexity in their apple logistics, and picked granny smith out of the most commonly available options? because i presume a lot of us would be ending up right here immediately after finding out about your website. hell, granny smith is the only apple i can even name, if that gives you any indication how much i know about apples. that’s why i was hoping to find the wisdom of the nerds here. so far though, i’m disappointed.
definitely try a pink lady, its not as sour/sharp as a granny smith but its very fragrant & the lack of sharpness makes it easy to smash 5 of them in one sitting its like a natural starburst and as a granny smith enjoyer i love pink ladies even more bc of their balance and character. definitely tart enough, but somewhat fruitier & not as tooth sensitizing
I enjoyed these as a kid, but now these feel pretty mid for munching. And just for context, I always hated the Red Delicious apples. As an adult, I finally decided to try some other varieties of apples, and of those I’ve tried, I’d say the Kanzi is probably my favorite. As someone who enjoyed granny smith apples as a kid, I highly recommend the Kanzi apples over the granny smith (for those who like sour apples.) Hoping to try some other varieties too, thanks for the recommendations.
I’m an Aussie – land of the Granny. I planted one to get cooking apples. The first year it bore fruit I was late harvesting and the apples turned yellow with a slight red blush. They were the most magnificent apples to eat, crisp, juicy and tart but not sour. I thought the plant nursery had mislabeled my tree but no – I did some research and discovered that this was what a RIPE Granny Smith apple was like. The store bought ones are picked and sold way before they are anywhere near ripe. So if you like eating green Grannies, try and find a ripe one, it will be revelation. Hell, if you can’t find any ripe ones plant a tree! PS – they will keep on the tree for months and are even better after a couple of frosts!
I’m not arguing with your rankings, but you are too dismissive of children’s tastes!
I learned that this year, when, despite all the wonderful new varieties of apples available in the year 2024, my toddler age daughter insists on granny Smith. and her friend actually through the sliced up pink lady and her dad brought on the ground to run over and grab some of my daughters granny Smith slices.
Children eat a lot of stuff based on how it looks, & the bright green color is a real winner with them. Also, the sour flavor makes it Mother Nature’s sour patch kid.
If you want to take this website to the next level, consider a new category for “children’s apples“ and start running the tests.
That’s not a bad idea! My niece loves SweeTangos
Interesting take on one of the classics. As a granny smith fan from childhood, one would assume I’d be up in arms to defend this apple- but, surprisingly, I don’t entirely disagree. You’re completely correct in that the skin of the granny smith is sometimes just too thick. Floss is an essential accompaniment. That being said, the crispness of the skin is enjoyable, and I personally find it a fantastic apple for skin-snacking- which is common, because at the end of the day, this is a baking apple, and one would be a fool to let the skins just go to waste (especially given they’re the most nutritious part of the apple).
Personally, I think the quality of a granny smith is deeply reliant on size and freshness. Those tiny granny smiths sold in bags at supermarkets are worthless excuses for fruit, crabapples wearing industrial Kevlar that aren’t even worth trying. A full sized granny smith is superior in every way. And it’s best to obtain the freshest possible, as the worst granny smiths are those which have been allowed to ripen. A ripened granny smith becomes yellow hued, with an atrocious grainy texture that makes the first bite sorely regrettable. The flavor becomes indecisive, not sour enough to be a good sour apple, nor sweet enough to justify eating as a sweet apple. However, such apples are still worthwhile for use in baking.
Ultimately? The granny smith might not be the best, but it is an instant classic that has earned it’s reputation.
I’m sticking with my childish ways and I’m okay with that. Red delicious are soul suckers and they will ruin a good time, every time. But my Granny Smith always delivers.
you know NOTHING (and i mean NOTHING!) about Granny Smiths
these are sweeter than SweeTangos!
Intenser than Kanzis!
These delectable spheres of the gods have been delighting my tender lips since i was a wee lad
I may still be a wee lad but i can bench 170lb (that’s two bags of apple pies if you sniff my drift)
Nothing elevates the sweet and sour flavors further than gum blood
Take down this egregious assumption of perfection or else I will tell on you
October is too early for picking it. It’s not ripe. It has it’s uses in cooking and fresh eating similar to unripe Mango or Papaya but it’s just not ripe.
Wait till December or January and suddenly the skin is not too hard, the apple is much sweeter and balanced with tartness etc. One of my favorite fruit in Southern California with apples that last for months refrigerated. I pick some in November too to keep the limbs from breaking. Poor rating is undeserved and uninformed.
so are there actually apples besides granny smith that are outright sour and still crunchy? every other “sour” apple recommendation here says it’s a balance of tart and sweet. but sour is exactly what i want, so wtf? extremely biased ranking and not in a good way, because even as funny entertainment it falls flat. also for what it’s worth, i have sensitive gums and teeth but biting into these is never uncomfortable. the crunch is unparalleled and they’re so much juicier than a lot of alternatives while keeping that texture. if i want a sweet apple, i go for honeycrisp, but the best munching apple by far is grannies and i’ll die on that hill. we need more crunchy crispy fruits in general, apples basically carry that category right now (which sucks as someone with autism food issues).
tl;dr tell me a better apple i can buy at a grocery store in arizona that’s 1.) strongly sour, 2.) very crunchy with no mush, and 3.) juicy and i might give this review some weight. as is, it’s kind of worthless
me + my fellow people with texture sensitivities gathering here to defend the granny smith… how tough they are is the point. they will never let you down by being mushy or sandy.
you are weak, Brian Frange. perhaps in the next life you will come back strong enough to truly appreciate this aetherial apple, but for now you are clearly destined to suffer in mealy ignorance.
I’ll never let Granny Smiths go…NEVER!
say what you will about miss granny, but you will never catch her looking bruised, mushy and disgusting. she’s the jennifer lopez of apples. the whole internet may clown on her, but you will never catch her looking depressed, fat and broke.
this is my second favorite apple because its amazing with peanut butter.
Also I have not seen you mention the existence of caramel apples, and the granny smith is the iconic apple for caramel apples.
also green apple is my favorite candy flavor
It can take a few days to get used to the tartness. However, after that transition, it is crisp, incredibly juicy, delightfully sour, and literally tastes like candy. Maybe you did not get a good one and/or are not used to it. The apple should slice crisply and for slightly sweeter apple, have some lighter green patches on the skin.
Still an iconically true review, but I can’t help but be amused you specifically note “There are now superior sour apples on the market.” and yet it’s still rated #2 sour apple.
Still the baking equivalent of the honeycrisp though – there might be better for some baking purposes, but there’s nothing nearly as reliable that’s available everywhere.
Your Review disappoints me,, though i still stand with Granny Smith.
I am in no way an apple expert or connoisseur. However i felt the need to voice my opinion.
I feel it to be barbaric to bite into apples… Slices are the best way to eat them….
I love crunching the apple and ripping it off it’s skin, it’s so wonderful….
I like taking the skin off because it feels like tape, it’s amazing…
Her color is beautiful,, she separates herself…. she is Unique…
She is an Experience to be had and she is a Wonderful One!
However,, I Respect your Opinion..
Granny Smith can have my apple anytime 😉
picked up some granny smiths today because I haven’t had them in a while. I am telling you, they are a sharp apple. everything about them is sharp.
•they are TART. probably the sourest apples u can buy right now at your local shop
•they are CRISP. every single bite is crisp and fresh as fuck I’ve never had a mealy granny smith in my life.
•they have thick skin and dense flesh which makes em way harder to eat than they should be. I had to cut mine up into pieces because they would maul my braces otherwise. I had to chew the skin really hard too so it didn’t tear a hole thru my fucking esophagus when I ate it.
•they are GREEN. every single one is stunning lime green with no variation and that is so fun to me.
This is a mean apple. it doesn’t like you it wants to hurt you and it’s so so good. my favourite apple for my entire life and that will probably never change.