Pazazz Apple Review
"The Desperate Musical Theater Major"
A hefty prize horse created by honeybees in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the Pazazz Apple will elbow its way into your mouth like a musical theater major looking for acceptance and leave behind a mild taste as memorable as said student’s inevitably disappointing career. Each bite of the Pazazz is a masterclass in stage hand-combat (particularly if you pick up the larger non-bagged varieties) forcing you to contend with a formidable construction and razor-sharp skin that will end your singing career early. All in all, the Pazazz Apple is “a lot”. However, if you can move past the cries of desperation that surround it, you will find exceptional juiciness and a good crisp bite that may be worth, at the very least, an audition with your tastebuds.
- FLAVOR PROFILE -
SWEETNESS
2.5/5
TARTNESS
1/5
INTENSITY
2/5
PAZAZZ APPLE BIO
PARENTAGE
Honeycrisp x Unknown
ORIGIN
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
YEAR
2016
AVAILABILITY
Late Fall – Winter
BEST USES
Munching, Baking
OTHER NAMES
The Jolly Rancher Apple
As I am on my break eating a Pazazz I bought yesterday, I find it reminds me of what Red Delicious was like in the 1980’s. Somewhere in the 90’s R.D. growers started crossing their trees to make a softer textured apple, because people were complaining that it had become too hard to bite into. But they took it too far sacrificing both flavor and texture. Pazazz is just right!!! It is a bit hard, and you really have to work that first bite, or use a knife. But the crunchy texture is worth it. It could be a little bit sweeter, but it’s almost at the right level. This apple will be great in salads, used with dips, and for other displays, since it is slower to brown than R.D., but still use your favorite anti-browning technique if it will be on display for more than 30 min. This apple, if left as it is, should become a challenger to the Gala’s in the market. The Growers have this one just right, so don’t mess with it!!! Give the public a few seasons to find it, while advertising its qualities. There are plenty of sweet apples, but very few with a stand-up crunch. I stopped eating RD’s when they got as mushy as their Golden cousins, thank you for giving me an apple I have been missing for a long time.
Please, get your horticultural facts straight. Red Delicious was not ruined by “crossing” with anything. Red Delicious was ruined by the industry cloning (grafting) successively redder sports- naturally occurring mutations- of red delicious regardless of the lack of flavor of such sports. And then storing the fruit for a year before selling it. Apple trees reproduce sexually just like humans do. Pizazz is a cross across between that slut of an apple tree Honeycrisp and God knows whatever cad provided the pollen. It needs to be grown in a proper location to get the best flavor. I agree with Tim and Pappy below that it is underrated here.
Pazazz Apple is my all-time favorite, with more than 70 years of apple eating. Pazazz apples are rarely available where I live, so I’m just hoping, on my way to market each time, that I will get lucky.
I literally just tasted my first one tonight before discovering this site lol I think they’re ranked a little low. Enjoyed the texture and taste.
I just tried these for the first time and I do agree with the review. They’ve got barely any flavor depth and just come across as bland and slightly bitter. Maybe these would be good served with accompaniment, but as a standalone snack its a pass for me.
This is a good apple. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. You have to get one that is red ripe to get its full flavor profile. If you see little pink specs on the inside flesh you know you got a good one. I have tasted cream soda/cherry blossom notes with a spicy tang at the end. Great cooking and snacking apple. If you like SweetTango but can’t find one, reach for one of these!
I was honestly a little shocked to see Pazazz apples to be ranked so low. They are a personal favorite. They have a nice crisp, they are pleasantly juicy, their sweetness is tempered by a mild tartness that juuuust borders on a pleasant sourness, and the skin isn’t too papery.
I found this apple the week after thanksgiving at Safeway and I think it’s amazing in flavor and quality. I had been buying Cosmic crisp apples but they’re not as good as they were during the summer. I’ve gone back to Safeway every week to buy more Pazazz apples and will continue going unless these apples change. I rate them 10 stars. I’m really glad to have found this apple.
God tier apple.
Do these reviews take season into question? I feel that the Honeycrisp apples that you can get in May/June are generally not as tasty as a Pazazz in the same period. Though generally Honeycrisps are superior to everything other times of the year.
Had my first one of these today! I found the flavor underwhelming. Mine was more tart than sweet and just a hint bitter. I absolutely loved the crispness but found the juiciness to be a little much. I bought two so am looking forward to checking the flavor for consistency. Not sure I’ll buy this one for snacking again, but agree with comments above that it would be nice in a salad.
this apple cured me, it’s so delicious and I’m a certified apple cutter so I don’t have the issue of biting into the hard skin since I so gracefully slice it into bite sized cubes. I wonder why more people don’t eat apples this way, it is elite. Anyway, this apple is who the honeycrisp wishes she was, it’s so lovely and delicious (if you get a good one, of course). I haven’t always been an apple enthusiast, but a few months ago I went on an apple journey and tasted several apples from my local grocery store, all which disappointed me (especially honeycrisp). The Pazzaz apple blew the rest of them out of the water, and now it is all I yearn for. However, this story takes a sad turn because for 3 weeks now, my grocery store has not been stocked with Pazzaz. My skin itches to get just one more bite of that Pazzaz goodness.
the new Honeycrisp, this apple should have taken the world by storm. while most reviews here are valid, this one missed the mark (not even on target — four inches off the right of the board). the apple is crunchy and delicious and has an unexpected zing to it. RIP Apple Rankings, this one was a blunder.
This apple is fantastic. I came here to see if it was a Winesap relative because the taste and the little red fibers remind me of them— Winesap was my favorite in childhood and Honeycrisp is delicious in its own way. I will certainly look for Pazzaz again.
Our neighbors just brought some from a Mennonite orchard in upstate NY. We are in FL by the way. I own a pie shop and l must say…these apples are amazing. Not too thick skinned, sweet with a highly juicy bite and a tinge of pink in the meat around the skin. I’m surprised at the ranking review. Well, unless you picked them up from a grocery store that harbors them in gasses for a year (distrubutor) and then totes them as fresh. A Cosmic is our go to, but this one has all the nuances we want in an apple. I think AR got a rotten apple!!
I like Pazazz apples because they make excellent cider. Somehow the makeup of the flesh lets go of nearly all the juice during the squeezing process, and unlike their Honeycrisp parentage, create a very clear juice.
Many apples (Gravenstein comes to mind) that people use for applesauce have exactly the opposite makeup. When you crush them, they become applesauce and for someone looking for juice/cider from the apples it becomes much harder to produce.
So far Pazazz and Rave apples have this similar characteristic, I will be using this site for some research to see if there are scoring methods used which might inform the juicing / cidering process.
it was bland. not sweet enough but not at all tart. texture was fairly juicy. dense. big apple. will not buy again.
I live in Grizzly Flats next door to Apple Hill, CA and I love the variety of apples they have there, but, the pizazz apple is my absolute favorite. When I peel the apple and slice it into pieces to eat raw, it’s texture and flavor are wonderful, healthy pieces of candy…
Man, I wish I’d found this ranking before I decided to try a three pound bag of these. I literally googled them to figure out if I was imagining how meh they were.
these are my absolute favorite apples. cosmic crisp and honeycrisp are both available where I live and yet the pazazz wins every time. sugarbee and honeycrisp are DOUBLE the price of a pazazz or cosmic, and pazazz is objectively better than cosmic.
“razor sharp skin???” we are NOT eating the same apples LOL. I can bite straight into a big honkin pazazz apple with zero issues. it’s plenty sweet, super crispy, SUPER juicy, not too tart, not bitter.
i am in love with these apples SO much that I checked apple rankings and to my dismay you have SLANDERED my precious pazazz apples (i’m kidding)