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Some of you have been telling me recently about a new apple, Wild Twist.
More recently, you said it was just a new trademark for Sweet Cheeks. (I reviewed that apple in 2017.)
Thanks for doing my job for me! I've edited the review with the new name and a note.
Sometimes different harvests or handling deliver fruit of varying quality. Several readers liked this apple a lot more than I did.
The apple, under its new name, was for sale here in early March, so the moment felt right for a second bite.Wild Cheeks 2021
Different conditions, if any, have not endowed this apple with any further qualities.
It remain a sweet apple with an excellent crunch, though nothing like that of its illustrious parent, Honeycrisp.
It's a little denser, so if you don't like Honeycrisp's gossamer delicacy, Wild Twist might count as an improvement.
The flavors are generic and even bland, borrowing nothing obvious from its other parent, Cripps Pink, other than a magenta note in the blush.
I like Cripps (which is often marketed as Pink Lady). There is an orchard here that sells them by the bag into the winter, when they are great to include in the off-seasonal mix.
A cross that married Cripps's flavor with Honeycrisp's crunch would be a brilliant entry into the Honeycrisp wars of succession.
Alas, Wild, Sweet, Twisted, or Cheeky, this one falls short for me. I did not give this apple any stars in 2018 and (spoiler alert) don't see any reason to reconsider that judgment.
Just my opinion; if you like it, enjoy.
Much gratitude to my great readers.
Links
- Wild Twist (Sweet Cheeks) review and comments
- Cripps Pink (Pink Lady)
- Honeycrisp
- Struggles for the Sacharine Throne
- Ratings
- 2018 stars
I've never had this one, but your statement about marrying the crunch of Honeycrisp with the flavour of Pink Lady made me think of Jazz. I've been able to find those occasionally here in HK this spring, and have been refreshed by their tartness after all the gala and Envy and Fuji. Not quite as explosively crisp as Honeycrisp, but close. I actually tasted banana in my jazz today, like just barely ripe banana, all yellow but no spots yet. It was interesting and pleasant. I think I've had jazz apples before that were not as flavorful, but this seems to have been a good year. I'll have to look for Sweet Cheeks or Wild twist when I'm back in the US next month. It's always interesting to try a new apple!
ReplyDeleteI like Jazz a lot, but personally do not find its density much like Honeycrisp's monster-cell crunch or its hardness much like PL's yielding quality.
DeleteThe Jazz flavors, at peak, include clove and notes that reflect Jazz's Cox antecedents.
Bought one of these "new to me" apples the other day. I was as underwhelmed as you were.
ReplyDeleteJust tried a wild twist and was pretty disappointed. To me it had a kinda sweet musty taste, but looked good.
ReplyDeleteI was unimpressed with the Wild Twist Apples I purchased today. I love both honeycrisp and pink lady apples, but this hybrid did not impress me at all. I thought it had a good crunch but it tasted watery, overly sweet with a lack of complexity, and kind of reminded me of bosc pears with a less grainy texture. I'm not in love with pears, in general, so that wasn't a good point for me to note in this apple. I agree, if others like it, enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, pretty much every apple grown in the northern hemisphere will be subpar in July.
DeleteYour Twist was about 8 months old.
Aside from being crunchy and juicy, I found WildTwist to be completely void of any apple flavor. Zero stars, like nearly all of the trademarked varieties, for me.
ReplyDelete