So you like Fuji

Crisp, reliable Fuji was Honeycrisp before there was Honeycrisp. ¶ 

Fuji's development in Japan was interrupted by World War II, and the apple was not released until 1962. ¶ 

Today it is a mainstay, available in supermarkets year round. Fuji accounts for about 25% of US apple production, behind only Gala and Red Delicious.

It's easy to understand the appeal of this crisp and delicately flavored apple. Some Fuji fans would never eat anything else.

But my mission is to lure you out of the rut you may not know you are in. If you are curious, give these Fuji-adjacent apples a try.

Before Honeycrisp, Fuji had become a kind of industry ideal from which new apple varieties did not stray far.

Indeed, one company sought to market a slightly redder strain as "Kiku," as if it were a new apple.

Go ahead and eat that, if you like the color. You won't be disappointed, because Kiku tastes like regular Fuji.

Speaking of Honeycrisp, if you haven't done so, you owe it to yourself to try them. There is a whole family of new varieties in the Honeycrisp space, some of them with real flavor.

But if, like me, you find Honeycrisp to be a sugar lump too far, you might try the following apples to sweeten and expand your apple pleasure and appreciation.

Other Asian

Mutsu share's Fuji's delicacy, if not flavor set, and like Fuji is refreshing and crisp. It's another Japanese variety and is available around here at orchards and farmers markets starting in August.

Mutsu is a big guy

It's never very tart, but mellows (and grows more yellow) later in the harvest.

Speaking of Asian varieties, Shizuka is Mutsu-like, and Shinsei (also know as Shin-ste) has some unusual, and good, flavors. You won't find these in supermarkets, though.

Supermarket choices and beyond

So what's like Fuji at your local store? If you'd like to experiment with more flavors, you might start with Pazazz, which is often sold in supermarkets in the winter and spring.

Pazazz is part of a stable of New Zealand apples, many of which have Gala and Braeburn as parents. If you like Pazzaz you might sample (in order of increasing flavor concentration and hardness) Envy, Smitten, Koru, and Jazz.

Arguably that list strays from Fuji's delicacy towards the end. Here are some farm-stand varieties, that, in season, might genuinely complement Fuji's qualities.

In late summer, try Molly's Delicious and Sansa. In late season, see what you think of Enterprise.

Finally, Esopus Spitzenberg is a heritage apple that achieves very high quality through subtlety and restraint. Though not very like Fuji, I commend E Spitz to the sophisticated Fuji aficionado without reservation.

Esopus

Do you have any recommendations? Make them in the comments!