The Inconsistency of SweeTango
In this newsletter, I am talking about an apple variety that I absolutely love but frustrates me like no other.
Many years ago I had some SweeTango apples sent right to my doorstep. I had heard about the new variety and was wanting to give it a try and one of the growers send me 12 fine specimens! I heard they were going to be the next big apple, the one that would replace Honeycrisp.
That was in 2010. 14 years later here we are and I can say for myself that I struggle to find SweeTango apples that were as good as those first ones. Yes I certainly have on a couple occasions found great SweeTango apples, last time being when I was in Pennsylvania and shopping at Wegman’s.
So what’s my issue with SweeTango? The flavor isn’t as consistent as I want. I have often times bought them and found them to be bland, but I know this apple can taste amazing. I once did a blind taste test when I worked at Whole Foods between Honeycrisp and SweeTango, and SweeTango won in the flavor department 2:1!!!!
Why isn’t the flavor consistent? A couple factors could come into play:
A lot of the apples could be coming from younger trees that aren’t producing high quality fruit. More mature trees tend to be produce better tasting apples, especially with SweeTango.
The flavor of them changes throughout the season.
Nothing I can do about the first one as there is no way to know how old the tree that produced the apples I got at the grocery store. But the 2nd one I can play around with some. I need to try them throughout the season sees if I notice any flavor changes (I talk about how apples can change in my blog post - 4 Tips for Picking the Perfect Apple). I was told that as the season goes on the apple should be better, so I will see if that plays out.
Stay tuned!
In the mean time, what do you think of SweeTango? Also check out my blog post - SweeTango vs Honeycrisp
I am working on a guide to tart apples for my paid subscribers, free subscribers will get a preview when it’s done. I want to know what tart apples are you buying? Help me track your answers by submitting your favorite tart apples here.
Want to know what states have an official state apple. Check out my list here!
Listen to the latest episode of my apple podcast -
If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. I hoped you enjoyed today’s newsletter.
I haven’t eaten many SweeTangos and the few I have had didn’t make much of an impression. I recall crunchy, juicy, sweet and maybe a little tart? Maybe slightly tropical-tasting, if you know what I mean…like a tangy version of Juicy Fruit gum??