Here at Friday Food Fight, we often use “apples-to-apples” as a metaphor for finding dishes that match up well.

Then it occured to me: We’d never done actual apples.

I went to Publix and grabbed every one they had in the produce department, nine in all, with the exception of those marked Organic — in the interest of keeping this an apples-to-apples enterprise.

Apples are my everyday go-to fruit, so those of you who want to make informed choices, consider me your apple evangelist. For this exercise, I adjourned to the FFF Lab + Photo Studio™, and in one sitting, ate a slice of each (with sips of water in between).

I’ll rank the Top 5 in reverse order. But first, here are the ones that didn’t make the cut:

Fuji (9); Red Delicious (8); Gala (7); Granny Smith (6) — this one’s just too tart for me, but it earns respect for crispiness and hearty skin.

5 — GOLDEN DELICIOUS

I gave up on Golden Delicious decades ago because I hit a bad run of mushy, flavorless ones. But at their best, they were a welcome alternative to the McIntosh Reds we had in our house growing up. I remember tasting hints of pear, and I still did here. This one had a solid crisp quotient, and a chewy skin that blended well with the flesh.

4 — AMBROSIA

I’ve had quite a few Ambrosias, although not lately. I appreciated its high level of crisp — a bite gave out an audible crunch. The mild flavor blended medium-sweet with a hint of tart. A solid apple.

ENVY

Envy used to be my go-to, but I moved on because they’re inconsistent. They might be heavenly for a spell, but then you run into a streak of mushies. Must be a seasonal thing. This one had a mid-level sweetness and a nice crisp, if not quite a crunch. As Envys go, it was good but not fruit-of-the-gods level.

HONEYCRISP

I’ve eaten many of these, and this one was well up to standard, with the boldest flavor of the five. It split the difference between tart and sweet, and delivered excellent crunch.

1— COSMIC CRISP

I didn’t reveal this earlier, but Cosmic Crisp has been my go-to for at least a year. It grades from an A to A+ to P (for Perfect). The sweetness is potent but not overpowering. This one emitted the familiar audible crunch all the way through each bite. The supple skin added to the flavor and comingled with the flesh. Whether big (like this one), small, or in between, Cosmic Crisps maintain their high standards. The apogee of apples. (I also think this specimen was the prettiest of the nine apples I tasted.)

So if you’re an apple aficionado and you’ve not tried a Cosmic Crisp, by all means do so. If you’re so-so or indifferent to the fruit, Cosmic Crisp might make you a convert.

In the interest of brevity, I kept my blurbs focused on taste-and-texture and a smidge of personal experience. But in the case of the winner, a bit more info:

Cosmic Crisp was developed at Washington State University, which began the breeding program in 1997. It’s a cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise (which makes me want to try the latter). Cosmic Crisp reached stores in December 2019. WSU owns Cosmic Crisp, and its trees are licensed only to Washington growers.