^^^^ I always look for Honey Crisp apples too.
I’m not familiar with Macouns. Will have to keep an eye out. Intparent, visiting the U-Minn apple fields and tasting house sounds really fun!
I think, unless this changed recently, that a Macoun is mostly a NY and New England apple.
Wiki: ‘Macoun’ apples are a cross between the ‘McIntosh’ and ‘Jersey Black’ cultivars. The Macoun (“Ma-cown,” after the variety’s namesake, Canadian horticulturalist W.T. Macoun, but sometimes also pronounced either “Ma-coon” or “McCowan”) was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, by Richard Wellington. It was first introduced in 1923, and is an eating apple. Macouns are also very popular at roadside stands and pick-your-own farms. Availability is generally October through November.
Aside from its short season of availability, the popularity of the apple is somewhat compromised by the problems it gives orchardists. The ‘Macoun’ has a short stem, and there is a tendency for the apple to push itself off the branch as the fruit matures; also, the ‘Macoun’ tends not to produce reliable crops each year, with a good harvest followed by a sparser one.
The patent application for the ‘Honeycrisp’ apple stated that it was descended from ‘Macoun’ crossed with ‘Honeygold’, but this has since been disproved by genetic testing."
No idea what a Jersey Black is, but it apparently is an old NJ breed- and those farmers in NJ continue to be full of surprises. Many of us grew up on “Jersey corn.”
Here’s an interesting website for New Englanders:
http://www.newenglandapples.org/apples/
On their “restricted apples” page, they list the SweeTango as not being grown in New England due to trademark rights.
http://www.newenglandapples.org/restricted-apples/
I don’t like golden delicious, but I have a recipe for an omelet that uses them. They don’t soften or change texture while cooked, so you can saute chunks in a little butter and they stay firm. Then put them in an omelet and dust them with powdered sugar. Interesting! You want it to be a thin omelet that you don’t let brown.
We got Jersey Black apples from our farm share CSA program a few years back. They have a very dark and very thick skin, sweet but not super sweet. My NJ born and raised MIL likes Macouns best, quite fitting.
We stopped the CSA when, after a few good years, their marketing outstripped their production, giving us lots of damaged and rotten vegetables and fruit. They saved their best stuff for their farm stand and farmer’s markets, shipped their garbage to people paying $40/week for a box of compost.
I stopped the CSA when I got more varieties of cabbage and chard than I ever heard of. Or could use.
So they have Macouns in NJ?
I’ll have to try those if I can find any. I prefer Honeycrisp and Jazz.
"So they have Macouns in NJ? "
No idea. My wife’s parents moved out here to WA 5 years ago and she told me those are her favorites last year. Between the Columbia and Yakima valleys, we have lots of choices. Just thought it was fitting that both she and the Macoun have Jersey lineage.
I have tried SweeTangos, and they are good, but HoneyCrisp is still my favorite. But I still won’t pay full price for them, no matter how much I like them. A 50 cent Granny Smith still beats a $1.50 HoneyCrisp for full user experience!
I agree with others. Why did I love Red Delicious growing up, and now can’t finish one? Did they really get worse, or am I just spoiled with all of the engineered varieties?
My mom’s fav is also the Macoun (we say Macoon being originally from CT, but in NY they say McCowan.) I made her try a Zestar last week but she’s still sticking by the macoun.
I love Ginger Golds, but you have to eat within a day of picking. Golden Delicious apples get a lot of hate, but they are ideal for tarts as they don’t lose their shape when baked. My new favorite is the Mutsu. It’s as good three days off the tree as it is the day you picked it.
Red Delicious have been bad for awhile - so mealy, not worth the calories. Blame consumers for wanting perfect looking fruit. Nothing wrong with a little blemish here or there but try to convince a fickle American consumer. So many fruits and vegetables have been ruined in chase for outer perfection.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080402194.html
Golden Delicious are great baking apples for the reason @greenwitch states - they are sweet and hold their shape well without turning into mush. A lot of apple pie recipe recommend using them for at least part of the apple component of the filling. IMO, a mix of a few apple varieties are best in a pie.
Macoun rhymes with noun.
ETA: Cross posted with @Massmomm on the baking quality of goldens. And agree with you on Mutsu, which I posted about last night. The best! I’m waiting until later in the fall to go apple picking with those in mind as they are a late season apple.
^ Not if you’re from CT. Or NY. 
Best apple pie filling - a mix of apples and quince.
Macintosh!!! Can only find them occasionally in season when shipped from Michigan. Trader Joes once had Macintosh apple juice. I was in heaven. I should have bought a case, as I’ve never seen it again.
All of a sudden I’m craving a dutch baby pancake with apples… 
When I was pregnant with my eldest child, that was my constant food craving, @abasket! I lived for Sunday brunch. Yum! Haven’t had one in a long time.
I want a baked apple with brown sugar and a dollop of whipped cream!
I love apple fritters with sugar and cinnamon!
Up here in NY State this month’s picking schedule includes Gala, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Cortland, and Macoun. I’m going apple picking next week. And sampling some hard cider too.