How about them Apples?

by Pamela Hruska

Living with roommates, shopping for groceries with the person you live with, or even eating lunch with co-workers every day can give you a glimpse into a world of fussy apple eaters you never knew existed. It?s funny how such a phenomenon can go unnoticed until you realize you find yourself always going for a certain apple at the store, or being annoyed at how someone always eats the same apple every day. Nothing is worse than opening up the fruit drawer in the fridge to find it stocked full of sickeningly bitter apples that some hack apple-shopper has purchased for you to eat. Ew! And doesn?t it seem like a bag of apples you don?t like takes an eternity to go through? That seems to be the time when I open the drawer, see the wrong apples, close the drawer, and come back a month or so later to find a bundle of spongy brown soft apples ?the ones that if you grab them too quickly they?ll squish all over you hand!

This spring I started paying attention to the vast assortment of apples available mainly because of one co-worker who was addicted to the ?pink lady?. Claiming it was the best apple ever, I had to rush out and try it. At $1.99CDN or so a pound, I purchased a couple to find that it was, after all, just another apple. I definitely didn?t think it was worth the extra cost, but then realized that I don?t think I have ever truly deviated to the most inexpensive apple anyway.

For interest?s sake, I bought one kind of each apple at the store this round of groceries. It was important to select an inconspicuous grocery store for the task, as ringing through 10 different bags of one apple each did not seem to make my cashier very enthused. Once home, they were neatly lined up and shall be critiqued based on nothing other than personal opinion. You can rate your own favorite apple in this month?s forum poll. Please take no offense if the critique is not in favor of your apple. Everyone thinks their apple is the best, hence the fussy factor of apple eating.

Golden Delicious

The Golden Delicious ? yellow skin, white inners, great crunch, good sweetness factor. Not overly dense, and can rip apart quickly in a game of road apple.

Gala

The Royal Gala ? excellent consistency, moderate sweetness. The ?royal? part in the title, I?m sure is a marketing gimmick to make you think it?s better than the rest.

Granny Smith

The Granny Smith ? I wonder who this ?Granny Smith? really is? Given the apple is named after her, she must be a tart & tough old bird.

Spartan

The Spartan ? Excellent name, always looks so shiny. Excellent name?ohp, I said that already.

mcintosh

The McIntosh ? Great for the denture wearers out there. A nice red and green soft skin and soft innards. Apparently makes a mean pie.

Red Delicious

The Red Delicious ? A classic. Dark red outside, alabaster innards. Firm when not bruised by the crazy apple stackers at the grocery store.

braeburn

The Braeburn ? Never heard of it. Found it in the store, looks big with a tough skin. Could have eaten it, but judged it by its cover, and already decided it wasn?t for me.

Fuji

The Fuji ? makes me think of the fuji cats. Similar to the gala, are good for a little switch up in ones repetitive nature of apple buying.

* of course with all this said, every apple has its day, sometimes you just have to go for the least bruised bunch!

  • How about them Apples?
  • by Pamela Hruska
  • Published on June 1st, 2005

More from :

Other recent features: