Monday, October 8, 2012

Apples

My fruit eating habits are very seasonal. Oranges in the winter, cherries and peaches all summer, and now that  it's fall - it's apple time.

My favorite apples are Honey Crisps. I tried them for the first time last year and cursed all the years I had spent NOT eating these beauties. If I peel one and serve it with sliced cheese - a nice, sharp cheddar, for example - my husband will eat the entire plateful.

My least favorite apple is the Red Delicious variety. It is a beautiful apple to look at. The color is gorgeous, and I love the ones that have tiny "stars" all over them. There's one problem - someone forgot to put in any taste. Plus I always eat the skin on my apples, and the peel on Red Delicious tastes like exploded balloon to me. Except thicker and harder to chow down.
Gorgeous to look at, but - no thanks.

For pies, I prefer the hard types that aren't as sweet. Granny Smiths are an easy choice. I hear Pippins are good too, although I've never had one. (I dream of trying a Cox's Orange Pippin, which I hear are spectacular.)

I'm not above having a caramel apple if it's homemade, although I'm on a diet now so I suppose I can't do that. They are delicious in salads as well, green and chicken, and a pork roast isn't complete without some apples on the side, IMO.

My daughter has been bugging me to go apple picking for a while now, so today we are  going to venture out and give it a try. I see that it is cold and cloudy - a perfect fall day for picking apples. Afterwards some of us can have mulled cider and apple donuts. (Not  me - diet, etc.)

Did I mention that I love Bulmer's hard cider to wash down a hearty meal of roast chicken? Because I do.
Or with brown bread? Yup, that works too.

But my favorite way to have apples is the time-honored way - held in the hand, unpeeled, as I take a big, crunchy, juicy bite. There's nothing better than that.

4 comments:

Johanna Garth said...

My husband keeps grumbling about the price of Honey Crisps and how they're going to put us into early Autumn bankruptcy.

Hart Johnson said...

I like really CRISPY apples and red delicious are often mealy. Sweet or tart are good, too, rather than in the middle. They are one of my favorite fruits IN STUFF (breads, tarts) and my family has a tradition born when my son was 2 and would only eat 'soup'--I make 'apple soup' to top pancakes for all our holiday breakfasts.

Michigan is the #2 apple producer, so this time of year we go to the cider mill for cider and doughnuts, too (and there might have been wine tasting involved last time)

Alison DeLuca said...

Wine tasting - ooooooh.

Johanna - I have to stop buying staples in the fall so I can afford my Honey Crisp habit!

David M. Brown said...

Great post, Alison.

Usually have Granny Smith apples. Eat a lot of different fruit but apples are always highly favoured.