Day 10 - Jazz

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Happy Fat Tuesday!  What a great time to think about Dixieland Jazz or Smooth Jazz or Gypsy Swing Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Bebob, Avant-garde, Afro-Cuban, West Coast, Ragtime, Free Jazz, Jazz Funk, Jazz Blues, Jazz Odyssey, Jazz hands, Jazz apples!

The Jazz apple is a Hepcat, Daddy-O!  It is a cross between the Braeburn and the Royal Gala developed in New Zealand in 1985.  It is hard, crisp and juicy.  The color is flushes of red or maroon over yellow or green.

I like the Jazz apple, yeah, bebop-skat, doodly-doodly do, whap-whap-bam, shazam-pow!

Tomorrow, I review the expensive but well-loved Honeycrisp.  Is it worth it?

Day 9 - Braeburn

Today's apple is the Braeburn.  It originated in 1952 in Motueka, New Zealand.

 I have a long history with the Braeburn. it was around 1997 or '98.  Grunge had given way to Nu Metal.  Titanic and Armageddon were popular films.  The search engine Google was founded.  Bill Clinton had famously declared, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

I was on lunch break at work at the Fox affiliate in Rochester, NY.  I brought an apple for lunch that day, not realizing it would be the best apple I had every eaten.  It was such a good apple, sweet, juicy, tart, just the right level of firmness and most importantly, that fragrant, floral quality that I only experience occasionally in an apple!  It was like the apple had been injected with rose water, wow!  I suppose I've been chasing that apple ever since.

The Braeburn, although generally good is an inconsistent apple.  I have had MANY since then with varying results.  Today's tasting was more on the negative side.  The texture was somewhat mealy and the flavor did not have much character.  Luckily, I have discovered many other good varieties since.

An interesting fact, the Braeburn is prone to Braeburn Browning Disorder where during long storage, it seems healthy on the outside but can turn very brown inside and you won't know it until you bite into it.  The Jazz apple was developed out of trying to eliminate this disorder.

Tomorrow, I review the Jazz apple.  Crunch on!

Day 8 - Granny Smith

Today's apple is the Granny Smith.  It has light green skin and is firm and juicy with a tart flavor.  It originated in Australia in 1868.  People, like me, eat them raw but it is most known for being a good apple for baking and cooking.  It has an especially long shelf life, up to a year with little loss of quality under the right conditions.

The Granny Smith is thought to be one of the most healthy apples, high in antioxidant activity with the highest concentration of phenols among apple breeds.  This apple is low in calories and high in fiber and potassium.

I enjoyed my apple tasting today.  My wife rarely eats apples but the Granny Smith is her favorite.

Tomorrow, I review the Braeburn.  Crunch on!

Day 7- Kiku, Apple Soda

Today's apple is the KIKU.  I had never tried one before but now I have and it was good!  The KIKU was developed in the early '90s.  It is a very pretty apple, cool markings.  It had just about everything I look for in an apple, sweet and juicy, firm, good texture, nice skin.  it even had a bit of a floral note, which I only taste occasionally in an apple and I enjoy.  Rock on KIKU!

I tried another apple product today, Sidral Mundet Apple Soda.  It is from Mexico.  I like it, good apple taste and aroma.  Yep, apples!

Tomorrow, I go tart with my review of the Granny Smith.  Crunch on!

Day 6 - Fuji, Pucker, Apple Raisin Bran, Birthday

Today's apple is the Fuji.  The Fuji is a hybrid between a Red Delicious and a Rawls Jennet, developed in Fujisaki, Aomori, Japan in the late 1930's.

This is my favorite apple of the 6 I've tried so far with this blog.  It was delicious, sweet, crisp, juicy, large, round, attractive, with a great personality to match!

I love apples.  I ate a couple other apple-related products today, as I often do.  The 1st was Raisin Bran Crunch Apple Strawberry.  It was ok, not very apple-y.  I remember the 1st time I tried Raisin Bran Crunch Apple Strawberry. it was 3 days ago, when I bought this box.  You just can't fuck with good old regular Raisin Bran.

It is my birthday today.  I wanted to do a shot when I got home,  I noticed I have some Dekuyper Sour Apple Pucker liqueur.  I said sure and did shoot so stated shot.  Pucker tastes just like a sour apple Jolly Rancher, it is very sweet, and sour and 15% alcohol.  Whoop, not the best to drink on it's own but it makes a great mixer!

 I remember the 1st time I tried Pucker.  My wife's Aunt Gloria was having a family get-together.  She put on good family get-togethers, very liquid and awesome food!  I was just a few years out of college, young, naive to the ways of liquor and apples.  I never could have imagined or cared that all these years later, I would have a blog about apples, nor do I or anyone else care now.  None the less, Aunt Gloria offered up the Pucker and I just thought that stuff was the shit, the bee-knees, if you will!

Tomorrow, I review an apple a have never tried, the KIKU!  You don't want to miss this!

Day 5 - McIntosh

Today's apple is the McIntosh.  It is from Canada and is the national apple thereof, eh!  The Macintosh computer was named after the apple.  McIntosh apples are small to medium and quite round.  Their thick skin is red and yellow and easy to peel.  It is considered a good, all-purpose apple to eat raw or cooked.

I hadn't tried a McIntosh in some time.  This was a good apple.  I don't have much to say about it, a good work horse.  Offer me a McIntosh and I will eat it sir!

Despite my fondness for apples, I am definitely a PC and not an Apple electronics guy.

Tomorrow, I review the Fuji.  Crunch on!

Day 4 - Gala

Today's apple is the Gala.  The Gala originated in New Zealand in the 1930's.  It is a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Kidd's Orange Red.  They tend to have some vertical stripes and the color is a mix of red, yellow and even some orange.  Gala apples ranked at number 2 in 2006 on the US Apple Association's list of most popular apples,

This is a darn good apple!  It is crunchy, juicy, sweet and tart.  The skin is slightly thicker than that of a Pink Lady.  

When attending your next gala, bring some Gala apples, if that is your idea of a party!  People will like them and say, "thank you.  I am so grateful, you will be my friend for life.  Feel free to use my condo, yacht or my wife any time!"

Tomorrow, I review the Mcintosh.  Crunch on!

Day 3 - Golden Delicious

Today's apple is Golden Delicious.  It is not closely related to the Red Delicious which is good because the Red Delicious would surely be jealous and probably shake itself from the tree and fall to it's death.

I like the Golden Delicious.  It is a parent apple to many well known varieties, including the Gala, Ambrosia, Mutsu, Pink Lady and Jonagold, thanks mom or dad!  It is yellow/gold or greenish in color, is very sweet and is crisp and juicy.  Today's sample was more on the tart side than I expected. The Golden Delicious is prone to bruising so don't be too rough with it and you may just be rewarded with golden deliciousness, damn, I'm cheesy!

Tomorrow, I review the Gala.  Crunch on!

Day 2 - Red Delicious

Today's apple is the Red Delicious.  The Red Delicious has been around since aprox.1880.  I haven't had this type of apple in quite a while.  With so many good apple varieties available, I gave up on this sub-par apple a long time ago.  Today's tasting confirmed my memory.  

It is a two-faced apple, often beautiful on the outside with a vibrant red, unblemished skin.  It has an attractive shape and a healthy stem.  You see this apple across the room and think, I'd like to get to know her! but then you sit down and start talking to the apple and realize she is no fun to be with at all.  Text a friend to call you about an emergency so you can get up and leave immediately!

The skin is thick and bitter.  Inside, it is sweet but mealy and one-note.  It is also very quick to turn brown.  The ever so common Red Delicious is not for me.

Tomorrow, I review the Golden Delicious.  Crunch on!

Day 1 - Pink Lady

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This is day one of my new blog, An Apple a Day.  I love apples and I am amazed by the bounty of different varieties available.  In this blog, I will eat a different type of apple each day and review it.  There will also be musings on apples and apple-related topics such as, does an apple a day keep the doctor away or cool apple products.  I am not an apple expert, these are just my opinions.  Please leave comments on this important topic.  So here we go..............

Today's apple is the Cripps Pink, also known as Pink Lady.  This apple originated in Astralia in 1973 and is a cross between a Lady William and a Golden Delicious.  I have enjoyed this type of apple for many years.  It has a firm texture, the taste is a good combination of sweet and tart but more on the sweet side.  It is juicy and the taste sometimes has a nice floral quality, though today's apple did not have that floral note.  The skin is often pink in hue but can also have shades of red or yellow.  The skin is not always smooth.  Sometimes it is pock marked like Seal or Edward James Almos's face.

Tomorrow, I will review the Red Delicious.  Crunch on!