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!