Day 92 - Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Organic Apple Fruit Spread

Organic, what else you got?  Honeycrisp, the days of that being the best apple around are over!  I saw this whopping 42 oz jar of Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Organic Apple Fruit Spread at Costco for $3.97 so why the hell not!

It's pretty good stuff, 35 calories per serving.  It has a smooth texture and some light spice.  It's good on toast, waffles. ice cream, your lover's skin.  I put some on my Costco Apple Crumb Muffin, as seen in my last review.

My first problem with it, however is the word organic is on the jar, I kid you not, 12 times!  Depending on how you read it, it actually uses the word organic twice in the name.  Check out these previous blogs discussing the pros and cons, the mystery and grandeur of organic apples: 

https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-78-crimsoncrisp-apple-cult-and-is.html

https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2017/03/day-26-organic-honey-crisp.html

If the best you can do to make this jar look appealing is to print organic on it 12 times, that's lame.

Next complaint, the Honeycrisp name is used too much to sell apple products.  I have reviewed Honeycrisp Apple Tea, Honeycrisp Apple Chips and my next review is actually for Honeycrisp Apple Spumante.  The Honeycrisp was the rockstar of the apple world for several years but there are lots of great choices now and specifically, in regard to what it added to these products, I don't think it was that significant. 

In conclusion, Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Organic Apple Fruit Spread is fine and certainly a bargain at $3.97 a jar.  My favorite product like this is Musselman's Apple Butter.  See review: https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/day-59-musselmans-apple-butter-and.html

Next time, I review Honeycrisp Apple Spumante (non-alcoholic) and discuss my current period of sobriety.  Crunch and drink on!

  

Day 91 - Costco Apple Crumb Muffin and Family Conflict

The Costco Apple Crumb Muffin!  It is HUGE!  You could share it with a friend or family member if you like but that's no fun.

I had the muffin in the freezer for a while, saving it for the old apple product review.  My daughter, we'll call her Kat, kept bugging me that she wanted to eat it.  I said no.  How can I review a muffin without eating it?  If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!  How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

We argued, furniture was broken, harsh words were spoken.  The fighting continued until finally, I kicked her out of the house.  She built a small lean-to out of sticks and leaves in the backyard where she has been living for the last week.  We have lot's of bunnies in our yard.  She caught some and cooked them in our fire pit.  She came to me yesterday and asked if we could just split the muffin.  I thought that was a great idea so I invited her in and we did!

Costco muffins come in packages of six.  It costs $9.99 for two packages of six.  They come in a variety of flavors.  Each Costco Apple Crumb Muffin is 680 calories.  They are spiced with a crumb topping and a light drizzle my izzle of glaze.

There are apples listed among the ingredients but I don't really taste the apple.  Some apple pie filling or something in there would have been a good touch,  Show me the apple, what are you afraid of!  I have to say, there is a Costco Coffee Cake Muffin that looks almost identical.  I wonder if it is!

The Costco Apple Crumb Muffin still tastes good.  I like it with a little butter or with some of the product I review next:  Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Apple Fruit Spread.  That's a mouthful!  Do I care that it's organic or Honeycrisp?  Stay tuned and crunch on!

 

Day 90 - Mrs Prindables Gourmet Caramel Apple

That's one fancy caramel apple, a Mrs Prindables Gourmet Caramel Apple!  From their website:
MRS PRINDABLES invented the Gourmet Caramel Apple over thirty years ago using the finest ingredients – orchard-fresh Granny Smith Apples, decadent homemade caramel, premium nuts, and the finest chocolates – to create a truly unique and indulgent gift.  They are hand-made in small batches to ensure quality. 

They have 8 regular flavors to choose from.  The one we got was the Milk-chocolate Walnut Pecan.  The chocolate tasted like the good stuff.  The balance of chocolate, caramel, nuts and tart Granny Smith apple was just right.

It was huge.  The website claims they feed 6-8 people!  I wouldn't go that far but my family of 3 did not finish it in one sitting.  They also are available in a small version that feeds 1-2 people.

They come in a fancy blue/purple box with a purdy bow and a high quality, thick stick. (That's what she said!)  They ain't cheap, $26.99 each from the website, $29.99 with a flower or holiday extra fancifying details.  Those are some good margins!

My mother-in-law, we'll call her Mary Tessier is the master of the deal and I'm sure she found this gift to us for a good price.

Here are some pics from the website: https://www.mrsprindables.com/

There you have it, yum and such.  Next time, I review another large item:  Costco Apple Crumb Muffin.  Crunch on!

Day 89 - Honeycrisp Apple Green Tea and Brontosauruses

Do you fancy a spot of tea?  How about DAVIDsTEA  Honeycrisp Apple Green Tea?

The first ingedient is dried Honeycrisp apples followed by sweet blackberry leaf, green tea, hibiscus, apple pomace (the solid residue left after milling and pressing apples) citric acid and pears.

This is a good apple forward tea.  I can barely taste the green tea.  I enjoy it with a little honey.

Isn't this tea steeper fucking adorbs!  It looks like a Brontosaurus.  The Brontosaurus (Apatosaurus) was a herbivore, subsisting on large quantities of leaves and ferns.  They did not chew but swallowed their food whole. 

There is evidence of apples in prehistoric times so Brontosaurusessssss may have eaten apples but not Honeycrisp apples.  I think they would have enjoyed DAVIDsTEA  Honeycrisp Apple Green Tea.

Next time, we get decadent with  Mrs Prindables Gourmet Carmel Apples.  Crunch on!

Day 88 - Terrapin Ridge Farms Apple Maple Bacon Jam

Three beautiful things: apple, maple and bacon in a jam form!  We be jammin' man!  Apple Maple Bacon Jam from Terrapin Ridge Farms out of Clearwater, FL is delicious!  

Terrapin Ridge Farms makes dressings, mustards, dips, sauces, jams and jellies.  My daughter ordered two jars of jam from them for my birthday, the aforementioned and a Apple and Horseradish Jam. 

They sent us two of the Apple Maple Bacon Jam so we just went with it.  I will definitely try the Apple & Horseradish Jam sometime and blog about it.  Terrapin Ridge Farms has some cool, unique flavors to choose from.  Check 'em out at terrapinridge.com.

Since we had two jars, my wife, we'll call her Laura, made some cool dishes with it.  She used it as a chicken wing sauce.

These wings were kick-ass!  The apple tang or zing, maple sweetness and bacon saltiness perfectly complimented the crisp chicken wings.

Laura also added the jam to some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce on some baby back ribs.  It really beefed up the taste.

 Terrapin Ridge Farms Apple Maple Bacon Jam is also good on a cracker with some cream cheese. 

Next time, I review David's Tea Honeycrisp Apple Green Tea.  Crunch on!

Day 87 - Anderson's Apple Syrup

On pancakes, waffles or chugged straight for a diabetic inducing good time, Anderson's Apple Syrup!

Made by Anderson's Maple Syrup, in Cumberland, WI, a 12 oz. bottle sells for $5-6.  The website describes it as 100% Natural Apple Syrup made from select fresh squeezed apples, a perfected recipe of pure apple juice and sugar that is guaranteed to be the same high quality you have come to expect from their products.  

I thought Anderson's Apple Syrup was alright.  It did taste like apples, sweet but also tart.  Even being the apple lover I am though, I don't think you can beat good maple syrup.  I don't really have anything else to say about it.

I haven't tried Anderson's Maple Syrup but would like to.  They sell it in many sizes.  They also sell maple candy, popcorn, maple sugar, maple cream and their syrup is used in a Sprecher Wisconsin Maple Root Beer.

Next time, I review Honeycrisp Apple Spumante (non-alcoholic).  Drank/crunch on and be safe!

Day 86 - Apple Sauce vs Apple Baby Food

Easy to eat, even without teeth, delicious and nutritious.  Ain't no shame in it, I like apple baby food but which is better, apple baby food or applesauce?  Read on for a mix-up and a surprise player in da game!

For my taste test, I went with Mott's Applesauce, Beech-Nut 100% Natural Apple Baby Food and Gerber Organic Apple Baby Food.

The common ingredients among the 3 are pureed apples, ascorbic acid for Mott's and Gerber, lemon juice for Beech-Nut.  Mott's has added high fructose corn syrup.

Some stats:

Mott's : 110 calories, 25g sugar, potasium 2%, vitamin C 10%

Beech-Nut : 70 calories, 10g sugar, potasium 20%, calcium 4%

Gerber : 60 calories, 11g sugar, potasium 10%, vitamin C 45%

The baby food is ground more finely than the applesauce.  All 3 smell about the same.  I think the applesauce is too sweet.  Both the baby foods have no added sugar and to me are not quite sweet enough.  The Gerber has the best nutritional value. Based on everything, drum roll please... my favorite is BANANA BABY FOOD!  What happened there, a twist!  That's right, my favorite baby food is Banana!

I have Beech-Nut 100% Natural Baby Food.  It has 90 calories, 16g sugar and 50% of your daily potassium. Yum!

Back to the apple, this is an apple blog.  My favorite is the Gerber.  It has the most pure taste and is the best for you.  Let's make things even more interesting, all 3 apple purees mixed together!

This was a great balance of flavor, sweetness and texture.  Next, I combined The Gerber Apple with the Beech-Nut Banana and a little added cinnamon.  This was the best of all, so good that I gobbled it all up before getting a picture!

There you have it, be young at heart.  If you run out of toilet paper, wear a diaper!

Next time, I review Anderson's Apple Syrup.  Stay safe people and crunch on!