Fuji apples were juicy and oh so sweet.

I received a gift pack of fuji apples this week, four of them were individually wrapped in holiday colored foils. Several people where I work have been eating them and they have been quite juicy and super sweet. No wonder fujis are one of the most popular apples, and according to several websites continue to grow in popularity. They aren't the prettiest of apples though, the red is a bit striped and there is a yellow/green background color behind. The hue is attractive, but there are several spots and the stem bowl is definitely darker, I rinsed it out before eating. I know fuji apples are often clipped off the trees vs. just being picked by the stem, otherwise the stems can puncture other apples in the bins. The shape is generally round, but by no means uniform. I enjoy great flavor though and whatever they might lack in appearance they more than make up in taste. Harvest in Washington was completed sometime in late October, these apples I have are crisp and juicy so all indications are they must hold up very well when stored.

Recommendation: Buy some today. Make sure they feel firm to the touch and are without bruising. Discoloration doesn't change the flavor so you don't need perfectly colored apples.

E-Z Peel Cuties are Sweet and Delicious

Zippered fruit has long been a favorite of mine. Just purchased some clementines from California and they're sweet, easy to peel and delicious. I've just eaten my third one of the day. I've seen them in 3lb - 5lb bags and wood crates. Their size is perfect for a quick snack, it's mid afternoon and it really hit the spot. I'm trying to eat healthier snacks in the afternoon and these clementines certainly fit the bill! In the 5lb. bag there are around 24-25 pieces of fruit, not everyone in my family enjoys them, so the bag will take us about a week or so finish. The bag for these clementines said California Clementines on one side, and then California Mandarins on the other side. A quick bit of research revealed that clementines are simply seedless mandarins.

Recommendation: I'd say if you like mandarins/clementines, now is a great time to enjoy them based on my experience.

Golden delicious apples, often forgotten about with all the new varieties

I've always enjoyed a good golden delicious. The name is often a misnomer because the apples are more often more green than gold. The flesh tends to be a bit softer, and you don't get that satisfying apple crunch that you do with many varieties, but the taste, a nice sweet-tart is wonderful. We bought these apples the weekend before Thanksgiving, primarily for one of my daughter's school projects, they needed 'golden apples' and in the end, we ended up spray painting those. This morning I pulled a few out of the crisper and found they were still looking quite nice. Super juicy.
We find ourselves buying goldens less and less these days, after eating these goldens, I think they should become a regular apple purchase for us. They really are very satisfying to eat and are a nice change from some of the sweeter varieties.

Kiwi wasn't quite ready.

Went for some California Kiwi today. I know the New Zealand Kiwi has the stronger reputation and I believe the California Kiwi season just recently started. I probably should've waited a couple of days before eating it. The flavor was rather tart, and I'm used to a bit sweeter in my kiwi. The fruit was soft to the touch and had some give, but still wasn't quite ripe. I do enjoy kiwi. I typically slice them in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. This kiwi wasn't ready to be scooped. In fact, I didn't even finish it today. Tried both halves and both are still half full. I'll give another kiwi a taste in a few days. I was a bit surprised at the flavor, because when I cut into the kiwi, the flesh had a vibrant green color and it was very juicy, typically a good sign, but it wasn't the case today.

By the way, I went back to the store and bought more jonagolds yesterday!

Sugar Snap Pea Fan

Every summer, I love getting fresh sugar snap peas from several local farmstands. During the winter months, I resort to pre-packaged sugar snap peas, typically the 8 oz. package. This morning I packed some into my lunch bag, in place of chips. Chips are one of my downfalls, and when I pack a crispy veggie or piece of fruit I can usually do without the chips. Snap peas are delicious and the prepacked snap peas in the bag are pretty decent, they don't have that 'farm fresh' taste but they are sweet and quite crispy. I enjoy eating them straight out of the bag, occasionally dip them in ranch, and often slice them into thirds and place on my salad. One of my three children enjoys them and she'll often take a handful for her school lunch. While I was packing my lunch this morning, I ate about a half dozen as I slipped them into a sandwich bag.
Nothing beats fresh sugar snap peas, but if they are out of season, I believe the bagged option is a good one.
These snap peas were grown in the U.S.A.

Jonagold apples - I'd buy some now

I purchased some Jonagold apples this weekend at a local supermarket. They were on sale for $.68 a pound and I thought I'd see how this year's crop was tasting. What a great price for apples right now, most of the other varieties were over $1 and several were at $1.99. The jonagolds were an end cap display and were mixed with braeburns, although the sign didn't mention braeburns, nor could I find a braeburn display on the apple table.
The jonagolds were delicious! Very crisp, juicy, sweet, with a touch of tart. The apples I purchased were a nice color red with somewhat of a greenish background. In reviewing some other websites on jonagolds, I see that a golden/yellow background might be a better apple but I'd certainly recommend these. Jonagolds aren't a year round apple, and several of the sites say to get them now while they are crisp. As with many apples, some don't store well and the closer you eat them after harvest the better.
I think I'll have to get some more today while the price is great and the flavor is delicious.

A banana a day

I'm not sure when it started, sometime in high school, but I believe I've been eating a banana a day for most of my adult life. It could have been my high school cross country coach who often told us we needed the potassium in bananas to help us avoid cramps. I still prescribe to that theory. It is the one produce item we always have in the house and one of the few where we don't look at the price, we just know we need bananas. What's my perfect banana? I like them just past the green stage, when you still get a bit of a snap as you peel the fruit. However, I eat them when they're a bit green and when they get pretty brown also. The image I have here is probably a day or two past my ideal time. They seem to be ripening quite quickly right now. This was a bunch we bought on Sunday and it definitely had green on the skin at the time. I just checked to see where they came from but there aren't individual labels on each banana. I'll pay more attention when we go shopping this Sunday.

Red Seedless Grapes

This week my wife bought a 4lb. clamshell (punnet) of red seedless grapes. She was a bit hesitant she said because the color wasn't very dark or consistent. They had that slight dusty look and were sort of a dull red with green background elements. And they were utterly delicious. We had very few bad ones and the flavor was terrific, each grape was crisp with a nice juice snap when you bit into it. As a family, we went through these grapes in just a couple of days, always nice when we finish all the fruit we buy. We're assuming that now is a great grape time and we'll go back for more. I have the bowl in front of me now, and I'm down to the last grape on the stem. I'm going to savor it and will be back with another item shortly.