Fruit Cravings...

Okay... So we eat a lot of fruit at my house. Hmmm, ya know, that might even be perceived as a vast understatement. We actually consume (what most folks would probably consider as) a ridiculously Huge quantity of fruit. Afterall, it takes up one whole counter in the kitchen and another entire shelf in the fridge. We don't eat much of what is considered junk food and our idea of snacking equals fruit. So in the end, I suppose it's a good thing.

I think the variety of fruit available to you must depend greatly on where you live. Since moving to the Eastern U.S. we've seen things we had never been exposed to before which is cool. And on the frustrating flip side we haven't been able to find some of the other things that we're used to. Below are two fruits we've discovered since we moved to Pennsylvania that (for whatever reason) we'd never encountered when we lived in the Western U.S. Who knows why... all I know is how thankful I am to have found them. So without further delay... here are two fruits we discovered just this year and urge you to seek them out -- where ever you may live. Ordering them online if you must...

They're Both That Good!! Seriously.

Cara Cara Naval Oranges

Cara Cara Oranges... they truly are The Bomb. They have a beautiful pinkish-orange center, are wonderfully sweet, seedless and less acidic than traditional naval oranges. Pure Bliss I'm tellin' ya. Citrus Sinensis 'Cara Cara' was discovered in 1976 as a mutation of a Washington naval orange in Valencia, Venezuela. They're only available for a short amount of time, since their peak season is considered December and January. So rush out now and scout for yours before it's too late!! Trust me... it's worth any extra effort it might take. They're an ultimate favorite at our house... we devour them a case at a time. Mmmm. Mmmm. Ammmmazing!

Honeycrisp Apples

Wow!! These things are just Awesome. In my (not so) humble opinion the Honeycrisp apple is The best apple you can get your hands on. This variety of apple has actually been around since the 1960's, however it's a tough one to propagate and grow with huge success. Thus making it a tough breed to produce in large quantities. It's peak season is September through late October... though sometimes if you're lucky you might find them as late as November - but don't count on it! These apples are simply divine, offering a pleasingly crisp sweet-tart bite. They're by far the most crisp apple I've ever had and are surprisingly juicy. They're also a sub-acid specimen - which is yet another plus in my book. So even though it's too late to get yourself hooked up right now... be on the look out next fall! And remember to buy plenty, keep them cold and thank me later ;) Just be prepared to pay for the pleasure. Since they're not available in abundant volumes the prices will reflect their rarity - you'll most likely pay between $2.50 - $4.00 a pound for these lovelies. But trust me, they're absolutely 100% worth the price.

Hybrids -- Fruits Not Cars

The whole idea of fruit hybrids are pretty fascinating to me. Perhaps that makes me a dork, but... well actually, I'm not sure I have an argument against that one. Anyhow, we eat a whole lot of fruit around here and much prefer fresh over canned. So whenever I see something interesting I'm game at least once. Our lastest samplings:

Apriums. These are completely new to me - somewhat baffling. I'd like to know who comes up with these freaks of nature. As you can probably guess they're a plum and apricot hybrid. Mostly of apricot heritage - it's like a .25 plum and .75 apricot - don't ask me how they figure it out. They have slightly fuzzy skin just like an apricot but their meat is like a plum. And they actually taste a little like both - talk about heavenly. They claim to have a higher sugar content than that of a plum or apricot alone - which is probably why they're so devilishly good. They're sort of freaky because they also smell like both apricots and plums. High tail it over Costco & grab some.

Grapples. This one's not a hybrid at all, it's a Poser. Which explains a lot actually. I found these really odd - they don't smell like Grapes, they smell like Grape Jolly Ranchers. Ewww, that's like fake Watermelon and what could be more gross. They say that there are no additional sugars added and that nothing but flavor is infused into the apple - get this - via "a relaxing bathing process". Yeah, that about sums up how these tasted too. Like they had been sitting in some really smelly bath water, and now they smelled weird and didn't have any flavor left whatsoever. Poor things didn't even taste like apples. It was sad, even our resident bunny wouldn't eat them. Not good, nope, not at all.