Apple review: Lady Alice
Apr. 9th, 2018 12:17 pmI went to a couple of small grocery stores this weekend, looking for interesting/unusual apples, and came up with four new-to-me varieties. Lady Alice, today's apple, was intriguing because it's apparently not very good until spring, because it needs time to age in storage.
I'm not sure it's my kind of apple at all: Adam says it's "quite sweet, with a little redeeming tartness. As is sometimes the case with sugary apples, the initial taste impression changes as the sweetness overwhelms some of the more delicate flavors. Alice starts out with cane sugar and a hint of honey with lemon or perhaps pineapple, balanced by a suggestion of Wickson's malt and Golden Delicious's low vegetable note." When insufficiently aged, people have found it to be bready, bitter, bland, or even chemical. The apple's website modestly claims that it's "decidedly sweet with a delicate infusion of tartness and has a crisp, juicy crunch that snaps cleanly with each bite."
It's also a really pretty apple:
Let's roll the dice!
Verdict: I think I got a good one. It is very sweet -- "sugary" is an apt description -- but there's a pleasant hint of tanginess. Not tart, just tangy. And there is a bit of a malty note in there. It's not boring. It's true that this isn't exactly what I'm looking for in an apple, but it almost gives the impression of being some kind of exotic non-apple fruit that I might enjoy eating occasionally.
Buy again? I might. They have them at Bristol Farms, which is close to my home, and it's a pleasant novelty to be eating an apple that's actually in season right now.
I'm not sure it's my kind of apple at all: Adam says it's "quite sweet, with a little redeeming tartness. As is sometimes the case with sugary apples, the initial taste impression changes as the sweetness overwhelms some of the more delicate flavors. Alice starts out with cane sugar and a hint of honey with lemon or perhaps pineapple, balanced by a suggestion of Wickson's malt and Golden Delicious's low vegetable note." When insufficiently aged, people have found it to be bready, bitter, bland, or even chemical. The apple's website modestly claims that it's "decidedly sweet with a delicate infusion of tartness and has a crisp, juicy crunch that snaps cleanly with each bite."
It's also a really pretty apple:
Let's roll the dice!
Verdict: I think I got a good one. It is very sweet -- "sugary" is an apt description -- but there's a pleasant hint of tanginess. Not tart, just tangy. And there is a bit of a malty note in there. It's not boring. It's true that this isn't exactly what I'm looking for in an apple, but it almost gives the impression of being some kind of exotic non-apple fruit that I might enjoy eating occasionally.
Buy again? I might. They have them at Bristol Farms, which is close to my home, and it's a pleasant novelty to be eating an apple that's actually in season right now.
