Apple review: Braeburn

Yes, it's a rare pre-lunch apple review, because I'm getting kinda hangry. I swore off buying junk food at the campus convenience store recently; I must've been doing it more than I thought.

Braeburn's a classic, so it isn't saddled with any of this ~lifestyle~ shit. One website says it's "the perfect balance of sweet and just slightly tart with subtle hints of pear and cinnamon ... a spicy sweet-tart flavor and crisp bite." Adam's Apples says "Braeburn is satisfyingly crisp and juicy, with a mild, sweet flavor. Although the tastes are mostly generic, there is some complexity and a hint of oranges ... . Neither the flavor nor the sweetness is so concentrated as to cloy, and the general effect is refreshing and not without interest." He also says "This variety stores and travels extremely well," so I have some hope for it not being terrible in April, even though mine is kind of small and a little banged up. Some of his commenters say it's an extremely variable apple, though (one joked about creating a blog called "The Braeburn I Ate Today." Stop me).



Verdict: The people who said it was variable are probably right. Mine's a bit mealy and sweet, and there's a significant taste of... uh, something. Sort of apple, but sort of... not? My imagination is failing me. I guess it's just oddly accented "apple," but it's not great, and the mealiness is putting me off.

Buy again? Not unless I see ones that look really good and decide to give it a second chance. The ones on display looked small and a bit peaked, and I probably should have passed, but I was excited to find a variety I hadn't tried.

So now I am still hungry and had an unsatisfying apple. I was right by Bristol Farms this morning, I could have gotten myself another Lady Alice. I actually do have a Pink Lady from last week at my desk -- I thought I'd try it again now that I'm developing my apple palate a little. (I'm not developing it too much; see my groping for descriptors above. But at least now I have something to compare it to.)

no subject

Fiiine, I bought the new Doctor Who Target novelizations from Amazon UK. Apparently they won't be out in the US until June, and while I could buy ebooks now, something about the aesthetic of holding a Target novelization in your hand, with that ridiculous cover and everything, seems necessary. Look, I've even got one at my desk!



I don't know why this is at my desk. It must have followed me to work like Lassie.

I haven't liked everything I've heard about the new ones so far, but I'm interested in seeing for myself.

Apple review: Braeburn, reconsidered

I believe this is called "being a glutton for punishment."



I went to Whole Foods at lunch, hoping to find unusual apples, and the only thing I saw that was even slightly unusual was... Braeburn. The apples looked decent, so here we go again.



It does look nicer than the last one, doesn't it?

Verdict: Well, it does taste significantly better. It has a pretty strong "apple" taste, like a good version of whatever went wrong with this morning's apple. There's also a little bit of tartness that complements that nicely. If that were all, I'd acknowledge that this is, indeed, an apple some people could like, and upgrade it slightly.

But the texture still sucks. It's soft and a little mealy, even though the apple itself felt firm in my hand. I don't like eating it.

Buy again? Sorry, Braeburn, you only get two chances. Decent (but not exceptional) taste doesn't make up for terrible texture. Yeah, maybe I got a bad one -- twice -- but that's just telling me not to bother with this apple.

I did, however, also get these:



I'll resist the urge to review them.