The Honeycrisp

I had a honeycrisp apple for lunch today.  

You may be thinking ".....and......"

But if you've ever had a fresh honeycrisp apple, you might be thinking "YUM!"

I never really like apples until I moved up here to Connecticut. 

I equate it to the Texas watermelon. Any New Englander that says they "just love watermelon" and have never had one straight from the garden in the southern summer heat, doesn't know what they are talking about. I roll my eyes. Pale pink supermarket watermelon is not as God intended.   

The same is true for a New England apple picked off an orchard tree. There's no comparison. The apples are sweeter and crisper than any apple you have ever had.  And the king of all apples, in my opinion was aptly named THE HONEYCRISP.  Sweeter and crisper than all others. I was introduced to them by David when I first came to visit. We went to the Glastonbury Apple Festival and my fruit eating life was forever changed.  Now I look forward to this time of year when the apples are falling off the trees.  

But the point of my story is this: I went to the grocery store at lunch to get a big juicy, sweet honeycrisp apple.  The apples are in the up front bins in the produce section right next to the door. And since it's fall, the apples are on sale. Sale signs lined the bins. $1.49/lb, $1.99/lb and $2.49/lb. There are in-store coupons. It is prime apple time. I walked past the granny smiths and the golden delicious. I know them from a mile away by their yellow/green/red color variations. I grabbed a perfectly-shaped giant apple and headed up to the self checkout. My mind already anticipating that first crunch into the skin. 

I waiting in line, put in my card, started my checkout.  I put in the number on the tag and weighed the apple. I grabbed a larger one so I was expecting it to be a little more. Maybe even a dollar or so.  I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the machine say "$2.96"!  $2.96 for one apple?? Are you kidding me?  I looked around for a minute. There was someone waiting behind me.  I was in the self check out, so no one was there to help me. I looked at the screen. It said, "ORGANIC HONEYCRISP APPLE. $3.99/LB.  $2.96"   

I felt stuck.  I paid for my three dollar fruit.  Unbelievable.  

I ate every last bite of that apple.  It was a big one, granted, but still! Three dollars?? I ate it right down to the seeds. Every last edible piece of apple. It was good, but somehow it wasn't THAT good. I didn't mean to get organic. I didn't mean to get an expensive apple. It wasn't like the giant chocolate covered candy apple size - it was just a tad larger than average size. I guess heavy from all the sweet juice inside.  I googled honeycrisp and this was one of the first articles that came up explaining why they are SO EXPENSIVE! It said, "Honeycrisps seem to inspire a devotion bordering on obsession from eaters who prize their sweet taste and distinct juiciness and snap." YES! I agree completely. It's an interesting article. I had no idea they were "designer apples".  I just knew they were delicious! In the future, I will have to be more careful with the price though.

If you haven't one, but you see one at Central Market or Whole Foods, definitely try one! They are DELICIOUS and now's the best time of year to have them. But before you load up a plastic bag, make sure you check the price so you are  not surprised!