APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Pretty. Red and yellow on the outside, creamy colored inside.

AROMA 3 out of 5 stars

Very little.

TEXTURE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Nice firm flesh with a big old seed.

TASTE 4 out of 5 stars

Nicely sweet and a bit lighter in flavor than the more common, Bing Cherry.

OVERALL 3.63 out of 5 stars

APPEARANCE 1 out of 5 stars

Eww.

AROMA 2 out of 5 stars

Meh.

TEXTURE 4 out of 5 stars

Fine.

TASTE 4 out of 5 stars

SWEET!!! and a little more complicated than most of the black mulberries I have tried.

OVERALL 2.75 out of 5 stars

Is this thing on? Testing. Testing. 1-2-3.

Right. So…. I have had my wrist slapped ever-so politely by a few people lately about the apparent abandonment of the old fruit blog.  So I am here to make it right. I have tons and tons of excuses. But seriously, SERIOUSLY – who cares? I’m here now. Let’s hug.

I have had some fruit since we last chatted but I didn’t take pictures and I don’t think it was that memorable. There were loquats, a fancy banana that really had no name, just numbers — something like B52 banana, various standard strawberries, etc.  You haven’t missed much. But summer is coming! Let the fruit gorging begin. I’ll be back (I hope).

For today, sadly, I have no fruit. BUT… I do have a super cool fruit app-game-thing for the iphone that has been using up a good portion of my non-existent free time (basically the time it takes to fast fwd the commercials on my DVR while watching Gossip Girl).  Anyway, the app!

If you don’t have an iphone then I feel a little sad for you and I offer this link, which is really just proof that iphone lovers are insane and prepared to kill you for showing your android or whatever it is that you have. For everyone else who remains safe to walk the streets, I give you FRUIT NINJA!

The next best thing to eating fruit, is hacking it up in a virtual game while you pretend you are a ninja. Believe me, it is crazy satisfying. You get different sound effects for the different fruit textures — more of low *thwack* for a banana versus a crazy *splurt* for a watermelon. It’s awesome. Also I hate watermelons and there are a lot of those, which I find particularly gratifying.  And when your game ends you get quirky Sensei fruit facts like this one:

Yeah – I dunno. They have a thing for watermelons. So whip out your wallet, spend the 99 cents and get to it. (I don’t know them or get anything from promoting this other than to get you people off my back for a while for lack of attention.)

Feel free to brag about your high score in the comments, but know that I will totally mock and judge you behind your back for being so geeky. My high score is 191 if you were wondering. Also, my nail polish is currently red.

As I mentioned when I talked about the ever-so-lovely Shasta Tangerine, March fruit just isn’t inspiring me. So please don’t dismay, I haven’t abandoned the blog, but it is going to be tough going for a while until I come across something interesting. I know what you are thinking. A navel orange? THAT is what inspired you enough to come out of the March doldrums and post? Yes indeed. I was wandering through Trader Joe’s and a bag of these were prominently displayed near the front. I tend to look right past endcap displays as I assume it is an overstocked item they are trying to pawn off on innocent marketing victims. But this time it was an orange! And it claimed to be “heirloom”!  But, and this is a big BUT, it was pre-bagged. I generally avoid this on principle — I don’t want someone telling me how many of something I have to buy. I am in charge here!  But it was “heirloom” (often secret code for absolutely nothing but an extra high price) and I’m bored so I tossed it in my bag and hoped for the best. Grocery store oranges tend to be so dull and lifeless that I can’t even remember the last time I bought one. These are a definite standout and if you see them, you should snatch up two bags. Something has to carry us through to April and it looks like it isn’t going to be my witty prose. Sorry.

APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Medium orange color and size, slightly bumpy skin. Bright orange flesh.

AROMA 4.5 out of 5 stars

Bright, fresh orange scent – not overly strong but not subtle either.

TEXTURE 4.5 out of 5 stars

Thick skin and pith. Perfectly tender and juicy flesh. No seeds!

TASTE 5 out of 5 stars

Ideal acidity with a deep sweet orange flavor.

OVERALL 4.5 out of 5 stars

The pith on this is pretty thick but it isn’t particularly distracting if you don’t get it all removed. That being said, this is the perfect orange to cut in to quarters and just dive right into. Make yourself an orange peel smile because this orange is delightful.  The company website claims these are old line Washington navel oranges, which uses a sour orange rootstock that is barely used anymore. Whatever all that means, it equals “delicious” in this case.

RECIPES

Civil War Green Olive and Orange Salad with Cumin
Spiced Oranges in Red Wine

It is March – just about the saddest month for fruit EVER. I am completely bored of citrus and the spring berries aren’t quite ready. By summer I will be swimming in so many delightful bits of fruit that I won’t be able to try them fast enough and Mr. Maven will be threatening to call some sort of goverment agency to come in and find his wife in the pile of cores, pits and rotting fruit flesh in the corner of the dining room. But until then, it is March. Sad, sad fruitless March. But then this weekend I was walking through the grocery store and saw Shasta Tangerines. I literally thought – “Hey another tangerine. WHO CARES.” But I grabbed one (just ONE) any way because I am compulsive like that.  Believe me, if I had left without it I would have had to go back. What if that one kind of tangerine was the best tangerine ever and I didn’t bother to pick it up?! Unlikely, but what if?! And it turns that for once, my neurotic nature was right. This is hands down, the best tangerine I have ever had and I promptly went right back to the store and got an entire bag of them. Delightful.

APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Beautiful deep orange skin and flesh. Slightly larger than most tangerines I have eaten but not quite as big as the average orange.

AROMA 5 out of 5 stars

Extremely strong (can smell it all the way down the hall as it is being peeled), floral, delightful, pure, sweet tangerines.

TEXTURE 5 out of 5 stars

Super easy to peel – the easiest ever!, Very little pith and very few seeds. Juicy juiciness.

TASTE 5 out of 5 stars

Perfectly acidic, perfectly sweet. Pure and floral tangerine essence.

OVERALL 4.75 out of 5 stars

Have I already mentioned that this is my very favorite tangerine so far? Because it most definitely is, and that is saying something because I have tasted somewhere around 15 different kinds including common favorites like Page and Dancy. The shasta tangerine is a deep gorgeous color, insanely easy to peel and it’s bigger than most so you don’t have to peel two just to get a reasonable snack! Also I ate one at work and people were popping in to figure out what I was eating and where they could get one.  Extra points for making people jealous of me!!!

RECIPES

10 Ways to Cook with Tangerines