Despite having tasted over 45 different varieties of apples, I still find new ones just sitting there at the grocery store tucked between the Granny Smiths and Galas. I have to say that I am insanely lucky to live in Southern California. We just have so much access to so much! I’ve never really talked about why I started Fruit Maven or more specifically what it means to me. So as we head in to Christmas and the last days of the year I’m feeling a little sentimental and thought I’d share a bit.

It started out because I’m an insatiable explorer of sorts. I’m the girl who tries everything on the menu (no literally – Every! Single! Thing!), who eats at nine different chocolate shops in the two days I’m visiting Manhattan (“This one might taste different!!!”), who dreams about honey tastings and posts bucket lists on my Facebook page. I want to try it all. I really do. And yet, I often find myself limited by finances or distractions or just the day-to-day.

When I started documenting my fruit tastings (an item on the bucket list), I realized there was so much in the world that was right in front of me that I had just never seen — not because I didn’t have access, but because I hadn’t been looking. And now I find that the more I open my eyes, the more I realize that the spectacular is in the smallest things…a new plump, yellow apple that inexplicably reminds me of my mother, a zebra striped lemon that takes me on a Dr. Seussian safari, or a spiky citron that invokes the silliest monster games with my daughter. I write this site because I love adventure. I hope you do too. I’m so glad you are here.

APPEARANCE Rating:

Light, lemony yellow skin with tiny tan freckles on a softball sized apple. Pale, almost peach flesh.

AROMA Rating:

Clear and strong, sweet apple smell.

TEXTURE Rating:

This is not a hard or crunchy apple, but it has really satisfying density to it. Tender but not mushy.

TASTE Rating:

Mellow apple flavor that isn’t particularly sweet. There is a bit of a lemon flavor to it as well, though not sour.

OVERALL Overall Rating:

For some reason I’m really drawn to way this apple looks with its pale yellow skin and peachy flesh. It just seems so fresh and bright to me and girly in some way. The flavor is mediocre at best but not assaulting in any way. Nonetheless I find myself smiling as I pick it up with its fairly massive girth. I can’t put my finger on it, but I swear there is something extremely nurturing about this apple. I might go get another one and just enjoy having it sit next to me on the desk.