When Exactly: Thursday Feb. 5 - 9:15 pm
Cultivar: Granny Smith
Purchased From: Phillips Farms - Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket (Brooklyn, NY)
Size: Medium
Color: I don’t know, I’m colorblind.
Eaten How: Unadorned.
Review:
High hopes hurt.
My trip back to the greenmarket meant a return to Phillips Farm, home of some of the greatest Grannies in recent memory. After a slew of sad storebought Grannies, I was really looking forward to a bright, bracing, crunchy specimen. Damn.
This Granny looked just like those other wonderful Phillips fruits, and the first bite gave a crunch that hinted at greatness. To my dismay, that bite was a fluke; this apple fell short. Way short.
The classic Granny lime flavor was there but the volume was turned downed as low as possible. It tasted like I was eating a good Granny with a numb tongue. An excessive lump of white sugar further thwarted the Granny’s attempt at building a formidable acidity. Aside from the foggy lime, there were no other flavors coming through in this apple to distinguish it from the poor old storeboughts. As for texture, that opening bite had the only crunch left in this apple. It was overripened, soft and even chewy in parts.
I couldn’t help thinking that, with that hint of limey potential, some PB could have brought more flavors out of this Granny. Alas, it was not lucky enough to have PB around for support, and hell, a Phillips Granny shouldn’t need help. PB should only be icing on a Phillips cake. After all those frustrating McGrannies, this was not what I needed.
Grade: C-
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