Big Fruit

It may have struck you as odd that I have blogged so little about food.  (If you are wondering why this might be odd then you probably don't know me well enough to be reading this, and besides, The Gallery of Transport Loss is much more enjoyable.)  It has not been for lack of things to say.  I am back in America, and have wasted no time in gorging on all that I have missed in my years abroad:  ham, as you may recall, but also Reubens, burritos, sushi, BBQ chips, proper Chinese food, and above all pizza, about which more another time.

But today I write about none of these things, but rather about an apple.  Oddly enough, this apple I have never before seen in America, nor anywhere else except, once, in Japan.  Odd, too, because apples are not a type of fruit that typically interests me (having grown up in an orchard I've had my fill).  But this apple, this apple I say, is really special.  It is the Pacific Rose, a New Zealand variant grown under tightly restricted (commercially speaking) conditions in Washington State, and now, though perhaps only temporarily, available.  We love it, for its crispness, its wonderfully fine grain, its delicious flavor, and, not least, because it is as big as Felix's head (not that that stops him):

Nor should it stop you:  if you are in America then search them out.  If in Europe you may be out of luck, though I am very curious to hear if anyone can find it over there.

And while we are on the topic of oversize fruit, how about these:

Texas beauties, available continuously thanks to the miracle of refrigeration and the Costco distribution system.