I've had two new varieties this month, both yummy, artfully marketed, and
trucked in from the West Coast. So, who is the fairest of them all?
The two apples have similar colors, a red tinged with pink and orange over
greenish yellow, for an orange effect. But Piñata's blush is more extensive
and also variegated, with attractive flamelike streaks.
Ambrosia is perhaps slightly more ribbed with lobed chins at the base.
Piñata has larger lenticels. To my eye, Piñata is the more striking of the
two, though Ambrosia is shaplier.
The apples have similar aromas, but Ambrosia has a bit of pear and berries,
while Piñata is spicier, something I hadn't noticed in my previous tasting.
|
Piñata |
The photos I published with the
separate Ambrosia
and
Piñata
reviews are more representative than today's of the two together. I was I
was planning a second photo shoot but then—I ate the apples. (Oh well.)
Here's what that was like.
|
Ambrosia |
The Piñata is noticeably the crisper of the two, a shade finer grained, and
with stronger flavors all around.
It is both sweeter and—something I would not have thought without a direct
comparison—tarter than Ambrosia.
In turn Ambrosia is more delicate, with a little banana flavor along with a
very pure sugar quality and a hint of vanilla, also a whiff of something
floral.
The Piñata brings those rich flavors I identified in my earlier review,
honey, melon, and pineapple, as well as a suggestion of coconut. The
sweetness is still so great as to detract from the overall effect, at least
for me, but it does not mask the fact that there are interesting things
going on with this apple.
It's nice to find such variation between apples at this time of year, when
choices are so often limited. However, as a tasting pair they are
mismatched.
Piñata's richness and intensity ought to highlight Ambrosia's delicacy, but
instead overwhelm it. I found myself using Ambrosia as a palate cleanser to
scour the excess sweetness in Piñata's wake, the better to return to a study
of P's interesting flavors. That's not exactly a good use, or a fair one.
For these samples, Piñata clearly had the better texture, crunchier and more
satisfying. Maybe that is generally accurate, or maybe my Ambrosia had just
been sitting in the supermarket a few days longer.