Spotlight on Grapple. The fruit, not the Judo move.
Such a fruity confusion, grapples. When my mom brought home this lovely scented fruit, I was all excited. A cross between an apple and a grape? It surely looked like an apple yet smelled so divinely like a grape. What would biting into it be like? Would it be fleshy like a grape? Is it related to the guapple (guava apple hybrid) or the apple-mango (apple and mango hybrid)?
Grapple, pronounced with a long a, are actually just Washington Fuji Apples that undergo a special patented process that they refuse to divulge on their website. They claim that it’s healthy with no extra calories, and is not a hybrid nor is it genetically modified so it’s safe. I would surmise that it’s a process like osmosis or infusion—either way, it’s just grape juice and apples so I don’t think it can possibly be bad for you.
Tastewise, the Grapple is still very much an apple. Because it was originally a Fuji apple, it has the characteristic long-lasting crunch of Fuji apples. It tastes much like an apple with just a refreshing sweetness and a very slight hint of grape. Despite being predominantly apple, what I like about the Grapple is its heavenly scent. It smells of fresh, sweet grapes, that’s truly mouthwatering. We left a pair of grapples on a fruit bowl on the kitchen table, and in just a couple of hours, the whole room was suffused with a lovely, pleasing grape scent. So you don’t just get a snack / fruit / dessert. You get a room freshener to boot!
In the Philippines, it’s triple the price of a regular Fuji apple. But that’s probably because it’s imported from the US. I’ve no idea how much it costs in the States but here, it’s more than 200 Pesos for a pack of four. That’s more than a dollar each. With this price, I think I’ll stick to regular Fuji apples, but I guess I can give in occasionally—that smell is just so nice!
Have you ever tried a Grapple? How did you find it?
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I’ve only eaten it once or twice and loved it, mostly because I like those kinds of fruits more than the citrus ones. I never knew how it was pronounced, though. Thanks for the info!
From the thumbnail I thought it was a nectarine. Have you tried nectarines? Really nice and juicy.
I had never heard of a Grapple before. Thanks for sharing. :0)
I have yet to try them actually
I didn’t know about them until you posted about grapples desu.
I’ve never even heard of one! I’ve heard of a guapple, but not a grapple!
i saw these at Metro grocery kanina.. sana i bought na. looks good ha. thanks for sharing this. next time i do my grocery, i’ll surely get a pack.
@nina
Sadly no. I’d love to try them though. They remind me of peaches. I hope I chance upon them sometime locally.
@toni
Hehe, guapples figured in my childhood too!
@chris
Really? I never realized you weren’t a citrus fan.
@Mer, clair and gita
Always glad to pass info along
Kao, I chanced upon some nectarines at SM supermarket last September. I can’t remember how much they’re selling them though.
Really? I hope they’re not too pricey. If they are relatively affordable, I’d bite
I randomly saw one box of Grapples on top of the apples one day, and picked them up. They cost just about $4 for four Grapples here in the US. (I think it’s kind of silly how they can inject an apple with grape juice and charge that much…)
That’s roughly the same price here—and I agree that it’s quite expensive for a grape juice infused fruit. I’d try it for the novelty factor but it’s not something I’d eat on a regular basis. Is that how they do it though? Injections?
I don’t think I have heard of a Grapple (tho I might have - it rings a vague bell) and I have definitely never tasted one… Seems odd, but interesting. It doesn’t get mushy from having extra liquid inserted into it?
It seems like a tragedy to me that you have never had a nectarine! I wish I could send you one - they are so good!! They are very like peaches, but with a different texture. Maybe more like a plum in that regard. I know there is fruit I’ll never have either, unless I travel, but I guess not knowing what it tastes like makes it hard to miss. I do know what nectarines taste like, so that seems sad…
(I forget whether it was on the tv or the radio - I think radio, I think it was the author of “Banana: The fruit that changed the world” talking - and he was saying the best reason to travel was to try local fruits, since so many can’t be shipped or grown outside their home areas…)
I’ve seen Grapples, and I have to say that I wasn’t really impressed, because the grape smell was too much like artificial grape candy, not real grapes. Sort of interesting to see, but I thought it was just a way to maybe get fussy kids to eat an apple that tasted like grape candy.
Nectarines on the other hand, are very good. Like a peach, but tangier, and without the fuzzy skin! I would say try one if you can find them!
I’ve tried these. I was hoping for something that tasted a little less like apple and a little more like a hybrid. I think I found that basically, they just keep coating the apples in something that is akin to grape juice.
They were fine, but a bit pricy for me to buy again unless for my nieces, nephew or my son as a special treat.
@Nightfall
Hehe at Bananas. Despite the proliferation of bananas here, I seldom eat it. Not my kind of fruit. I prefer mangoes.
Next mission: Locate Nectarine! I’m sure I can find some locally if I scour the specialty markets hard enough. I’ll be sure to report back when that happens
@mpkalypso
That’s probably the case, because other than the grape scent, it still tasted much like a normal apple to me!
@Frugalceliac
Same here! I was hoping something that mixed the texture of apples and grape flesh—that would’ve been very interesting.
I agreee with mpkalypso it smells like artificial grape flavoring, like a gum or my Sanrio pencil eraser. The smell disappears after a while and all that is left is an overpriced Fuji apple (P 52.00 per)
Maybe I expected too much like I thought I would be eating a huge grape that looks like an apple (it says in the packaging looks like an apple but taste like grape. Not)
That was exactly how I hoped it would be like. One giant, fleshy grape. Juicy, fleshy—succulent! Too bad it turned out to be an expensive sweet scented (I still like the scent, hehe) apple.
Actually, all the grape flavoring is artificial (it says as much on the ingredients list and on their web site). I personally don’t trust it.
It is? That’s disappointing! It’s not much different from candy apples then—only, candy apples don’t pretend to be healthy. *rolls eyes*