Wanna grapple?

No silly! Not like that! I'm not a wrestler. What I mean is Grapple® reserve brand apples. Pronounced "grape-l," Grapple® apples are exactly what you may already suspect--apples infused with an artificial grape flavor. And boy do they ever taste like a grape soda-pop. I first noticed this interesting product at Wegman's in Hunt Valley. Intrigued by the claim that the apples tasted like concord grapes, I bought a package and brought them home. It took me a day or so to get up the nerve to try one. They really do smell like the most potent, artificial grape imaginable. What was most surprising to me though, at first bite, was the texture of the apple. It was the crispest, freshest apple that I'd ever sank my teeth into. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that it tasted like Grape Crush, I'd have to say it was the best apple I'd ever eaten.

I don't know. There's something so weird to me about making one fruit taste like another. I mean, what's the point? If you want grape flavor, why not just eat some grapes? Then again, artificial grape flavor isn't exactly the same as a juicy concord grape. In fact it is quite off. It reminds me of other products that are artificially fruit flavored, that never quite lived up to their natural counterpart. Case in point (and I may get some hate mail for this but): Bubbalicious watermelon bubble gum. God that stuff was awful. Actually, I'm going to say it--all Bubbalicious bubble gum flavors were awful. Are they still in production? Well, the fact remains that Bubbalicious watermelon gum tasted nothing like watermelon. Neither did strawberry--neither do any of these chewing gums which purport to taste like some fruit or another. How unfortunate it is then, that we are all too familiar with these artificial flavors and can easily identify them, given a taste test.

On the other hand, I've always liked Grape Crush. It is a guilty pleasure of mine. Do I like a crunchy Grape Crush? I'm not sure. I know that kids would likely love grapples. The question is, do we want to train our kids to expect everything to taste like candy? I fear this would only continue to cause bad habits to form. Will I purchase them again? I might. It is a fun little gimmick and would be a cool prank to pull off on someone. Unfortunately the smell gives away the trick almost immediately.

I searched for the Bubbalicious website but it looks like there isn't one in existence. Some random online candy stores still sell it so it appears to still be in production. That's too bad. Oh, and I almost forgot. Banana was the worst. Worse than watermelon. Artificial banana flavor has to be the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted.

Here's a retro video for your viewing enjoyment: Bubbalicious commercial