Apple Tasting
Every year we do an apple tasting party. This year, my 4 1/2 year old wanted to do a tasting of all red varieties. We invited our neighbors over to have some apple fun.
Setup:
- We bought 5 different types of apples: Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Paulared, Gala, and Fuji.
- I sliced 1-2 apples of each type and put them out on plates, putting each variety onto its own plate.
- To ensure I didn’t mix up the plates, I used paper plates and wrote the name of the apple on the bottom of the plate.
- I then made construction paper apples to label each plate. This step isn’t necessary, I just thought it looked fun.
The Tasting:
- I passed one plate around, and everyone took a slice. We ate it, and discussed how each one tasted- crisp, juicy, sweet. The best description was from my neighbor, “It tastes like flour and water, with a little bit of sugar added.” At the end we found out that the one she didn’t like was a Paulared.
- After we tried each type, we all voted on which ones we liked best, and then looked to see the type of apple on each plate. Pink Lady and Honeycrisp tied as our favorites, each with 2 votes, while the Paulared got one vote.
- Once we tried each variety, I put the plates with everyone’s favorites in front of them, and we finished up our snack. In previous years, I’ve also put out little bowls with peanut butter and honey, but this year, everyone wanted their apples plain.
Two favorite apple themed books:
- One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Karla Gudeon, in which beautifully illustrated pages guide you through the cycle of an apple tree, from planting, to tree, to flower, to apple. The words are simple, which works well for the very young, but the illustrations work very well as a discussion starter with older kids as well.
- Apples Here, written and illustrated by Will Hubbell, also shows with great beauty the cycle of the apple. The refrain of the book “apples are here” underscores the growth process for each apple, and how each season contributes to the arrival of the sweet, crisp fruit.
This hop is being co-hosted by the following blogs: JDaniel4′s Mom, Angelique Felix, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, The Fairy and The Frog, Rainy Day Mum, Loving My Nest, Living at the Whitehead’s Zoo, Inspiration Laboratories, and Growing a Jeweled Rose.
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