As autumn descends upon us, we become embroiled in one of the most passionate debates of our time. No, it’s not republican vs. democrat. Nor is it the all important cats vs. dogs or which Batman is the best (it’s Michael Keaton, by the way). It’s not even Pork Roll vs. Taylor Ham. What has us up in arms in controversy, you ask? It’s the ages old debate of which is a better fall flavor…apple or pumpkin?

#TeamApple Cites the Superiority of Its Fruit

Apples are a pretty diverse group. There are hundreds, if not thousands of apple varieties. The most common are Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Macintosh, and Gala. There are sweet apples, tart apples, baking apples, crisp apples…you name it.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a person who doesn’t like some kind of apple in some kind of form. Yes, I realize there are people that despise ALL apples out there, but I don’t think those people are normal. I’m fairly confident that if you give 99% of the population the choice between eating an apple and say, pickled pigs feet, most will go with the apple.

Plus, there are sooooo many things you can do with apples. Not only can you eat them raw, you’ll find them in baked goods and tossed into many meals (some unsuspectingly…). You can have caramel apples and spread peanut butter on them for a snack. They’re an incredibly versatile fruit. I personally love apples…Honeycrisp is my favorite. It tastes ah-mazing in Sangria. 

The Pumpkin Devotees Won’t Back Down

As much as I am part of team apple, I’m a pumpkin devotee as well. (I know! Crazy!!!!) While pumpkins may not be as all around functional as apples are, they’re damn delicious in their own way.

Not only is pumpkin spice coffee like heaven in a cup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin muffins make my heart sing. Along with millions of other pumpkin lovers.

I love roasted pumpkin seeds and I could probably even eat pumpkin puree raw. Okay, okay, maybe that’s a bit much. Don’t judge me.

I have to say, though, in the past few years, the packaged goods manufacturers have gone completely overboard with the pumpkin craze. You can pretty much get pumpkin spice anything and I think that might be creating a little animosity from the #teamapple folks. I mean, really, do we need pumpkin flavored potato chips??? (Yes, it is a thing.)

Some Things Are Just Better With Apple or Pumpkin

My daughter and I were discussing how certain things would only taste good apple flavor…like tea. I couldn’t imagine drinking pumpkin tea. Likewise, apple coffee??? Sounds horrible. I could sit and eat a raw apple, but a raw pumpkin? That’s gross. And pumpkin plus chocolate equals LOVE. Chocolate covered apple? Not so much.

So Then What’s Better? Apple or Pumpkin?

Both flavors have their benefits. I personally don’t think I could live without either of the flavors. So I decided to have a little fun with the blog this week.

This week, The Bad Mommy Cooks is going to pit Apple and Pumpkin head to head. I’ll make apple recipes and then follow up with a pumpkin recipe that is similar, and the use my family members and friends to hopefully answer this question once and for all…which is better? Apple or pumpkin?

*Which team are you on? Apple or Pumpkin? Comment if you’re #TeamApple or #TeamPumpkin!