Sunday, October 04, 2015

The Apple of My Eye

Tradition in northern climes this time of year is to harvest and save and savor.  Nothing tastes better than freshly picked apples in the autumn.  There are many varieties in the U.S. although Johnny Appleseed (our folk hero in the planting of apples) probably carried mostly crab apple seeds.  These were perfect for making apple cider and that is what our forefathers drank in abundance because in some areas water was scarce and in other areas it was foul.



Yes, we have whole farms devoted to pick-your-own.  This place has school buses of public school children and vans for home-schooled children that keep them super busy in the fall.  You may notice the orange warning cones in the drive.  They have classes, hay wagon trips out to the field and then lots of fun stuff in the craft shop to also buy and take home.


We purchased some Jona-gold, some Honey-crisp and I think those last red ones were early Fuji.

Some were made into applesauce which is really lovely for breakfast with pancakes.  Because the weather is cooler I like to heat up my applesauce.


I made some tarts with some leftover puff pastry that absolutely HAD to be used, and while it did not have the flakiness that one expects, the tarts were still very good for dessert.


...and of course, several containers of apple pie filling for the freezer.


Yes, we also ate a bunch of them freshly sliced this past week.  So sweet and juicy and not at all like the apples one gets at the grocery store.  (We did not leave any behind on the table...that was an overfull child's apple in the photo below.)  This is a fun kind of business and fills the house with smells of cinnamon and nutmeg and sugar and apples.



18 comments:

  1. And they're good for ya!

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  2. The house always smells good after cooking apples and cinnamon. We are going apple picking next week.

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  3. Best part about autumn is the apples -- our favorite is Macoun.

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  4. This blog is so filled with tastes and smells that they seem to be coming through my monitor.

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  5. I remember going to pick apples last year with my granddaughter. That was so much fun! Your photos brought back such lovely memories.

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  6. Oh, yum! Apples cost so much here, we can't grow them in this area. Someday, maybe, i'll be where apples grow when it's picking time.

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  7. Mmm, warm applesauce, the best on pancakes.

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  8. My Fall favorite, sliced put in oats, on my waffle and sometimes in my pumpkin bread..Even my protein smoothie yesterday :)

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  9. did you know that apple tree seeds do not reproduce true to the parent tree? they made cider out of apples because most the trees' fruit wasn't fit to eat. once they find an apple tree that produces good fruit, they have to take cuttings of it to produce more trees that make that fruit.

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  10. In 1977, when we bought this farm, it had five apple trees which are pretty much still producing amazing apples. We never spray which means there is some scab although not many worms. We are not drinkers of apple cider but we slice and dry a lot of them for snacks... and of course, there are the apple cobblers in this season

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  11. What!!!??? Applesauce on pancakes?? You would be facing a hefty fine or possible jail time in Vermont. Lucky for you that Bernie Sanders is actually a New Yorker.

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  12. We've picked at our abandoned orchard on the Parkway 3x already and when the cows don't chase us. I make an apple crisp every other day.

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  13. Fall! I'm so glad we are going to the Mainland for a while so we will get a taste of this wonderful season.

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  14. What wonderful photographs - and I have just eaten an apple from one of our own trees. Sunset Gold I think. Freda from Dalamory

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  15. I do not (cannot) cook with apples but I have found the perfect eating apple for me. It is the Gala apple and none are to be found right now amongst the huge array of apple choices.

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  16. What a beautiful and wonderous entry. You should be commended in this time of confused politics for giving us the reds, golds, and greens that are really important.

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  17. slrrrrppp...slrrppp....they look so delicious. Wondering how they'd have tasted :)

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  18. Love those apples! Must buy more...

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