Week 42: Apples To Apples

I began taking my kids apple picking after I became a Girl Scout leader and discovered how fun it could be. It's been over a decade since Middle Child was in scouts, but she and I still go every year because she likes her traditions. There is a family orchard that we've frequented over the years because it's nearby. Apple picking usually starts mid-September and lasts throughout October. Different varieties ripen at different times. Our favorite is yellow delicious, which normally ripens the first week of October. This year, we saw online that the picking season began earlier, so we went the last week of September. What a disappointment! There were no yellow delicious left and very few decent looking apples of any variety. They were all small and wormy. The owner said that she lost 75% of her crop due to the heavy rains we had in the Spring. She did have a ton of red raspberries to pick in her greenhouse, so the day was not a total loss.

We had a free day last week, so I decided it was time to find a new apple orchard. My son-in-law recommended a few places, so we picked up a friend of mine and took an hour's drive south.

I guess it pays to try new places. This orchard had 40,000 apple trees. We had no trouble finding apples to pick!

We picked mostly Granny Smith apples, but there were also Fuji, Melrose, and Jonagold apples ready to be picked. So far, we've made snickerdoodle apple bars, apple coleslaw, and apple crescents. Today we are going to try something new: pumpkin chili that has an apple in the recipe. The apples have been delicious!

We also drove to another orchard. They were not having pick-your-own that day, but they had a nice market open and a cidery called Bent Ladder.



This was the view inside the tasting room. They sold a nice variety of  8 hard ciders made from their apples, along with a few wines. You could even get a flight of ciders! We didn't have that kind of time, so I just tried a tiny sample of the Red Moon Rising (apples, strawberries, and rooibos tea) and the Hopped. Delicious!



View from the tasting room. We had a gorgeous fall day!




I brought home a growler of the Hopped Cider. Here is the description: A blend of McIntosh, Jonathan and Cortland apples. Dry hopped in a cold tank with Summit and 007 the Golden Hop for added complexity. Aromas of tangerine, spruce, earth, and spice. Light and refreshing flavors of citrus with an undercurrent of spruce and yeast.

In my own words: It tastes like champagne.