Jenn McKinlay: I spent my childhood in Kent, CT. It was (is) New England at its finest with lazy summers, colorful autumns, snowy winters, and blooming springs.
My brother and I ran wild, which was fine because the town was so small that by the time we got home from our latest shenanigans our mother had already been informed by a "helpful" neighbor and we were dealt with accordingly.
We moved away when I was nine to a small seaside town called Niantic, which was also a lovely place to grow up, but my love of autumn definitely comes from my formative years in Kent.
One of our favorite autumn pastimes as kids was to go apple picking. My brother and I, the original hooligans, made this a competition to find the absolute most perfect apples. If one was bruised or had a worm, it became a weapon to throw at each other. We always came out of the orchard, pulp soaked and laughing.
Back in the day, I was all about the red delicious, but my tastes have changed over the years and I have become a Macintosh gal with a strong affection for Honey Crisps.
Whenever it works out for the Hooligans to come back east with me in autumn, I drag them apple picking. We fill up a half bushel and promise to make apple pie, apple butter, and apple sauce and usually just end up eating the entire bag. There is nothing better than a fruit right off the tree as all gardeners know.
Yum, apples are pretty perfect, aren’t they?
ReplyDeleteFavorite fruit? It’s tough choosing just one, but if I must, then it’s blueberries.
I’m not particularly fond of pies, but I always make blueberry pot pie [blueberries with sweet sugar dumplings] at least once during the season . . . .
Yum. Blueberries make the best desserts.
DeleteI am blessed to live a mile or two from a really great orchard. I haven't actually been picking this year yet but fall isn't over! I make a pretty impressive world-famous apple pie, and the man I live with likes to bake apple crisp. And when I go to the farm to pick up local eggs and milk and produce, I simply can't leave without a half dozen of their apple cider donuts. Absolutely heavenly. Glad you got a hit of New England this fall, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteThe orchard was out of apple cider donuts when we were there! I've promised myself some next year.
DeleteJenn, Trader Joe's Apple Cider donuts are excellent! They have them made in New England.
DeleteOoh, I wanted to buy apple cider donuts before my appointment, but it was way too hot and I did not want to leave the box in the overheated car for an hour.
DeleteI grew up in Missouri, where Jonathan apples ruled the orchards. These were (likely still are) small, very tart apples, used for cider and pies. I haven't seen a Jonathan in the store here in Texas in years, but I still go for very tart apples. Braeburns are my current favorite, followed by Fujis. I use a mix of Braeburn and Granny Smith when I make apple pie, and I make a really good apple pie.
ReplyDeleteI am also partial to apple juice, apple cider, and hard apple cider. Apples are outstanding!
I use Granny Smiths in pie. It never occurred to me to mix it up...hmm.
DeleteJenn,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic for the time of year for sure. Growing up I liked the apples you'd buy at the store. I think they were McIntosh apples but these days I'm not sure if that is the right variety. I loved them in their original form, as part of a pie or my mom's homemade applesauce.
After my dad passed away, I'd be the one taking my mom up to Dowse Orchards in Sherborn, MA so she could pick up the bevy of apples she'd need for batches of pies and applesauce. There were so many bags. I'd grab up some of the Simpson Spring soda they carried as well as a raspberry/apple pie that was DELICIOUS!
My sister is the one who does all the baking with apples these days. Apparently she was just at some orchard in Vermont yesterday.
These days, my favorite apples are Granny Smiths. Love those things and even though I'm the poster boy for unhealthy eating for the most part, I do still love to get fruits and Granny Smith apples are always a good choice for me.
You can't go wrong with a Granny Smith. I've never had apple-raspberry pie. I think I have to try that. It would make an excellent breakfast option!
DeleteHands down Macoun are my favorite apples. We are lucky to have Bishop's Orchards in the next town over, and they have apples to die for. (The peach season was too short this year--I'm still in mourning for that.) But when we get to Key West, I find grocery store apples seriously lame.
ReplyDeleteI wonder Jenn, Arizona is a different universe. Do you long for Connecticut?
I love Macouns, too! Years ago I had one called Spartan. It's a late season apple with an amazing flavor. But you can't find it anymore.
DeleteMy mom lives right down the road from Bishop's Orchards. I love that place.
DeleteAZ is a different universe in so many ways, but I go back so often to the MA/CT area that I don't long for it - especially in winter. As the summers become unbearably hot here, the Hub and I are on the lookout for a New England place. I'll keep you posted on where we land!
Jenn, a former New Milfordite waving to your former Kent spirit. Also former New Londoner to your Niantic. Apples are what fall is about! Favorites pound pippins from Maple Bank Farm in Roxbury and Mitsus from Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel. What fun for your Hooligans, their Wowa, and you.
ReplyDeleteHowdy, Neighbor Elisabeth! Pippins? How could I forget those? Yes, it was a fun day and I always feel as if I've done my parental duty when the dudes are as comfortable on the east coast as the desert.
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ReplyDeleteOh I do love apples! And remember when Delicious were actually delicious? Now—bleah. But my faves are Fuji, Gala, Hioneycrisp and Envy. I think I was someplace in the Midwest on book tour when I had my first Envy apple. It was astonishing.
ReplyDeleteI went through a whole period of my life when I had an apple with peanut butter every day. So yummy!
That's a great combo, Hank!
DeleteApple with peanut butter is my go to lunch! I don't think I've ever had an Envy apple. I must rectify this!
DeleteApple with almond butter, here! And I had my first Envy apples a couple of weeks ago and loved them!
DeleteYes, yes, find Envys. And they are HUGE! Very sharable.
DeleteThis house lives by 'an apple a day', so we go through our fair share year-round. Honey Crisp are a relatively recent new favourite, with Jazz and Gala pulling up the longstanding rear. We just eat them as is, though softer ones get made into apple sauce.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of Gala and Fuji in AZ. I always lean toward the Honey Crisp, though.
DeleteMcIntosh for eating, when I can find them, or Jazz and Honey Crisp. Braeburn and Goldrush for pies, or whatever the local produce market recommends on their huge pie chart (eating, baking, apple sauce).
ReplyDeleteAnd I love fresh local apple cider and cider donuts. Yum!
Cider donuts. I am sad. I haven't had any this year. :(
DeleteI did not know apples were mostly air. I always liked Granny Smith growing up, but have developed an affinity for Honey Crisp as an adult.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I love pies and crumbles, mostly I like just slices. Speaking of which, there are apples in my fridge that must be eaten. If you'll excuse me...
I didn't know that either. Makes perfect sense as to why they float. (face palm)
DeleteThere are at least four apple orchards less than thirty minutes from home. Nothing is better than an apple just picked from the tree. As the season go, I like to try different kinds but my favourite is the MacIntosh freshly picked. I have to admit that the ones from the grocery are not always to my taste but it is local and always available all year long, so a good healthy choice.
ReplyDeleteI usually eat one each day . Not a fan of pie, I make apple crumble many times a year and apple sauce occasionally.
And last week ,I made a grilled cheese with apple slices sandwich : so delicious !
DeleteDanielle- I'm going to try that on the next grilled cheese. I have some Havarti with dill, um-m-m, yum.
DeleteGrocery store apples just seem so dry. Off the tree is amazing!
DeleteFirst choice is Honeycrisp, and I like Macintosh too. For pies, nothing beats a Granny Smith. I know people equate fall with pumpkin spice, but to me, nothing says autumn like apple cider.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Pumpkins are late fall to me, but apples are all season!
DeleteI'm right there with you, Susan. Fall = Apples.
DeleteApples and apple picking, such a great topic!! Thanks Jenn! I love the photos you've posted of apple picking with family.
ReplyDeleteWe always picked fruit in season with the kids when they were little. A couple weeks ago we went apple picking with our son, D-I-L and 3 year old grandson in Massachusetts. The little devil took a bite out of each apple he picked. Irwin and I were in stitches.
Connecticut girl here. I've always loved apples. I grew up in Colchester, moved to West Hartford at 13 and went to UCONN. I also remember a time when I ate an apple a day. And, when I lived in Israel in the mid '70's, our Ulpan took us to a kibbutz on the Lebanese border for a few weeks. My assignment was picking apples. They'd get us up at 4:00 am to go to the orchard and by 8:00, when they'd come get us for breakfast, I would already have eaten 5 apples. That was the largest I've ever been in my life:-) (Not just from apples, sigh.)
I do bake apple pie. I use granny smith and Macintosh and Cortland and sometimes Macoun, too. Lately, I've been making apple crisp instead of pie because, 1.) no company, and 2.) still a delicious dessert, and 3.) much less sugar and fat!
Judy, I had to look "ulpan" up! I had no idea there was a word for that.
DeleteWe had a porch dinner with friends over the weekend and I made apple crisp for dessert. We forget how good that is!!
With ice cream, Karen!
DeleteThat goes without saying, right?
DeleteHello, fellow CT gal! That's quite a journey you were on! I always think I'd love to own an orchard but then I think it's best if i just write about them!
DeleteWe live in orchard heaven here on the north shore of Ohio in the Firelands. My little town has outstanding orchards (yes, that's a plug! Y'll come to Berlin Heights in the fall and pick your own!). One local orchard produces nearly 40 varieties of apples; their website contains a list along with a harvest calendar. I just picked up some Cortlands for apple crisp and some Crimson Crisps and Ambrosia for snacking. While some of those apples are monster-sized, most are medium-sized--perfect for eating.
ReplyDeleteThe monster size are daunting! I'm with you on a nice medium sized apple.
DeleteWhat great memories, Jenn, including the ones you've helped make for the Hooligans.
ReplyDeleteNectarines are my favorite fruit. This was not the best year for them, alas.
If I'm buying apples at the grocery, they are usually for my husband. He'd eat Red Delicious forever, and think nothing of it, but I am usually disappointed in how mushy they are these days. I still remember how crisp they used to be. Now I usually choose Gala for him, and he agrees they're better.
My favorites, if I'm lucky enough to hit the farmers market when they have them, are Arkansas Black and Black Twig. Arkansas Black, in particular, is a fabulous eating apple, with cherry notes. And both varieties develop more flavor in the fridge. They both have a tiny bit of tartness, which I like. Honey Crisps are way too sweet for my taste.
Our great local orchard sadly closed several years ago because the childless owners had no one to pass it on to, and they wanted to travel a bit and enjoy life before they got too old to do so. They've turned most of the former orchards into a prairie preserve. And the former cider barn now houses the owner's hot rod cars he works on.
I agree on the nectarines - not a great year. But WHAT A YEAR it was for cherries!
DeleteNot in Michigan, though. That late frost killed so many trees, that there was virtually no crop at all.
DeleteI hope they can come back from it, but it's not looking good there.
Yes, Hallie, the cherries were incredible and what a long season. I was baking with them and usually Irwin eats them all way before I start to think about baking. I bought a cherry pitter from Williams Sonoma. It is a great addition to the "hardly ever use it but boy is it helpful" kitchen gadget box.
DeleteMaybe I missed the cherries this year because we went to the grocery store so rarely. Hmm.
DeleteCherries and peaches are my absolute fave fruits, although it was apples when I was a kid. SO, I loved this year's cherry boom.
DeleteI love apple picking, and have fond memories of going as a family to the orchards of New York state. New York is famous for its apples, and one of the things I love about visiting, as I was recently, is the abundant variety of apples in the supermarkets. I made a run to Wegman's while at my Dad's place, and was astonished to find something like 20 different types of the fruit!
ReplyDeleteI like to eat them raw, sliced very thin, but I confess my favorite way to consume them is in a much less healthy apple crisp.
Apple crisp...swoon.
DeleteThank you, Jenn! I am most definitely an apple girl! Several years ago I decided, just for fun, to see if I could eat an apple every day. That doesn't sound very difficult but not just any apple would do. I really prefer the Cortland apple, simply perfect in my estimation, but unfortunately I don't find them available all year long and then I have to try to make do with another variety. Usually that will be an Empire, because that is what is in the store, but it really doesn't even come close to being great. I start getting anxious in September when I know it is still too early for "my" apples, but Macs are ready so I can almost bear the weight.
ReplyDeleteI suppose pies might be good but too much work and my mother used to make wonderful applesauce when the apples were getting a bit old. But I simply eat my apple as Nature intended and of course I share with my dog. She looks forward to our apple time every day!
An apple a day is definitely something i can get behind.
DeleteLike Julia, I grew up in way-upstate NY, real apple country. Just outside of town there was an old cider mill (since 1801!) perched on the edge of a fast river with a small waterfall, which (originally, anyway) powered the mill. We could see the apples being poured in, the screw-down press operating and the fresh cider pumped through the tubes, (plastic by then) to the bottles. Fall leaves everywhere, fall weather and the smell of apples. Yes, hooked on apples. Used to take our kids apple picking every fall, a couple of hours north of the NY city. McIntosh my favorite for eating. Apple crisp, apple pie, baked apples for a fast and low-cal dessert. (Do I love fall? Yes)
ReplyDeleteSame. It's my fave season.
DeleteGood morning, Jenn! I am taking a break from writing my novel in progress to read your post and to comment. I need to get into the rhythm of writing. I have been advised to write every day.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Connecticut one summer - in Chester, CT. How far were you from Chester?
Speaking of apples, I LOVE green apples. The Granny Smith ? apples. Red apples do not seem to like me since my throat itches after eating red apples. However, the other day I had a piece of a red apple that was really good. No allergic reaction. I just grabbed red apples at the local organic grocery store. I also got green apples too.
Last night for dinner, I was not very hungry, though I know I needed to eat something. I had a piece of vegan (dairy free) cheese with green apple slices on one piece of toast.
Usually I like to eat green apple slices with or without a little almond butter or peanut butter.
Sometimes I like apple pie. It depends on if I like the crust too. I love apples in my tuna fish salad. Trying to remember if it was spinach salad or red cabbage cole slaw with apple slices. I loved that too.
For Halloween, I love caramel apples. During the wintry cold season, I love hot apple cider. Though hot chocolate is yummy, I am not a fan of the remaining taste in my mouth after drinking h.c.
When I was a kid, we visited Harper Ferry in WVA and I discovered apple butter. Yum!
Also love applesauce when I need something easy to eat.
Diana
On itching... a lot of people who have allergies to fresh fruit (itchy throat...) can eat that fruit cooked with no problem. Hence apple pie is fine.
DeleteI've recently been itchy when I eat strawberries. Very alarming. Chester is near where I grew up - maybe 30 min - but everything is 30 min in CT because it's so petite. LOL.
DeleteQuestion: Is there something called apple syrup? Similar to maple syrup?
ReplyDeleteDiana
I've never heard of it, but boiled down apple cider could be used that way, sort of. Maple syrup is not made from fruit but from the sap of the sugar maple and trees can only be tapped for syrup in spring. Quite a production (Yes, apple country where I grew up is also maple syrup country.)
DeleteNot that I know of but I'd certainly eat it.
DeleteWhen we lived in Minnesota there was an apple orchard right in town. Starting in August they'd be harvesting whatever type was ripening. They provided a list of all the varieties they grew, the characteristics, and when they'd be ready. They must have grown 25 to 30 varieties. And best yet, they were already picked! For a while Fireside was my favorite. Then I discovered honeycrisp which was still a fairly new variety. It's been too long; I can't remember what all I bought but I remember stuffing my suitcase full of honeycrisp apples to bring to Texas to give my parents. There is nothing like fresh apples from the orchard! The last time I made anything with apples it was a French apple cake made in a springform pan. It was just sweet enough but not too sweet!
ReplyDeleteApple cake! Yes, please!
DeleteI grew up in LA so I never experienced the pleasure of apple picking until I moved to New England in the 70s. An apple right off the tree is sublime. There's simply nothing like it. Virtually any variety is better than anything you can get in a supermarket. In the supermarket, the only apple that's reliably good is honey crisp, IMHOP.
ReplyDeleteThis is inspiring me to make an apple pie. Best pie apples: Granny Smiths. Again, IMHOP. Or fresh picked Cortlands.
I've never used Cortlands in pie. I'll have to rectify that!
DeleteGrowing up just east of Sebastopol, I have an attachment to the Gravenstein that grows there. These apples are unique to that area, as my sister found out when she move to Oregon. The orchards are being plowed over for vineyards so the August crop is getting smaller annually. And yes, the crop is picked late July to early September. Since they aren't available year round , I will pick up some Pink Lady apples to eat out of hand. I like to mix them with Honey Crisp or Granny Smith's if I make an apple crisp or chunky sauce for a pork dinner.
ReplyDeletePink Ladys! I forgot about those! Love them!
DeleteOh Apples! We ae surrounded by orchards here outside Limerick. We go to Doles Orchard, and pick Northern Spies, Braburn, and many other varieties. I am behind in my apple picking this year.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good year to pick apples! I think we're in for a very long winter (my friend says they're predicting heavy snow in the NE)...sigh.
DeleteNooooooooo
DeleteI don't like raw apples. I like applesauce and apple pie, but I don't like raw apples.
ReplyDeleteHub is the same - he says they make him cough. He's all about the pie.
DeleteJenn, such a treat to go virtual apple picking with you and the fam! North Texas is peach country, not apples, so the first (and, sadly, only) time I've ever been apple picking was in England, in Somerset, with my parents in the 70s. I still love English pippins, and you get a lot more variety in the supermarkets in the UK than we see here in Texas. (I also learned on that orchard visit to beware of "scrumpy", the very strong, unfiltered, cider. It's a killer!)
ReplyDeleteThese days I'm thrilled when the new season Fugis and Honeycrisps come in. As I said above, I recently tried Envy and liked them, too. I cannot stand mealy apples and haven't touched a Red Delicious in years.
I love raw apples, especially with good cheese, and they are a treat with a little smear of almond butter. Apple pie I like with sharp cheddar, and love apple crisp, too, but those are rare treats.
Sharp cheddar with apples is the best snack! Yum. Peaches are a hot ticket in AZ, too. Sadly, our old peach tree gave up the ghost but we used to get 200+ peaches. There is nothing better than a sun warmed peach right off the tree.
DeleteSO true!
DeleteThanks for sharing, Jenn! I used to love Galas. My kids, though, are really into Fujis. (We did make fresh apple cider one year--delicious!)
ReplyDeleteI've never made my own cider - now it's on my list!
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