Apple season isn鈥檛 over just yet and there are plenty of places across 海角换妻 where you can pick-your-own or mix-and-match a bushel of apples for your own personal apple fest. You can also head to one of the state鈥檚 farm bakeries to grab sweet treats from apple fritters and cider donuts to holiday pies.
Apples have been a fall staple in 海角换妻, and beyond, for hundreds of years. The history of the apple in New England dates back to 1623, three years after the landing of the Mayflower, according to the .
Today, there are thousands of apple varieties worldwide, of which only a fraction are grown in 海角换妻.
Apple varieties abound, expert says
Jim Wargo, a horticulturist and apple farmer who owns in Southbury, recently spoke with 鈥淲here We Live鈥� host Catherine Shen about the depth of apple varieties.
鈥淭here's all kinds of different apples out there. The skin color is different from green, yellow, red,鈥� Wargo said. 鈥淲e even have russet varieties that look like a pear. And, like a Basque pear, they differ in texture and flavors.鈥�
Some apples are very aromatic, others are very sweet, and some are very tart and even inedible because of the high tannin content in the apple, he said.
鈥淪o there's a very broad array of types of apples and what they bring to the palate,鈥� Wargo said.
While consumers have their favorites, when it comes to apple varieties, there鈥檚 so much to choose from compared to how we think about 鈥� and shop for 鈥� other fruits, he said.
鈥淭here's 7,500 named apple varieties existing in the world today. At one time that was closer to 17,000 or 18,000, but apples are one of the few produce items where you buy by variety. You know, when you buy strawberries, you buy strawberries. Or blueberries, blueberries 鈥� bananas, the same thing. You don't buy it by the particular variety, but apples, you do,鈥� Wargo said.
Breeding the beloved honeycrisp
Over 30 years ago the honeycrisp, which has since been , was created by David Bedford, a senior research fellow at the University of Minnesota's Department of Horticultural Science and his team.
Bedford shared a little bit about how they breed Honeycrisps with 鈥淲here We Live.鈥�
鈥淲e're very particular about which pollen goes on which trees, so we have a little better control of the outcome. We've continued to use Honeycrisp or Honeycrisp children now in our breeding,鈥� he said.
鈥淪o this is sort of like when you have your children, and they leave home, and you hope they find a place in the world. Well, that's kind of how our apples are. We release them, and then the market either accepts them or forgets them. And so far, we've had good success with the Honeycrisp.鈥�
Whether you鈥檙e searching for a favorite or new apple variety to try, a new recipe for Thanksgiving, or still hoping to go apple picking before the first frost 鈥� we have recommendations for you.
Want to go apple picking?
Pick-your-own
- , Southbury
- , South Glastonbury
- , Wallingford
- , Guilford
- , Glastonbury
- , Easton
Cider mills and cideries
- , Burlington
- , Mystic
- , Westerly, Rhode Island
- , Glastonbury
Farmstand and apple cider donuts
- , Middlefield
- , Southington
- , Bethlehem
Apple-infused recipes
When it comes to apple pie, the more fruit the merrier. Only, the more apples you pile into the dish, the more likely you are to end up with a big gap between the crust, which sets early in the baking, and the filling, which softens and shrinks by the time the pie is done. The answer, in a technique adapted from Cook鈥檚 Illustrated magazine, is to pre-cook the apples just a bit to 鈥渟et鈥� their shape. The result is a pie that鈥檚 good enough for a bake-off: tall, beautifully domed, and filled to the very top with juicy apples.
(Reprinted with permission from by Amy Traverso. Copyright 漏 2020, 2011, by Amy Traverso. Photos Copyright 漏 2011 by Squire Fox. Published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)
听听听
It鈥檚 a cider-maker鈥檚 tradition to use some of the freshly pressed juice to make lightly tangy, apple-scented donuts like these. The cider adds more than flavor, though; its acidity makes donuts more tender.
(Reprinted with permission from by Amy Traverso. Copyright 漏 2020, 2011, by Amy Traverso. Photos Copyright 漏 2011 by Squire Fox. Published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)
听
A simple stuffing, sweetened with apples and chestnuts and lightly accented with cinnamon and sage, is rolled up inside a butterflied pork loin in this centerpiece dish. When you slice the loin, you see the swirl of stuffing. Served with a very simple cider pan sauce, it鈥檚 impressive enough for company, but quite easy to do.
(Reprinted with permission from by Amy Traverso. Copyright 漏 2020, 2011, by Amy Traverso. Photos Copyright 漏 2011 by Squire Fox. Published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)
This simple dessert is less cake than saut茅ed apples set in a thick, buttery custard encased in a golden crust. We liked using two varieties of apples here, one tart and one sweet 鈥� the variation in the apples鈥� sweetness gave the cake a full, complex flavor. The cake is delicious served unadorned, but it鈥檚 equally wonderful accompanied with cr猫me fra卯che or ice cream.
(Recipe reprinted with permission from . 漏 2018 Christopher Kimball鈥檚 Milk Street. All Rights Reserved. Photographs by Connie Miller of CB Creatives.)
Apple-inspired audio to delight your ears, too
Where We Live: 鈥�Apple of our eye: The history and future of a beloved fruit鈥澨�
Seasoned: 鈥�Apple Season: Favorite Local Orchards, Cider Donuts + More鈥�
Seasoned: 鈥�A visit to Hogan鈥檚 Cider Mill and a lesson in apple cider history from the authors of 鈥楢merican Cider鈥�鈥�
海角换妻's Megan Fitzgerald, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catherine Shen and Tess Terrible contributed to this post.
Correction: is in Middlefield, not Middlebury, as the original post stated. The list has been corrected.
