The Sun and Rain and an Appleseed*
Sep. 21st, 2011 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluesgarden[D has come down with a cold. Normally, germs invade him, discover they've wandered into a hellishly bad neighborhood, and run screaming in the other direction; when they stick around, I figure they're mean cold germs. This morning, I woke up with a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes. *glares in D's general coughing, sneezing, sniffling, hacking direction*]
I checked - I picked just 4 pounds (1.8 kg) more than last year. D was, for the record, amused, but considering he was with me when last year's apples and peaches were acquired, and again when black raspberries were picked (twice) this year, I think we can see that he doesn't exert much of asanity inducing calming influence.
As far as use goes, last year a good portion went down to my mother-in-law (probably more than will this year), and a half dozen quart jars had bad seal issues and couldn't be eaten, but still, I ran out of applesauce. Or, rather, I would have if I hadn't found those two jars in the back of the closet just a couple of weeks ago when I was straightening out all the canned goods storage. I've thought I was out since June. In addition, I bought quite a few apples at the grocery store for fresh eating all winter, spring, and summer since they have organic available and the orchard I used last year wasn't anything of the sort.
Most orchards aren't. It's difficult to maintain commercially viable fruit without modern pesticides and still make money at it. Unfortunately, this is part of the reason that apples are at the very top of the Dirty Dozen list as the fruit with the highest pesticide residue after making it to market and being washed for consumption. The new-to-me orchard I mentioned yesterday isn't organic, officially or unofficially, but they do practice a low-pesticide program as follows:
Granny Smith - 23.9 lbs / 10.8 kg
Ida Red - 23 lbs / 10.4 kg
Northern Spy - 20.2 lbs / 9.2 kg
Gala - 41.4 lbs / 18.8 kg
Macintosh - 61.6 lbs / 27.9 kg
Total: 170.1 lbs / 77.2 kg
Granny Smith apples are a tart baking variety that retain their shape during cooking, making them excellent for things like apple pie. A non-baking apple would simply cook down into mush and you'd have applesauce pie. Still tasty! But not usually what you're going for. They also keep well, so they can be stored in a cool, but not freezing, place and they'll continue to be good for maybe up to a year.
Gala apples were the easy choice, even though they weren't available as a pick-your-own variety. They're the ones I buy most weeks at the store - the variety that D and I actually agree on. This one also has good keeping qualities.
Macintosh apples vary from slightly tart to slightly sweet. They break down under temperature, which is good since they'll mostly be going to make applesauce. This is the only variety I picked up that doesn't store well compared to other varieties, but since they're destined for processing into applesauce, it doesn't matter.
Northern Spy apples are new to me. I was seduced by the sign inside the store which said something along the lines of "considered by some to be the best pie apple!" So I figured I'd compare it to Granny Smith. The internet says that it's a widely grown American heirloom variety that ripens late and stores well.
Ida Red apples... well, they were growing interspersed with the Granny Smiths and they tasted good? I have mentioned I didn't have much of a plan here, right? I picked them second, right after the Granny Smiths, and I was still thinking 'baking apple' at that point, so that's one possible use. The internet also says that the variety is "notable for their exceptional keeping qualities" and that it has "a pleasant, mild, but undistinguished, apple flavor."
(The website I've used for linking has more details on each variety, even if I feel they've egregiously short changed the keeping periods.)
I ended up paying just over $0.83/lb for the apples. I could have paid a little less with some thought, but I was more concerned about finding the place and what the procedures were. I picked the Granny Smith, Ida Red, and Macintosh apples, and bought the Northern Spy and Gala apples pre-picked inside the store. If I had it to do over again, I'd swap out the Ida Red for Fuji apples (for my mother-in-law as that variety seems to be a bit more multi-purpose, which I didn't realize at the time), have picked the Northern Spy myself, and probably bought a bit more Galas.
The pick-your-own apples were priced separately from the inside apples, which I knew, but the more you bought, the cheaper the price. Therefore a pick-your-own half bushel was $21, but a full bushel was only $32. I was thinking of the total and therefore picked 2 1/2 bushels to combine with another 1 1/2 bushels from the store, but that meant I paid for 2 1/2 bushels outside and 1 1/2 bushels inside, not a total of 4 bushels. *FACEPALM*
By the time I realized this, I was already hot and tired and sweaty and feeling wiped out, so I just didn't care, although I was thinking the price difference was a little less that what it actually was. I had a serious case of fuzzy brain going on and I kept getting confused by the different varieties in the orchard, where there was no signage but for names. (I've noticed that this is a consistent issue with pick-your-own orchards. Hand me a map with descriptions of the varieties on the back when I pull in! Is this so hard?!) The Galas actually weren't available for pick-your-own and they're quite tasty, so that, at least, was a bit that I'd repeat. :)
Last year's apples cost half as much, but as long as I am able to, then I'm definitely willing to pay more for low pesticide fruit. (Obviously, as I buy organic apples in the store when they're available, at better than twice what I paid per pound yesterday. Although how they can make money even at that price when shipping them from New Zealand, as the stickers on them indicate, I've no idea.)
So, yes, apples have been acquired. Of course, the handles of one of the Gala bags broke on the way out to the car, so I was chasing them across the parking lot. Then, on the way home, as I was merging onto the freeway, traffic essentially stopped, leaving me to slam on the brakes - and the multiple small bags of apples in the back seat to go flying. Fortunately they went flying down onto the floor and not up into the front seat! It was the Galas and Northern Spy apples, so I need to check them over carefully for bruising before storing any of them (*siiiigh*). The rest, in the trunk in larger bags and packed more closely together, only had a few tumble loose. My planning next year will include a) knowing what varieties I'm going to get before I go, which will require a phone call to see what they have in the store as well as outside (as their website doesn't list every variety, apparently), and b) wide boxes to corral the backseat apples! Also, proper fueling of the apple picker as food and low blood sugar issues were mucking things up. (I know better, yes, but I don't always exercise sound judgment, as you may have noticed.)
Now I just wish I'd written down how many jars I actually made up of applesauce last year so I knew how many to make this year. Whoops.
*Title taken from The Johnny Appleseed song, memorable primarily because we sang it before every meal at 4-H camp. I found a couple versions online, but I only remember singing the first verse: The Lord is good to me / And so I thank the Lord / For giving me the things I need / The sun and rain and an apple seed / Yes, He's been good to me. We also said the 4-H pledge and an actual grace, but it's apples I think of when I remember summer camp. :)
I checked - I picked just 4 pounds (1.8 kg) more than last year. D was, for the record, amused, but considering he was with me when last year's apples and peaches were acquired, and again when black raspberries were picked (twice) this year, I think we can see that he doesn't exert much of a
As far as use goes, last year a good portion went down to my mother-in-law (probably more than will this year), and a half dozen quart jars had bad seal issues and couldn't be eaten, but still, I ran out of applesauce. Or, rather, I would have if I hadn't found those two jars in the back of the closet just a couple of weeks ago when I was straightening out all the canned goods storage. I've thought I was out since June. In addition, I bought quite a few apples at the grocery store for fresh eating all winter, spring, and summer since they have organic available and the orchard I used last year wasn't anything of the sort.
Most orchards aren't. It's difficult to maintain commercially viable fruit without modern pesticides and still make money at it. Unfortunately, this is part of the reason that apples are at the very top of the Dirty Dozen list as the fruit with the highest pesticide residue after making it to market and being washed for consumption. The new-to-me orchard I mentioned yesterday isn't organic, officially or unofficially, but they do practice a low-pesticide program as follows:
We minimize the use of chemicals.For that reason, I felt a lot more comfortable buying some specifically for fresh eating. It will depend on how long they last in the crisper drawer of the outside fridge, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect the Galas to keep until mid-winter before starting to turn 'punky' - their flesh turning more mealy and generally starting to go soft and break down. Here's the breakdown of what I actually brought home:
We use no chemicals which are absorbed into the tree.
We use biodegradable & surface insecticides only.
We use no sprays within four weeks of harvest.
We belong to the pest management program where we spray only when absolutely necessary & only when pests are present
Granny Smith - 23.9 lbs / 10.8 kg
Ida Red - 23 lbs / 10.4 kg
Northern Spy - 20.2 lbs / 9.2 kg
Gala - 41.4 lbs / 18.8 kg
Macintosh - 61.6 lbs / 27.9 kg
Total: 170.1 lbs / 77.2 kg
Granny Smith apples are a tart baking variety that retain their shape during cooking, making them excellent for things like apple pie. A non-baking apple would simply cook down into mush and you'd have applesauce pie. Still tasty! But not usually what you're going for. They also keep well, so they can be stored in a cool, but not freezing, place and they'll continue to be good for maybe up to a year.
Gala apples were the easy choice, even though they weren't available as a pick-your-own variety. They're the ones I buy most weeks at the store - the variety that D and I actually agree on. This one also has good keeping qualities.
Macintosh apples vary from slightly tart to slightly sweet. They break down under temperature, which is good since they'll mostly be going to make applesauce. This is the only variety I picked up that doesn't store well compared to other varieties, but since they're destined for processing into applesauce, it doesn't matter.
Northern Spy apples are new to me. I was seduced by the sign inside the store which said something along the lines of "considered by some to be the best pie apple!" So I figured I'd compare it to Granny Smith. The internet says that it's a widely grown American heirloom variety that ripens late and stores well.
Ida Red apples... well, they were growing interspersed with the Granny Smiths and they tasted good? I have mentioned I didn't have much of a plan here, right? I picked them second, right after the Granny Smiths, and I was still thinking 'baking apple' at that point, so that's one possible use. The internet also says that the variety is "notable for their exceptional keeping qualities" and that it has "a pleasant, mild, but undistinguished, apple flavor."
(The website I've used for linking has more details on each variety, even if I feel they've egregiously short changed the keeping periods.)
I ended up paying just over $0.83/lb for the apples. I could have paid a little less with some thought, but I was more concerned about finding the place and what the procedures were. I picked the Granny Smith, Ida Red, and Macintosh apples, and bought the Northern Spy and Gala apples pre-picked inside the store. If I had it to do over again, I'd swap out the Ida Red for Fuji apples (for my mother-in-law as that variety seems to be a bit more multi-purpose, which I didn't realize at the time), have picked the Northern Spy myself, and probably bought a bit more Galas.
The pick-your-own apples were priced separately from the inside apples, which I knew, but the more you bought, the cheaper the price. Therefore a pick-your-own half bushel was $21, but a full bushel was only $32. I was thinking of the total and therefore picked 2 1/2 bushels to combine with another 1 1/2 bushels from the store, but that meant I paid for 2 1/2 bushels outside and 1 1/2 bushels inside, not a total of 4 bushels. *FACEPALM*
By the time I realized this, I was already hot and tired and sweaty and feeling wiped out, so I just didn't care, although I was thinking the price difference was a little less that what it actually was. I had a serious case of fuzzy brain going on and I kept getting confused by the different varieties in the orchard, where there was no signage but for names. (I've noticed that this is a consistent issue with pick-your-own orchards. Hand me a map with descriptions of the varieties on the back when I pull in! Is this so hard?!) The Galas actually weren't available for pick-your-own and they're quite tasty, so that, at least, was a bit that I'd repeat. :)
Last year's apples cost half as much, but as long as I am able to, then I'm definitely willing to pay more for low pesticide fruit. (Obviously, as I buy organic apples in the store when they're available, at better than twice what I paid per pound yesterday. Although how they can make money even at that price when shipping them from New Zealand, as the stickers on them indicate, I've no idea.)
So, yes, apples have been acquired. Of course, the handles of one of the Gala bags broke on the way out to the car, so I was chasing them across the parking lot. Then, on the way home, as I was merging onto the freeway, traffic essentially stopped, leaving me to slam on the brakes - and the multiple small bags of apples in the back seat to go flying. Fortunately they went flying down onto the floor and not up into the front seat! It was the Galas and Northern Spy apples, so I need to check them over carefully for bruising before storing any of them (*siiiigh*). The rest, in the trunk in larger bags and packed more closely together, only had a few tumble loose. My planning next year will include a) knowing what varieties I'm going to get before I go, which will require a phone call to see what they have in the store as well as outside (as their website doesn't list every variety, apparently), and b) wide boxes to corral the backseat apples! Also, proper fueling of the apple picker as food and low blood sugar issues were mucking things up. (I know better, yes, but I don't always exercise sound judgment, as you may have noticed.)
Now I just wish I'd written down how many jars I actually made up of applesauce last year so I knew how many to make this year. Whoops.
*Title taken from The Johnny Appleseed song, memorable primarily because we sang it before every meal at 4-H camp. I found a couple versions online, but I only remember singing the first verse: The Lord is good to me / And so I thank the Lord / For giving me the things I need / The sun and rain and an apple seed / Yes, He's been good to me. We also said the 4-H pledge and an actual grace, but it's apples I think of when I remember summer camp. :)
