It’s that time of year again, when the apple harvest is in full swing here in the Northeast. We live in an amazing area for apples. I know most of you may think about Washington State when it comes to apples but they just had better marketing. New York State actually grows more varieties of apples than any other state. New York has about 700 apple farms and ten million apple trees that can produce enough apples to make 500 million apple pies a season! So yeah, we grow a lot of apples.
In the 1890’s in Geneva, Ny there was the agricultural experiment station and they gave us many great apples. Apples like the Cortland, Macoun, Jonamac and Jonagold. Then Cornell came into the picture and produced several apple varieties like Empire, Fortune and more recently Ruby Frost and Snap Dragon. These are just some of many Ny varieties you can pick at your local apple farm. If you missed my post on my favorite pick your own farm you can view it here.
One of the great things about having so many apple varieties is the fact that the different combinations of apples can make amazing apple cider. In my quest (on going by the way) for the best apple cider in the tri-state area, I have found apple cider can almost be compared to vintages of wine. Each cider has a complexity and aroma all its own. Early in the season cider is often thin and lacking body, so it’s best to wait until now when most varieties have ripened to get the best possible cider. I have done my own experiment on a small scale of the local farms in Rockland and Orange counties, and have come up with a list of what my taste testers have deemed the best ciders of the 2019 season. Please remember this list is very incomplete, so if you have a favorite you’d like to add please do so in the comment section below.
- #1- Dr. Davies Farm- Rockland County. Sweeter but best cider flavor.
- #2- tie between Conklin’s Orchard, Rockland County and Roe’s Orchard in Chester , NY. Both had a nice balance of tart and sweet.
- #3- Penning’s Orchard in Orange county. prominent apple flavors
- #4- Och’s Orchard in Orange County. Not sweet enough for some tasters.
I’d really love to hear from you, my readers as to what your favorite cider is. I know it’s almost impossible to taste every single cider that is produced locally and this list is just a general guide meant to be fun and a place to start your search. I will hopefully have a post soon with a recipe for making your own apple cider. It can be done easily in a crock pot. So keep your eyes open as it’s that time of year for all things apple.
This blog post wouldn’t be complete without at least one recipe for something to do with all the apples that are out there to enjoy. So in the spirit of giving I’m going to give you not one but two super easy recipes for things to make with apples. The first is an apple crisp. Its so easy to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your house right now. I like it for a couple reasons, it’s easier to make than an apple pie and the caramelized edges are crunchy pieces of apple cinnamon heaven.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- The Apples
- 5-6 baking apples-Granny Smith, Wine Sap or Honey Crisp. Peeled cored and cut into wedges. Tip: I like to use more than one variety.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Sprinkled over cut apples.
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, tossed into cut apples.
- Toss the sugar, apples and lemon juice together and place in a buttered 2 quart baking dish and let it sit while you prepare the crisp.
- The Topping
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon (depends on how much you like cinnamon)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- 1 1/2 sticks butter chilled and cut into tiny pieces.
- mix flour, oats, sugar ,cinnamon and salt into the butter and work it together with a pastry cutter or your fingers until it comes together with pea sized or slightly larger clumps. Spread the mixture evenly over the apples and bake until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes. I sometimes let it go a little longer if the edges aren’t crunchy.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream.
The next recipe is even simpler and just as yummy and more versatile. It’s apple sauce and for this it’s essential that you use more than one variety of apple. I like to use a sweet apple and a tart apple. Once it’s made you can use it ,as is, or as a topping on pork or cooked with cabbage or make it into an apple sauce cake, and that’s just to name a few uses.
- 7-10 apples cored and sliced. Some like the flavor and texture of the peel so I’ll leave that up to you to decide.(the peel can be a little bothersome to eat in apple sauce)
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice or more to taste. Apple cider vinegar can be used in place of lemon juice.
- 1/2- 1 teaspoon cinnamon to taste ( I like more)
- 1/2 cup sugar, I like to do 1/4 cup brown and 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1cup of water -Tip: try 1 cup of Apple Cider instead.
- Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, turn heat down to simmer and cover for about 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. Be careful that the mixture doesn’t burn. Once the apples are tender and cooked through use a potato masher to make slightly chunky apple sauce, or use a stick blender or food processor to make smooth apple sauce. The last method is also good if you kept the peels on as it will puree them into the rest of the sauce.
- There’s nothing like the taste of warm apple sauce so, be sure not to eat the whole thing before you serve it to friends and family!
As you can see theres so much that we can do with apples and most of the recipes are very easy. Take the time to get out and get to your local farm or farmers market and take advantage of the amazing apples of NY State. Don’t forget the apple pies and apple cider donuts either! To make apple cooking easier,I’d suggest you invest $3 on an apple corer slicer like the one in the picture. In an upcoming post I’ll show you one of the greatest inventions ever. As always if you have any questions or comments please put them in the box below and I’ll get right back to you as soon as possible. Until next time Boone Appétit!
