Sustainable Saturday- The Crisp Apology of Fall

The world of apples is much bigger than the typical American consumer will ever know.  I am fortunate to live in a major apple producing area, and we can get a lot of varieties locally that the average consumer will never have the chance to sample.

Some apples just can't be grown on a large scale.  Others have fallen out of favor for whatever reason.  The consumer must know if he or she wants apples for fresh eating, for baking, for storage.  There is something for everyone.

Apples are the apology of fall for ending our Northern growing season.

Ithaca, New York is about an hour away from where we live in upstate New York.  We go up there every Columbus Day weekend to enjoy an Art Trail, pick up the last of summer's produce, and enjoy some fall foliage.  Our area of upstate New York is a major apple producing area, but between a late frost and hail, apples are not in their normal abundant supply.

In the Ithaca Farmers market, garlic, radishes, turnips, carrots, and swiss chard were abundant.  Apples, much less so.

The above farm grows both heirlooms and conventional apples.  This farmer brought their full harvest of Ambrosia apples to market today, and this is what the bin looked like with the market open about an hour.  $2.80 a lb, but we bought our share.

Zabergau Reinette apples aren't that good straight from the tree (we knew this from last year) but give them a month or two, and they are heavenly.  They are the definition of "applicious".  We stocked up.

Thornberry apples, technically, are a type of crabapple.  They have a distinct pink flesh, and they are not my favorite.  But I wanted to show these to my readers.

I don't know if an apple a day keeps the doctor away.  But today, I accepted the apology of fall and bit into a yummy apple.  Did you?

What is your favorite way to eat apples?