Every fall, I look forward to the reopening of the local orchards and country shops selling seasonal treats. I recently made a run to my favorite spot, Riverview Orchards, and chatted with the owner, Isabel Prescott, who reminded me how fleeting this season is: Only one month remains for apple picking! Over hot cider and apple cider doughnuts, Prescott shared some of her best apple know-how:
Best apple for a pie: Northern Spy, which Isabel calls “the Cadillac of pie apples.” Best apple for sauce: A mix. Using a combination of four or five different apples such as Cortlands, Empires, Golden Delicious, Macoun, and McIntosh will add immensely to the flavor of the sauce. Best apple for a salad: Cortland, because they stay white for a long time — tossing the apples in lemon, often necessary with other apple varieties, can change their flavor. Apple picking tips: 1) Twist or snap up — don’t pull towards you or they’ll all come crashing down; 2) the larger apples tend to be closer to the trunk, though size doesn’t mean much; 3) generally, the richer the color, the sweeter the apple. The best way to store apples: 33 degrees F — as cold as possible with... Read moreArticles by Alexandra Stafford
Alexandra Stafford is a writer, photographer, and designer.
Featured Article
All Articles
-
How to make ketchup — and more! — from your leftover summer tomatoes
Can the homemade kind "ketchup" to the store-bought?
-
Amazing cucumber salad — and other recipes for your CSA veggies
Your cucumber salad will never be bland again with this great trick.
-
Instead of tossing your leftover greens, turn them into “meatballs”
Hold onto your carrot tops! And onion tops! And turnip tops! And beet greens, too. You can turn all of those greens into a delicious snack.
-
Here’s why you should pickle your extra zucchini
Put that cucumber down. Here's the vegetable you should be pickling, plus ideas for using up the rest of your market haul.