Apples

No, iPads, iPhones, and iPods are not the subject of this piece.  Nor am I going to address all of the things that apples, the fruit, have signified over the years, from forbidden fruit, knowledge, temptation and sin, to immortality and eternal youthfulness.  This piece is just about those apples that we especially enjoy this time of year, sometimes even handpicked by us.

When I was a child, Jonathan apples were the only variety that was ever available in our house.  My mother preferred the firm texture and medium size over the very sweet, large yellow-skinned Golden Delicious.  Besides being good just by themselves, Jonathans are also great cooking apples, and my mother used them to made pies and roly-polies, her specialty.  Is there anything better than smelling apples baking in the oven?

In England, most days Debbie and I walked from the British Infant School where we were “student teaching” to the neighborhood center to purchase our lunch - two Granny Smith apples.  Green as grass, we enjoyed their firm texture and their ability to satisfy our hunger.  Perhaps they were so abundant in England because they originated in Australia.

Our farmers’ markets and grocery stores stock so many more varieties of apples now, and I enjoy trying new ones.  Fuji and Gala had become my favorites until Honey Crisps appeared.  We bought some from a Michigan farmer last week.  They weren’t pretty and had various skin flaws, but the taste was exquisite.  Sadly there won’t be many available.   Michigan had summer-like temperatures in March which caused the cherry, peach, and apple trees to sprout, and then April brought some below-freezing nights that killed off the buds.  This year’s production is expected to be 3 million bushels instead of 23 million.

Red, yellow or green, now is the time for us to enjoy this limited harvest.  What variety will you choose and in what form?