New York State Apples: From Tree to Hand

Apples Schmapples

This fall when fighting traffic to get out of the city for some serious apple picking, I hope you get a chance to visit Fishkill Farms, Mead Orchards or Montgomery Place Orchards.

Usually anywhere from 5 to 10 dollars for a sizeable bag will get you about 20 apples. Where people often fall short is the unfortunate picking of the tasteless apple.  Yes, they do exist.  Primarily used for cider’s and baked goods, there are a lot that stand on their own for a simple snack.

So it is important to know when picking through rows and rows of apple trees which variety you should concentrate on.

New York State has about 50 varieties amongst the hundreds that exist in our country today, believe it or not.

The tastiest I have come across for pulling right off the tree and hiding from the rest of the tourists, hunkered down under a tree like a thief in the night, are as follows:

• ·      Braeburn
• ·      Camero
• ·      Cortlandt
• ·      Empire
• ·      Fuji
• ·      Gala
• ·      Golden Delicious
• ·      Granny Smith

These are just a few of what you can find upstate. Eating out of hand or paired with some cheese, you maybe bold to set up a picnic in the middle of the orchard, be my guest and please send photos.

Note: In fact, all the apples listed above were engineered over the past hundred years by farmer’s.

For example, on February 12^th 2016 Cosmic Crisp entered the apple family. Farmer’s have recently been partnering with universities to get these new varieties.

So when enjoying that apple pie this Fourth of July, remember the apple picking season is just a few months away.