Sometimes I joke that we really moved back to Oregon for the fresh, local produce. This summer we picked our fair share of berries, and now that autumn’s here it’s apple season! Coming from Montana where gardening is HARD and a bag of organic apples costs more than a family pack of steaks, it’s a bit of a novelty I no longer take for granted.
When my newlywed great-grandparents moved to the fertile Willamette Valley from the arid dustbowl of the 1930’s, they immediately went to work picking apples side by side in the prolific orchards.
Nearly ninety years later, my much older sister seems to have inherited the apple gene… lending a hand each harvest on her friend’s century farm, she’s become a veritable apple aficionado. One of the many perks of living next door to her is sharing in her apple bounty and our ongoing apple-education. Did you know that some apple varieties are better for pies or applesauce than others, and some can keep all winter long if stored properly? Whatever you do, don’t say your favorite is Fuji. We recently enjoyed a sunny field trip to Beilke Family Farm to tour orchard operations and U-pick a bucket.
As apples are synonymous with autumn and schoolin’, this was a perfect fall field trip. Let’s hope an apple a day does keep the doctor away!
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