| Apples |
| The apple buds are swelling. We will have an incredible apple bloom this year... and will try to get some pictures up. A good bloom means, if all else goes well, a large crop. But, as they say in baseball: it's a long season. See you the first of September at Farmers' Markets with apples. Bill & Maggie Hein |
| Apple Varieties in the Straight River Farm Orchard Zestar! -- August 20-25 -- a sweet-tart flavor and crisp texture that most early apples can't match. With a bit of brown sugar flavor -- you're going to love this apple! A great choice for sugar-free applesauce, pies & crisps. Excellent dried. Ginger Gold -- August 20-25 -- a crispy, early golden -- with a special sweet & spicy flavor that makes it great for baking or drying, and a treat for fresh eating. Chestnut Crab -- August 25-30 -- a large, sweet crab with great crunch & a nutty, mild flavor -- perfectly sized for the lunch box or a quick snack. Sweet Sixteen -- September 15. Rosy red striped skin covers a sweet, crispy apple with cherry undertones. An all-round apple for fresh eating and cooking, we added it to the orchard by popular demand. Cortland -- September 15. An old variety with a bit of tartness & very white flesh that is slow to brown. This is a great salad apple & also popular for sauce and baking. SweeTango -- September 1-8. A newer variety developed by the U of MN. It should ripen between Zestar! and Honeycrisp -- its parent apples. The complex flavor of Zestar! combined with the crispness of Honeycrisp should make SweeTango a popular apple. We hope to have a small harvest in 2013. Honeycrisp -- September 15-20. A mid-season favorite that set a new standard for fresh eating apples. Honeycrisp is sweet, juicy, amazingly crisp, and keeps well for weeks in the refrigerator. Try a locally grown Honeycrisp to discover the difference 2000 miles can make. Honeygold -- September 20-30. A late golden apple that is sweet, juicy & mild for fresh eating, good for baking, and excellent dried for a healthy snack. Haralson -- September 25--October 1. Haralson are crisp, juicy, and tart. This is the ultimate pie, crisp, or sauce apple for our family & the preferred fresh eating apple for our daughter, who insists everything else is just too sweet. Haralson freezes & cans very well and is great fresh eating for those who like a tart apple. Regent -- October 1-5. A Minnesota developed late season favorite -- sweet with just a hint of tartness for fresh eating, baking, sauce & drying. A firm apple that keeps well 6-8 weeks, or more, in the home refrigerator. Keepsake -- mid-October. Keepsake has a sweet, tropical flavor, is very firm, great for fresh eating & cooking, and will keep, in a refrigerator, virtually all winter. |
| Apples by the numbers Apple varieties vary in weight, so all weights are approximate. 3 medium apples = 1 lb. 1 pound peeled & sliced apples = 2 3/4 cups. 1/4 peck of apples = 2.5-3 lb. medium apples. 1/2 peck of apples = 5-6 lb. 1 peck of apples = 10-12 lb. 1/2 bushel of apples = 20-24 lb. 1 bushel of apples = 40-48 lb. 1/2 peck of apples (5-6 lb.) makes 5 pints of applesauce. 1/2 bushel of apples makes 8-10 quarts of applesauce. 1 bushel of apples makes 15-20 quarts of applesauce. 5-7 medium apples makes 1 9-inch pie. 1/2 peck apples yields about 8 cups jelly. |
| Updated May 12, 2013 |
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| Directions to and times for farmers' markets we attend can be found on these websites: www.stpaulfarmersmarket.com www.midtownfarmersmarket.org www.thevillagefarmersmarket.org http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/wellness/nutrition/farmersmarket/ www.minnesotagrown.com If you want to buy a bushel or more of any apple variety, please send us an email -- info@straightriverfarm.com -- or leave a phone message -- 507-334-2226. |
