Pickup #5

Out on a Limb Apple CSA Newsletter

Wednesday,October 28^th

Smokehouse

Fall/Winter. Seedling of Vandevere. Lampeter Township, PA, about 1800. All-purpose apple still quite popular in Pennsylvania and occasionally grown in central Maine.  Most admired as a culinary variety, particularly for pies.  Medium-large roundish-oblate mildly flavored delicately aromatic tart fruit. Andrew Jackson Downing, in his 1845 Fruits and Fruit Trees of America calls it a “rather rich subacid.”  I like its subtle flavor right off the tree. Although its name comes from having originated adjacent to William Gibbons’ smokehouse, the fruit looks smoky, colored with a muted blend of yellows, greens and a reddish-brown blush. The long willowy branched tree bears large crops annually and is easily recognized in the orchard. Keeps well into late winter. Best grown in zones 4-6.

Spencer

Late Fall/winter.  Summerland S-5-4 (McIntosh x Golden Delicious) Canada Dept. Agr. Res. Sta., British Columbia, 1959.  This relatively unknown dessert apple has an avid following of commercial and home orchardists here in Maine and throughout the Northeast. The large, oblong conic yellow fruit  blushed with light scarlet red is crisp, firm, juicy and very sweet.  According to grower Phil Norris, it has “all the spriteliness of Golden Delicious combined with the incomparable sweet-tart ambrosia of a perfectly ripe Mac.” It ripens after McIntosh and keeps relatively well.  The tree is vigorous, upright-spreading, and annually bearing, although it has a reputation of being somewhat slow to fruit. Best grown in zones 4-6.

Tolman Sweet

Fall-Early Winter. Unknown parentage. Sometimes called Talman Sweet and numerous variations thereof. Possibly from Dorchester, MA, it is an extremely old variety. One of the first American apples, and one of the few to remain popular for centuries, it is one of the true classic American varieties. 200 years ago it was often used as rootstock for other old varieties.  Truly an all-purpose fruit, used for cooking, dessert and even animal fodder. Once popular for “pickling, boiling and baking.” Its rich creamy sauce cooks slowly with skin that mostly breaks up and disappears.  The sauce is said to be medicinal when cooked with milk! Recently I’ve been told that, despite its relatively small size, it makes a superior baked apple when cored and stuffed with spices.  Eaten fresh, it may have the most recognizable flavor of any apple; an interesting and peculiar strange sweet taste that once tried is not forgotten—though some like it and some don’t!  The moderately juicy, medium-sized, greenish-yellow fruit is often marked by a “suture” line running from top to bottom and sometimes has a bit of a brownish blush. Long-lived heavy-bearing medium-sized vigorous tree, it is still quite common in small old central Maine farm orchards.   Best grown in zones 4-6.

Twenty Ounce

Fall-early winter. Uncertain origin. About1844. All-purpose variety, recommended for pies and sauce, though not generally a dessert fruit.
It is a very large attractive red fruit, with an interesting mildly tart taste and firm white flesh. Known to produce apples as big as a baby’s head—sometimes the eponymous twenty ounces! Hardy, long-lived, healthy, moderately vigorous tree with rather stocky growth and upcurving branches. Best grown in zones 3-5.

Featured Variety Profile: Gray Pearmain:

Late Fall. Unknown origin. Dessert (fresh eating) apple.  Pear-like, juicy and mildly tart.  Reminds me of Bosc pear. Also produces good juice.  The Oxford English dictionary defines “Pearmain” as “An old variety of baking pear” or “Any of several varieties of apple with firm white flesh.”  The most famous Pearmain is “Blue Pearmain” which we plan to offer in our final week.  The are many others, including American Summer Pearmain, Autumn Pearmain, Clark Pearmain, Davenport Pearmain, English Summer Pearmain, French Pearmain, Long Island Pearmain, Long Red Pearmain, New York Pearmain, Orange Pearmain, Orne Royal Pearmain, Oxford Pearmain, Red Pearmain,  Russet Pearmain,  Sebasticook Pearmain, Striped Pearmain, Summer Pearmain, Sweet Pearmain, Winter Pearmian,  and Winthrop Pearmain.

Although “Gray Pearmain” is one of the most popular of the many unusual varieties Steve and Marilyn Meyerhans grow at the Apple Farm in Fairfield, we can find no reference to it in any old books or other pomological literature.  It might be a local synonym for another variety, as many apples had different names in different locations.  Some are variations on a theme while others could be quite radically different. The famous New York apple, Newtown Pippin, for example, is equally famous in Virginia where it is known as Albemarle Pippin.  Maybe “Gray Pearmain” is a synonym for one of the other Pearmains listed above? We may never know.  The apple might also be something of Royal Wentworth’s (the previous owner of the Meyerhans’ orchard) own creation, a seedling perhaps that he discovered and named himself. There were five or six Gray Pearmain trees in Wentworth’s orchard when the Meyerhans purchased it over thirty years ago. Those trees were already 40 or 50 years old at that time.  Unfortunately they never thought to ask the soft-spoken Wentworth about the apple.  I’ve been

trying to determine its true identity for years, with no luck yet.  Now that Wentworth has passed away, the apple may forever remain a mystery!

Gray Pearmain is medium-sized, oblate, obscurely ribbed, and muffin-shaped, with firm white flesh. The skin is a soft opaque greenish-yellow with a rosy pink blush, a bit of a russet veil, and a grayish bloom.  The fruit is very good for fall and winter use, as it will store reasonably well (although it may shrivel a bit, like a Golden Russet.) The tree itself is annually bearing, very manageable, medium sized and spreading. Not hard to grow.  Best grown in zones 4-6.

-John

Cammy’s Favorite Baked Apples:

Ingredients:

* /4 cup (1/2 stick) plus 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

* 1/4 cup dark rum

* 1/4 cup apple juice or cider

* 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

* 2 large egg yolks

* 1 tablespoon whipping cream

* 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

* 2 teaspoons all purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

* 1/2 cup almonds, toasted, finely chopped

* 6 pitted dates, chopped

* 4 apples (about 2 pounds)

* Additional melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix 1/4 cup butter, rum and juice in 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Mix sugar, egg yolks, 1 tablespoon cream, ginger, flour, lemon peel and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in small bowl until smooth. Mix in almonds and dates.

Using melon baller, scoop out stem end and entire core of apples, being careful to leave bottom intact. Using vegetable peeler, remove 1-inch-wide strip of peel from around top of cavity. Pack cavities to top with almond mixture. Arrange apples in prepared dish. Brush exposed apple surfaces with additional melted butter.

Bake until tester inserted into apple meets little resistance, basting occasionally with juices and covering loosely with foil if filling is browning too quickly, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.        

Grower Profile:

Superchilly Farm, Palermo, Maine

John Bunker and Cammy Watts grow apples, pears, plums and cherries on Super Chilly Farm in Palermo.  Founded in 1972, the farm’s specialty is a collection of rare and historic apple varieties, at last count well over 200.  Many of the varieties originated in Maine, from York County to The County.  John and Cammy think of the farm less as a commercial orchard and more as a repository for rare and endangered varieties.  Two of their favorites are Winekist and Frostbite (MN 447).  The Super Chilly specimens are the primary source material (scionwood) for the stock planted at MOFGA and as well as that sold through the Fedco catalog. The farm also features small fruits, vegetables and ornamentals, many of which also appear in the Fedco Trees catalog.   The farm does not have regular business hours but is always open by appointment.  The best time to visit is in the summer when everything looks good!

 

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.”

-mark twain

outonalimbcsa@gmail.com

Just a reminder that we are offering limited run, pre-order only, Out on a Limb T-shirts and Aprons–to be printed this Wednesday at Liberty Graphics, and delivered at the next pickup!

If you would like to order anything, let us know via email by Tuesday.  (If we may be so bold as to suggest…the perfect holiday gift for the fruit-lover in your life?)

The shirts are Ecru, with the Out on a Limb graphic of the man picking apples (which is seen above, here on the blog) on the front in black, except for the apples, which are in red. Underneath the image is the Mark Twain quote, “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.”

Sizes:

Unisex  – S, M, L, XL
“Ladies” (more fitted, with scooped neck) – S, M

The aprons are a light canvas in “retro khaki” and have ties at the waist and neck.  One-size-fits-all.

All T-shirts are $12.50, aprons are $15.75.  You may pay with a check when you pick them up, or by a paypal payment sent to: Outonalimbcsa@gmail.com

Pickup #4

Out on a Limb Apple CSA Newsletter Wednesday, October 14^th

Tidbits we forgot to put in the newsletter:

-All of the apples this week were Certified Organic.

-Hang on those Keepsakes as long as you can–in the root celler if you’ve got one, but you could also keep them in the fridge.  As the name implies, they will get better the longer you hold on to ‘em, up until about January!

Connell Red

Uncertain origin, W.F. Connell introduction, Menomonie, WI, 1957. All-purpose apple.  Large very, solid bright red oblate-conic fruit sprinkled with pinpoint white dots. Juicy, distinctively flavored flesh. Keeps in well in the Fridge (or the root cellar until April or even May.) The accepted story has always been that Connell Red resulted from a bud sport (mutation) of the excellent Minnesota winter apple Fireside. Recent evidence seems to disprove that allegation. It now appears that the variety originated as a seedling rather than a bud sport in an orchard not very far away, but across the border in Wisconsin. Another mystery solved? Maybe…maybe not. Blooms mid-season. Best grown in zones 3-5.

Keepsake

Winter. MN 1593 (MN 447 x Northern Spy). U Minn, 1979. All purpose variety.  Aptly named fruit keeps until late spring in the root cellar. Light yellow very fine-textured flesh is hard, crisp, juicy and sweet. Excellent aromatic flavor, but you may need to wait at least a month after picking. David Bedford of the Minnesota Horticultural Research Center said, “The completely unique flavor percolates up your nose.… If you can’t stand the looks, just close your eyes when you eat it!” The irregular conic medium-sized fruit is almost entirely overlaid with stripes and a wash of very deep red. Moderately vigorous medium-sized tree usually bears annual crops. A northern grower on the North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) email discussion group called it, “My most agreeable, reliable, grower overwhelmingly friendly apple. I have to thin the whoopee out of it every year. Big fruit. Big taste. Keepsake! Keepsake! Keepsake!” A “child” of Frostbite (MN 447) and recently discovered to be one of the parents of the sensational Honeycrisp. Blooms late. Best grown in zones 3-5.

Liberty

Late Summer-Fall. NY 55140-19 [Macoun x PRI 54-12 (PRI Coop complex cross includes Rome Beauty, Jersey Black, McIntosh, Wealthy and M. floribunda)]. NY Stn, 1978. Ripe right now and very good for fresh eating.  This is a dessert fruit! Good for sauce and cider as well. Often cited as the best of the recently developed “disease-resistant” varieties, particularly in the Northeast. Somewhat similar to Macoun. (What do you think?) Handsome medium-sized round-conic bluish-pinkish-red apple with crisp white flesh when dead ripe. Keeps for only a week or two, so eat them up fairly soon. Begins fruit production at an early age, bearing consistent heavy annual crops. Naturally well-structured sturdy tree is easy to care for. Considered to be 100% scab-immune, though not resistant to insects or other lesser apple diseases. Best grown in zones 4-6.

Pomme Grise

Early Fall. Unknown origin. Dessert fruit.  Probably brought to the St. Lawrence Valley in Canada by French immigrants and may have originated in Europe as early as the 17th c. Found its way into Maine about 150 years ago. Medium-small oblate “russet ” with a well-deserved longtime reputation as one of the very best dessert apples. Firm, crisp, juicy, rich, sub-acid and aromatic.  The greenish skin is completely covered with a chalky russet, sometimes with a red blush. The combination of the chalky russet and the green ground color give it its grey (“grise” in french) appearance. Vigorous dense round spreading annual-bearing, productive tree prefers northern locations. Keeps fairly well some years. Best grown in zones 3 and 4

Wolf River

Fall. Alexander seedling. Near Wolf River, WI, 1875. Most suited for “baked apples” and for drying, though some like it in a pie.  Perhaps the most famous old-time apple in Maine, likely due to its catchy name and its extremely large—even huge—round-oblate fruit. Pale yellow-green skin mostly covered with pink, deep red and bright crimson. Almost always has a vivid yellowish-greenish russety splash around the stem. Creamy-white coarse firm-but-tender flesh. Aromatic subacid flavor is very good for cooking.  Not much good for fresh eating (though some people love it), but particularly tasty when dried. I cut full slices right across the core and place them on a screen above the wood stove. They dry in a couple of days. Keeps until late fall. Large moderately vigorous productive spreading tree. Excellent scab resistance. Blooms midseason.   Best grown in zones 3-5.

Featured Variety Profile: Frostbite(Minnasota-447)

Fall-Winter. Malinda open pollinated. U Minn, 2007. Two apples that I’ve enjoyed a great deal over the years have been Sweet 16 and Keepsake.  Being the inquisitive sort, I wanted to know the parentage of both.  As relatively recent introductions, that information was available.  The parents for both are identical, the famous Northern Spy (to be in the CSA soon) and something with the unimaginative name of “Minnesota 447″.  After a bit of research, I learned that “MN 447″ was a “chance seedling” (ie random seedling) discovered in the University of Minnesota breeding farm with the reputation of being one of the weirdest apples of all times.  I had to have it!  I wrote to David Bedford at UMN, requesting “scionwood” to graft a tree of my own.  He discouraged me saying that it didn’t even taste like an apple. He also said that they had no intention of ever “releasing it,” so it would be left in obscurity forever.  I now wanted it all the more!  After signing a “non-propagation agreement” (promising never to make additional trees) the University sent me cuttings, and about ten years ago, I grafted a tree in our orchard.  It grew quickly and fruited in about 2002 or 3.  I loved it.

I consider Minnesota 447 to be one of the most distinctive and unusual apples I’ve ever tried. Astonished friends have described its flavor as strange, molasses, olives, fabulous, sweet, complex and “like sugar cane.”  The aromatic crisp crystalline flesh is an apricot-orange color with occasional red staining, so juicy it’ll run down your hand. While some people do really like the odd flavor, others do not.  It has elicited some strong opinions -both positive and negative- over the past few years.  We hope that you will tell us yours.  I began a mission to convince David Bedford and the university to name it and release it.  They finally agreed to do so about two years ago.  They had a contest to name it and came up with Frostbite.  Not my favorite name, but now it is out in the trade.  We sell the trees through Fedco and I’m glad that it’s finally available.

We are beefing up production in our orchard, but unfortunately, supply is still pretty limited.  That’s why you only get a taste at Rabelais when you pick up your order.  We plan to have lots of them to offer in the future.  Not recommended for warmer districts. Blooms midseason. Best grown in zones 4-6.

-John

Recipe: Fried Apples ‘n’ Onions

He knelt on the ice, pushing sawdust into the cracks with his mittened hands, and pounding it down with a stick as fast as he could, and he asked Royal:

“What would you like best to eat?”

They talked about spareribs, and turkey with dressing, and baked beans, and crackling cornbread, and other good things. But Almanzo said that what he liked most in the world was fried apples’n’onions.

When, at last, they went in to dinner, there on the table was a big dish of them! Mother knew what he liked best, and she had cooked it for him.  Almanzo ate four large helpings of apples’n’onions fried together.

-From Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

When I was about six, and in the deepest thicket of my obsession with “The Little House Books,” I begged my mom to make “Fried Apples ‘n’ Onions, just like in Farmer Boy!” Being an unabashed Little House fan herself, she was happy to humor me.  Turns out, it was a tasty enough dish to make repeat appearances at the supper (or even breakfast) table.  She went on to buy me The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Classic Stories (Harper Collins, 1989) from which I faithfully transcribe below the recipe for Fried Apples ‘n’ Onions, just like Almanzo ate.  The only note I will add is that if, unlike Almanzo, you are a vegetarian, use butter for the fat and throw in a bit of salt.

This is a “country” dish, seldom mentioned in cookbooks but recalled by many oldtimers. Some feel the sugar essential,         others call it “a sin.”

For six servings you will need:

Bacon or Salt Pork, 1/2 pound, sliced

Yellow Onions, 6, 2 pounds

Tart Apples, 6, 2 pounds

Brown Sugar, 2 Tablespoons

Skillet, 12 inch, with cover; apple slicer

Fry bacon or salt pork slices in the skillet until brown and crisp.  Set them aside on a warm serving platter.  While the meat is frying, peel the onions, leaving the stems to use for slicing.  To prevent eyes from watering, hold a slice of bread in your teeth while you slice onions as thin as possible.  Discard stems.

Core the apples and cut them crosswise in slices about 1/4 inch thick.  Apple skins help the slices keep their shape and add color to the dish, so don’t peel unless the skins are tough or scarred.  Drain all but one tablespoon of fat from the skillet, then add the onion slices. Cook them over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.  Cover with apple slices in an even layer.  Sprinkle brown sugar over all, cover the skillet, and cook until tender, a few minutes more.  Stir only to prevent scorching.  Remove to the warm plate with the bacon or salt pork slices.

-Cassie

Grower Profile:

Wulf’s Orchard, Ward Road, Unity Maine.

Howard Wulf has been growing apples and pears in Unity for the last two decades.  His orchard features an assortment of newly bred varieties and heirlooms.  He has probably the most extensive pear collection in Maine.  Although small compared to the other orchards we have featured in the CSA, Howard grows some of my most favorite varieties.  In particular, he was the one who introduced me to the best of the new Minnesota varieties.  Central Maine owes it to Howard for bringing Sweet 16, Chestnut and Keepsake to the area.  He has been incredibly generous to me with his time, fruit and scionwood over the years.  Located just about two miles from MOFGA’s Common Ground Fair Grounds, the certified organic orchard is open most days in the fall.  However, Howard is only there “hit or miss,” and there is no phone at the orchard.  If you want to visit, try early in the morning on a sunny day.  Your best bet for purchasing his apples would be to attend the Great Maine Apple Day at MOFGA on Saturday October 24th.  (See details)

-John

Upcoming event: Great Maine Apple Day

Please come to the Great Maine Apple Day at MOFGA on Saturday October 24^th.  The annual event features multiple educational displays, workshops, cider pressing, informational tables, Maine apple-related products and Maine apples for sale.  Check out mofga.org for more details.  We hope to see you there!                                                                                                      

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.”

-mark twain

outonalimbcsa@gmail.com

Pickup #3…

…we enter the heart of apple season.

Out on a Limb Apple CSA Newsletter

Wednesday, September 30th

Alexander

Fall. Unknown parentage. Ukraine, c 1700. Originally known as Aporta. Redubbed Alexander in honor of the Czar Alexander I (1777-1825). First arrived in the U.S. in 1835, quickly spreading north. Very large—often huge—round-conic pale yellow fruit, faintly red-striped in the shade and brightly blushed orange-red in the sun. Distinctly more conic than its famous oblate child, Wolf River. Firm coarse tender slightly tart juicy flesh, best know for its cooking qualities, although also quite good for tart fresh eating. Long famous in Aroostook County and other northern areas where it can be picked over a several week period. The vigorous upright spreading tree bears young and is a good cropper. Comes fairly true to type from seed, so there may be many strains out there. Best grown in zones 3-4.

Cox’s Orange Pippin

Fall. Possibly a seedling of Ribston Pippin. Near Slough, Bucks, England, around 1825. Deservedly one of the most famous of all apples, and one of the best of all dessert apples.  (A dessert apple, by the way, simply means an apple you eat fresh, not cooked. We call this kind of eating, “eating out of hand,” or  “fresh eating” or “dessert fruit.”)  Cox is also the parent of many other great varieties. Revered in the U.K, its medium-sized all-purpose aromatic fruit is red-orange to red with russet striping and wash. (“All purpose” meaning it is also good for cooking.)  Perfectly balanced slightly tart flavor and crisp juicy tender flesh improve with storage. Moderately vigorous moderately productive tree bears young and annually. Best grown in zones 4-6.

Macoun

Fall. (McIntosh x Jersey Black) NY Stn, 1923. Named after Canadian fruit grower W.T. Macoun, it was first introduced in 1923, and has been regarded as one of the finest eating apples in the Northeast. This is a dessert apple with a near cult following even though practically no one seems to know how to pronounce the name. (It rhymes with town, not tune!!)  Also makes a very good sauce.  Many people live for Macoun season.  Medium-sized ribbed lobed truncate fruit, a dark purplish-red blush mostly covers the green skin. The very white flesh is crisp but not really hard, and very juicy. The rich flavor is sweet and aromatic. Best grown in zones 4-6.

Spartan

Fall.  (McIntosh x Newtown Pippin.)  R.C.Palmer / A.J.Mann intorduction, Canada Department of Agriculture Reserach Station, Summerland, British Columbia, 1936. Very good flavored dessert (fresh eating) fruit, somewhat similar to McIntosh. Firm, crisp, white, juicy flesh. Medium sized, dark red fruit that ripens about the time of McIntosh.  Occasionally grown commercially often with an enthusiastic following.  The McIntosh flavor is greatly enhanced by Newtown Pippin.  Newtown, which is also called Albemarle Pippin in Viginia, is one of the great classic American varieties.  Keeps until winter. The vigorous tree bears regularly and heavily though is scab susceptible. Best grown in zones 4-8.

Featured Variety Profile

Sweet Sixteen:

Early Fall. MN 1630 (MN447 x Northern Spy) U Minn, 1979.

Whenever anyone eats a Sweet 16 for the first time, you know they will be surprised. Fine-textured crisp flesh contains an astounding unusually complex combination of sweet nutty and spicy flavors with slight anise essence, sometimes described as cherry, vanilla or even bourbon. We always love Sweet 16 season. Truly excellent fresh eating, although it is too sweet for some palates.  Some people like to cook with it as well.  See what you think.  Round-conic bronze-red medium-sized fruit, striped and washed with rose-red. Annual bearer if thinned.

For the first 250 years of European immigration in North America, most apples originated as seedlings in farmers’ orchards and pastures.  Every seedling is unique, and most farmers planted all apples from seed.  Every year new discoveries were made and the best were named and then propagated by grafting.  By the mid-nineteenth century, there were thousands of named American apples.  All the classic American varieties originated by this method, including McIntosh, Delicious, Golden Delicious, Baldwin, Northern Spy, Golden Russet and many many more.   Towards the end of the nineteenth century, farms became less diverse and more specialized.  The practice of propagation of apples from seed declined and the new land grant universities took over the plant breeding from American farmers.

These days, most of those “new” university programs themselves are gone and, especially in the north, very little plant breeding is being done any more.  One bright exception to that trend is the University of Minnesota.  They are recently famous as the place where “Honeycrisp” was bred.  But they are also responsible over the past hundred years for many other well-known apples, pears, cherries, plums, small fruits and vegetables.  “Chestnut”, featured in CSA delivery #2 and “Sweet Sixteen” are two of our favorites of the Minnesota (MN) introductions. Minnesota’s most famous apple, Haralson, originated at the University. Sweet Sixteen’s parentage include Northern Spy and MN 447 (Both to be in future CSA deliveries). Sweet Sixteen’s intense unusual flavor comes from MN 447, now known as “Frostbite”.

Sweet Sixteen grows into a very hardy moderate-sized vigorous vase-shaped upright tree with willowy branches that get loaded with fruit but do not break. Grower-friendly. Reaches its best flavor and texture in northern districts. Some resistance to scab. Keeps till midwinter. Blooms midseason.  Best grown in zones 3-5.

-John

A Note About Apple Surface Quality:

All of the apples we provide are grown by highly reputable Maine growers.  Some of the apples are grown organically while others are grown with “IPM,” Integrated Pest Management.  Both methods seek to reduce treatments for insects and disease to the absolute minimum.  Some of the Out on A Limb apples are therefore more cosmetically flawless than others.  Don’t be deceived, even the more blemished apples should taste great and even the cosmetically perfect ones will be good for you!

-Cassie & John

“German Apple Pancake,” “Apfel Pfannekuchen” or “Apple Dutch Baby:”

Growing up my mom often made us something she called “Dutch Baby”—a fluffy-on-top custardy-on-the bottom eggy pancake baked in a cast iron skillet in the oven, which we split open and smeared w/ plenty of butter, jam, cinnamon-sugar, or maple syrup.  This summer a friend took me to his favorite childhood breakfast spot, a branch of Portland OR’s “The Original Pancake House” on Chicago’s South Side.  The Apple Pancake I had there was a revelation.  Similar to my childhood Dutch Baby, but with a sweet, sticky, cinnamon-y mass of caramelized apples baked into it—so delicious I burned my mouth repeatedly, unable to wait for it to cool after its date with the piping hot skillet.  Back home we experimented with and tweaked my mom’s Dutch Baby recipe until we came up with our own version of what the Germans call “Apfel Pfannekuchen.”  A tremendous way to start a weekend morning, this could easily be re-envisioned as a dessert—just think of it as a variation on Tarte Tatin or Apple Upside Down Cake!

-Preheat the oven to 400°

-Core and slice about 4 apples (enough to cover the bottom of a 12 inch skillet.) Mix together 1/2 – 2/3 cup of sugar with about 2 tsps cinnamon and a bit of ground nutmeg and clove.  Toss the apple slices in this mixture to coat.

-Separate 3 eggs.  Combine the yolks with 1 1/4 cups milk, 1 whole egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp lemon zest (optional), 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 1 cup flour in a blender or bowl and blend until smooth

-In a heavy ovenproof skillet (cast iron if you have it) melt about 5 Tbsp of butter, and add the sugared apples.  Cook over medium heat until the apples are tender and caramelized and the sugar and butter form a sticky sauce.

-While the apples are cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into milk/flour mixture.

-Dot another tablespoon or two of butter into the skillet, and rub a bit of butter around the pan’s edges (this will help ensure that the pancake releases from the skillet,) then pour the batter over the apples. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean.

-Slide a knife around the pan to loosen the edges of the pancake.  Invert a large plate or platter over the skillet, and flip the skillet upside down onto the plate.  Eat with any and all of your favorite breakfast toppings.

-Cassie

Grower Profile:

Sandy River Orchard orchard was originally planted in about 1906.  Francis Fenton’s father planted primarily Wealthy trees at that time.  About twenty of those orginal Wealthy trees still stand, carefully pruned over the years and still bearing good crops annually.  Only a few other trees remain from the early orchard.  After living in San Diego for many years, Francis returned to Mercer in the early 1970’s and began to renovate the orchard, grafting and planting many of the old heirloom varieties he found in the surrounding area.  His collection now includes over 100 varieties.  Some are fairly well known such as Golden Russet and Northern Spy, while others are very obscure such as Scott’s Winter, Fallawater, Black Gilliflower and Smokehouse. I have been to the orchard many many times. There I have been introduced to dozens of varieties over the years. Franics has been tremendously generous with his time, scionwood and fruit.  If you’ve ever seen the apple display at the Fedco Booth at Common Ground Fair, many of those apples came from his orchard.  Now at age 94 Francis can still be found out in the orchard almost every day all fall. These days he receives a great deal of help from his daughter Carol Gilbert.  The beautiful orchard is open every day and is easy to find. It’s just a couple of miles north of Rte 2 in Mercer.  Follow the signs to Sandy River Road.  Don’t bother calling – Carol and Francis are probably out among the trees.

-John

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.”

-mark twain

outonalimbcsa@gmail.com

Pickup #2!

It’s round two of the CSA and we’re getting in the swing of things: figuring out how much time to allow ourselves to both pick the apples AND chat with the orchardists, how best to load 14 bushels into the truck with minimal bruising of fruit, how many pies one can make (and eat) in a week…  And now that fall is really truly here (well, autumn equinox is tomorrow, but that crisp air is already here) things are just gearing up for the apple season!  Hope you are enjoying this week’s pomological cast of characters, and here’s the scoop in e-form:

Out on a Limb Apple CSA Newsletter

Wednesday, September 16^th

We are focusing on some of the best of the early fall apples in this second delivery.  Chestnut is a small apple, usually thought of as a crab apple.  (Generally a crab apple is defined as an apple of 2″ diameter or less.)  Chestnut is one of the absolute best of the early season fresh eating apples.  Don’t be deceived by the size—one bite should tell all!  Red Gravenstein is a redder “sport” of Gravenstein, which is often thought of as the best pie apple there is.   Wealthy is the second great pie apple of the Gravenstein season, and some people prefer it to Gravenstein.  St Lawrence is one of the best of the sauce apples. Winekist will be a big surprise when you slice it, wait to do so until your friends or family are gathered around.  Enjoy!

Red Gravenstein

Late Summer. Uncertain Italian or German origin, 17th century or earlier. The most famous of all pie apples. There are numerous strains of Gravenstein; this mostly deep solid purple-red strain can be found in old orchards in southern Maine. Mary Jones used this Red Gravenstein from Sweetser’s Orchard in Cumberland to win the Maine State Pie Championship a few years ago. She told me it’s “sweet but very hard to describe…real nice…full-bodied…wonderful flavor.” Ripens earlier than most cooking apples, over the course of several weeks so you don’t have to deal with them all at once, but they don’t keep well. It’s a minor miracle that Mary “somehow saved them until January for the State Championship.” See more on Gravenstein in John’s variety profile below! Best grown in zones 4-8.

St Lawrence

Early fall. Thought to be a Fameuse seedling from Canada, 19th century or possibly much earlier. Recommended early all purpose variety for colder districts. Medium-sized roundish fruit. Always easily recognized for its light green skin, very distinctly striped with dark red—once you see this apple you’ll never forget it. Tender mildly tart flesh easily cooks down to a tasty sauce. This apple has some scattered commercial popularity in northern districts, and is very hardy. Like most other early season varieties, it is not a storage apple. Best grown in zones 3-5.

Chestnut

Early Fall. MN 240 (Malinda x open-pollinated) U Minn, 1946. A lot of people love this apple. Small golf-ball-sized fruit with truly excellent fresh eating qualities. Yellow and bronze-red skin with some russeting. Firm crisp juicy fine-grained very sweet yellowish flesh. The apple version of “Sun Gold” tomatoes. For a growing number of people in central Maine, mid-late September is Chestnut apple time. Every year we put out a bushel a day at Fedco’s booth at the Common Ground Fair and watch them disappear. Neophytes often look at the fruit with disdain. Most however take one bite and their frowns turn to smiles. (For some, despite its crispness and depth of flavor, it is too sweet.) Chestnut needs no sugar to make a sweet and subtle sauce. Not a great keeper, but can be stored for a month or so. Grows best is zones 3-5.

Wealthy

Fall. Cherry crab seedling. Excelsior, MN, 1860. A Maine native of sorts, the seed having come from Bangor. Superb all-purpose fall apple, one of the most famous of all hardy varieties. With its perfect texture and complex flavors, Wealthy is considered to be one of the best apples. I agree. Our old friend, long-time orchardist Francis Fenton, believes Wealthy—not McIntosh—deserves to be the favorite commercial apple of northern New England. The trees his father planted in Mercer 104 years ago are still going strong. Round-oblate medium-sized fruit is pale greenish-yellow streaked with carmine. Tender very juicy sweet tart flesh is white, often stained red, about as firm as McIntosh. When very ripe they have a rich—almost spicy flavor. Good eating and even better cooking. Wonderful pies! Good acid source for fermented cider. Ripens over a long period. Best grown in zones 3-4.

Winekist

Late Summer. Unknown parentage. Winthrop, ME, 20th c. Medium-sized red-fleshed apple with quite good—though tart—flavor. Cassie thinks it tastes like cranberries. Fruit is medium-sized and wine-red with areas and stripes of darker red and very small white dots; the overall effect is dark red. Very juicy coarse flesh is almost solid beet-red: a real eye popper! Many people love it for fresh eating, and it is also a great addition to cider or sauce. Though we only had one knobbly speciman to give each of you, picked from the tree by John’s front door, we thought you would want the chance to taste this rare apple, which unfortunately is not commercially available (though we hope to change that!) Winekist is one of three varieties introduced by the late Morris Towle who lived and collected rare apples in and around Winthrop ME during the middle of the 20th century. (The other two varieties were named for his daughter: one is called Sweet Sal and the other, Sour Sal!) Though not open to the public, much of his collection still exists in Winthrop. Best grown in zones 4-7.

Featured Variety Profile: Gravenstein

c. By John Bunker

Gravenstein is one of the very oldest varieties still existant. It is of uncertain Italian or German origin.  It may be an ancient Italian variety called Ville Blanc that was brought to the castle of Graafsten in Slesvig, Germany (now South Jutland, Denmark) in the late 16th century.  It may have originated in the garden of the Duke of Augustinberg at the castle of Grafenstein in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany  (Just south of modern Denmark). It may be a German apple once known as Grevans apfel (Earls apple). It may also be a Russian import.

Gravenstein was probably first brought to the eastern US from Europe in about 1826, and to California by the Russians in about 1820.  Considered the “King of Apples” in northern Germany as early as 1788, and still common throughout Germany, Sweden and Denmark.  It is the leading commercial variety in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, and is grown commercially in western Washington, Oregon and in California’s Sonoma County where there is even a Gravenstein Highway and an annual Gravenstein festival in August.  Still found in Maine dooryards and orchards, it was once grown extensively throughout most of Maine, as far north as southern Aroostook County.  By 1880 it was the most popular apple of its season in Maine.

Gravenstein is probably the most famous of all summer apples and deservedly so.  Medium to large fruit, irregularly round, asymetrical, usually ribbed.  Described by A J Downing in his famous 19th c Fruits and Fruit Trees of America as, “beautifully dashed and pencilled and marbled with light and deep red and orange. Thin, tender skin and tender, crisp, aromatic, juicy firm flesh.  Outstanding eating and cooking.”  Edward Bunyard in The Anatomy of Dessert says, “Of Gravenstein it is hard to speak in mere prose, so distinct in flavour is it, so full of juice and scented with the very attar of apple.”

Good friend and fellow apple grower Phil Norris of Blue Hill wrote to me: “My first introduction to Gravenstein applesauce was by an older woman, Gladys Gould of Blue Hill, Maine, who had an even older Gravenstein tree in her yard.   “Sit down and try this applesauce,” she said.  “It’ll be the best applesauce you’ve ever eaten.”   She was right.  When I brought some home to my wife she agreed.  Gladys said that adding spices or sugar was optional but that you must never add water to Gravenstein applesauce.  Just let it cook down slowly in its own juices.” Gravenstein “makes a light, smooth special flavored great tasting cider,” according to long time Gravenstein-champion, the late mid-westerner and apple growing friend, Art Hontz. For many years I would receive an annual Christmas card from Art with a different Gravenstein photo featured each year.

It is a large vigorous productive tree with a nearly perfect wide-angle branching habit that requires practically no training.  It bears young, and reliably and ripens over several weeks. There’s an old saying told to me by Nelson Wright of Belfast that, “The Gravensteins were usually gone before the Macs came in.”  It is considered hardier than Baldwin, but still too tender for the coldest areas. It has intense white flowers.  It is also “Triploid” (3 sets of chromosomes 3 x17 =51) which means that it will not pollinate other varieties. There are numerous synonyms for Gravenstein, including Blumen-Calvill, Diel’s Sommerkonig, Early Congress, Paradies Adfel, Ripp Apfel and even Tom Harryman!  There are also many redder strains of Gravenstein, selected and then grafted over the centuries. These red strains generally have the same eating and cooking qualities as the original, but are supposedly more pleasing to the eye.

-John

Pie Recipe #2, Green Chili Apple Pie:

I will admit that I am a solid traditionalist when it comes to apple pie, and was more than a little skeptical of this recipe when John showed it to me—a recipe that a friend from New Mexico had excitedly given to his wife, Cammy. I decided to be open minded however, and baked one this week—and well…let’s just say I’m including it here for all of you to be converted as well. The mild bite of the chilis set off the sweet-tart apples beautifully, and since I decided to make it with a cheddar cheese crust, the pie was transformed into a delicate sweet & savory pas de deux, giving me the perfect excuse to eat a large slice of it for lunch today! The recipe simply called for “mild green chilis,” I used two Poblanos and four Anaheims, which I thought gave it just the right amount of heat, but you could use whatever you have in your garden or is available—just don’t use bell peppers, or anything too too hot!

~Make your favorite piecrust.  If you’d like to make a cheddar cheese crust (which I heartily recommend,) omit 2 tablespoons of butter or shortening and add in 6 oz grated cheddar cheese.

~Roast, Peel, Seed and Chop 6 mild green chilis. (Roast in a pan on the stovetop or under the broiler until almost charred, flipping to get both sides, then let sit in a covered bowl for a few minutes. The steam will make it easy it to slip the skins right off)

~Core and slice 8 apples.  Combine with the chopped chilis and:

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

~Assemble Pie and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  Lower heat to 375 and back for 30-40 minutes more, until crust is golden

brown and juices are bubbling.  (I made this pie with a lattice crust, which lets some of the juice evaporate and the fruit brown

a bit on top, which seemed to enhance the roasted flavor of the chilis.)

-Cassie

Grower Profile: The Sweetsers

Sweetser’s Apple Barrel and Orchard is run by our good freinds Connie and Dick Sweetser and their son Greg. It’s been in the Sweetser family since 1812, with the first apple trees being planted in about 1840.  They currently offer 39 different varieties uncluding one extremely rare old Maine apple called Rolfe. It was through Connie and Dick that I first discoved Rolfe. It is currently one of the 16 Maine apples featured on the 2009 Common Ground Fair Poster. Sweetser’s is easy to find and close to Portland, located just off Rte 9 at 19 Blanchard Rd, in Cumberland Center. Their farm stand is open from 10 AM  – 6 PM and also features maple syrup, vinegar, dry beans and other farm products.                                                                                                                                                      -John

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.”

-mark twain

Out On A Limb Blog

So, we now have one pickup under our belt, and we hope you are happy with your first parcel of apples!  Throughout the season we will be providing you with information about the fruit you are receiving, along with suggested recipes and uses for them, but we also liked the idea of you the members being able to share your own recipes, uses, experiences, opinions, comments and questions with us and with each other. To that end, Out On A Limb is leaping straight into the modern age and creating a CSA blog.  After every pickup we will publish the newsletter/variety info here as a blog post, and then you can reply with all your apple-related thoughts via the comments.

Here is the first newsletter in digital form:

Out on a Limb Apple CSA Newsletter

Wednesday, September 2nd

We are focusing on three apples in this first delivery.  These are Duchess (of Oldenberg), Paula Red, and Prima.  Duchess is the most important hardy apple tree in the world.  It is excellent in sauce and makes an outstanding pie.  For a very quick applesauce, do as John does most mornings:  cut up two or three apples, add a tiny bit of water and cook for a few minutes.  You’ll have wonderful sauce.

Duchess of Oldenburg

Late Summer. Russia, 17th c. Also called Duchess. In 1835 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society imported the first of many apple varieties from Russia. These were Alexander, Tetofsky, Red Astrichan and Duchess of Oldenburg. Duchess was planted extensively wherever growers needed extreme hardiness and is still quite popular in most of northern New England. This is Aroostook County’s favorite apple. Thought to be a parent of the famous Canadian variety New Brunswicker and a parent of Dudley Winter. Medium-sized round red-striped fruit is irregularly splashed and mottled with crimson. The flesh is yellow, firm, fine-grained, crisp,tender, juicy, slightly tart, and aromatic. Highly esteemed for all sorts of cooking; Duchess is one of the best pie apples for coldest districts. Makes a pie with a tart flavorful zip and cooks up quickly into thick creamy delicious sauce. Prolific,precocious, small to medium-sized adaptable tree. Duchess seedlings are used as an extremely hardy rootstock called Borowinka. Blooms early. Scab resistant and grows in Zones 3-4.

Paula Red

Late Summer. Seedling of unknown parentage discovered in Sparta Michigan in 1960 and introduced in 1967. Paula Red is a perfect early season apple for fresh eating, though it quickly breaks down in cooking (i.e. great for sauce, but will not hold its shape in a pie.) Medium-sized, bright purple-red fruit, that is gaining a lot of fans in central Maine. Not as dark red as Macoun or Black Oxford, it resembles McIntosh in appearance, and has firm, crisp, juicy, mildly tart flesh.  Commercial orchards are growing more of them because customers are asking for them. The tree is well-shaped, medium in size, productive, and regularly bearing.  Grows in Zones 4-6.

Prima

Early Fall. (PRI Coop, 1970.) The first variety to be released by the cooperative efforts of the Agricultural Experiment Stations at three different Universities: Purdue, Rutgers, and Illinois. (The apple’s name comes from an acrostic of the names of those three institutions, PRI.)  This was one of the first disease-resistant varieties to hit the market, and now is one of the tried and true. Although many nurseries and orchards have dropped Prima in favor of newer “designer” varieties, we still think very highly of it. Medium-large roundish fruit has a rich yellow skin with a striking orange-red blush. Resembles Jonathan, which is buried somewhere in its convoluted parentage. Mildly tart crisp white flesh provides excellent eating and makes good sauce and cider. Keeps about a month in cool storage. Open spreading, early blooming tree bears annually if kept thinned, and is proving to be hardier than anyone thought. Scab immune and resistant to fireblight, cedar apple rust, and mildew. Grows in Zones 4-6.

Grower Profile:

Steve and Marilyn Meyerhans

For over thirty years, Steve and Marilyn Meyerhans have been growing apples in central Maine, first in Fairfield at the Apple Farm and more recently also in Manchester at Lakeside Orchards.  They grow over 30 varieties, some of which are quite rare.  In particular we will feature their Gray Pearmains in mid-October.  Both locations are open now through the fall.  You can purchase fruit on location as well as do U-pick.  Of the two spots, Fairfield includes the widest assortment of varieties.  Originally growing apples on 24 acres, they are currently managing about 90 acres, 12 of which are organic.  Steve and Marilyn have been endlessly generous with me over the years with their time, fruit and scionwood.  A great deal of what I’ve learned has come from them.  They are regular visitors to Super Chilly Farm.  Both are active members of the Maine Pomological Society.

-John Bunker

First Apple Pie Recipe of the Season – Cassie’s Favorite Apple Pie: (Made just this week with Duchess Apples!)

Crust:

This is a classic French pâte brisée crust—I usually use the traditional butter, but if I am lucky enough to have someone who raises pigs give me some rendered leaf lard, I will sub that for half the butter and it is a delicious match w/ the apples!

1/2 pound (1 cup) cold butter cut into small pieces

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup ice water (plus more if needed)

1 tablespoon sugar, if you like a slightly sweetened crust

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, cut in butter with a pastry cutter, or your fingers.  Work butter in until texture of coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining.  (If using your hands work quickly to make sure you do not warm the butter more than necessary!) Sprinkle mixture with ice water just until dough holds together w/o being wet or sticky. (Or, in the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter, until it reaches the above consistency, about 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water through feed tube in a slow, steady stream. Do not process more than 30 seconds. ) Test by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in the plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.   When ready to make, roll out one disk on lightly floured surface into a12 inch circle, lay it in pie dish and refrigerate while making filling. Heat oven to 425.˚

Filling

I like this filling because it is light on the spices, and lets you really taste the apples, not just the “apple pie spice.”

4 lbs Duchess apples—cored and cut into 1/2 – 3/4” slices (the question of to peel-or-not-to-peel is totally subjective, I go either way depending on my mood.)  Toss with:

3/4 – 1 cup sugar (When I made this with the Duchess apples last night it was quite tart, so I would err on the side of more sugar…)

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Turn into the chilled pie shell, mounding in the center.  Roll out 2^nd disk and lay over the filling, fold edges under themselves onto lip of pie plate and pinch to crimp together. Cut 4 slits in the top of the pie.  Bake for 25 minutes, then take out and brush top of crust w/ 1 beaten egg white, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.  Lower heat to 375˚, return pie to oven and bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack to cool (or windowsill—but beware thieving cartoon characters.)  Delicious as soon as it’s cool enough to eat, after a few hours at room temperature, or cold tomorrow for breakfast!