Apples, Yes!

[BakerAunt]

We found a U-Pick apple orchard--with at least 20 different kinds of apples--about a 45 minute drive from our house. It's also near a state park, so we picked first, then went hiking.

We picked Winesap and Jonathans for baking, Melrose for eating, and a few Empire, as an experiment. We have a bushel--divided evenly between the baking and the cooking apples. We also picked up a half gallon of cider.

Now it feels like fall!

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[Mike Nolan]

I don't think Empires are good cooking apples, though some sources say they are, they're decent eating apples, though. They have a thick skin, so they don't bruise easily and ship well. My experience has been that they don't store well, they get mushy.

They're a Cornell cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious that dates back to about 1945.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Mike. I ate an Empire this morning, and it is satisfactory. We only picked five of those, so the rest will go into a batch of applesauce, along with mostly Melrose and a few Winesaps.

I'm eying the KAF Cinnamon-Apple Flatbread recipe for later this week, probably with a mixture of Jonathan and Winesap apples.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Wow. I used to love Empires but I haven't had a good one in years, even from the u-pick places.

My family loves Honeycrisps which we only buy on sale because they are very spendy here. And we don't see any Winesap either. Lots of Macs, Courtlands, and Macouns. Or at the store lots of West Coast varieties like Gala and Lady Alice.

[Mike Nolan]

I haven't seen winesap in stores in decades. I got some from the farmer's market a couple of years ago and got some from a u=pick orchard last year.

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