The Joy of Apple Picking: A Family Tradition
Apple picking is a beloved tradition in many countries around the world. Spending a day in a beautiful orchard picking apples is delightful. It’s a perfect way to enjoy the transition from summer to the crisp, cool days of fall. Your reward will be the sweetest and juiciest apples you will have eaten.
There is enormous pleasure in simply eating a crisp, juicy apple in season. They are very versatile and are one of nature’s most beloved ingredients. From sweet to tart, fresh to baked, apples can transform simple dishes into comforting classics and gourmet creations alike.
Picking apples is a fun filled farm experience for the entire family. Everyone from grandparents to young children can enjoy it together. Not only will the apples be great, it is also a nice way to support local farmers. By picking apples, you help preserve traditional farming practices.
When you visit an apple farm, you have the opportunity to taste samples of different apples. Some apples are best as a quick snack while others hold up well for baking.
Picking apples has grown in popularity and some of the large orchards have become annual fall destinations. They offer fun outdoor experiences such as cider pressing demonstrations and tastings. There are wagon rides, corn mazes, and farm animals that you can feed and pet. They sell apple related gifts, fresh desserts as well as freshly pressed cider.
Click on any photo to enlarge and see a slide show.
I’m not an expert, but I do know a lot about apples as we had an orchard in New Hampshire. Our orchard was originally planted as a cider orchard. I think this was most fitting since our home was originally built during the 1730’s. At that time, cider was what most people, including children, drank as much of the water was considered unsafe.
The heirloom apples offered unique flavors not found in typical grocery store apples. With 300 apple trees and almost a hundred different varieties of apples available we grew apples for every taste.
People regularly stopped by to pick their own apples in the orchard. Some of them had a favorite apple that they come back for year after year. Others chose to buy already picked apples from our store along with freshly pressed cider. When our store wasn’t open, people driving by our orchard bought bags from our honor system roadside stand.
We had more apples than we can ever use and gladly shared them with friends. When we had out of town guests for the weekend, we planned a “harvest weekend”. We picked bushels of apples, pressed cider, and made delicious apple pies and tarts. We laughed a lot, ate well and sent them home with a lot of apples and memories.
Around town, people knew me as “the apple lady.” They frequently asked for my advice on different varieties of apples. I would always inquire whether they would be using apples for pies, sauce, etc. as certain apples hold their shape better than others in cooking.
When you go apple picking, I suggest asking if the orchard has any heirloom varieties. If they do, I believe you will enjoy trying them. While most everyone has tasted Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Honey Crisp apples, there are thousands more to try..
Have you heard of or tasted a Esopus Spitzenburg ? They are said to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple and he had several trees planted at his Monticello estate. The juicy and crisp apple is still one of the finest apples for eating as well as cooking and preserving..
Newtown Pippin, also known as Albemarle Pippin was also a favorite of both Thomas Jefferson as well as George Washington. It gained international prestige when a gift of these apples was presented to Queen Victoria in 1838.
Another heirloom variety that is still grown is the Calville Blanc originating from France. which is excellent for tarts. It is tender with a sweet, spicy flavor, a banana-like aroma and has more vitamin C than an orange. Another apple high in vitamin C is Cox’s Orange Pippin. It is considered one of the classic dessert apples of the world.
The tiny Lady apple is one of the world’s oldest and cutest apples. It is crisp, juicy, and highly aromatic. Much of the fragrance and flavor is in its skin so it really shouldn’t be peeled. They were traditionally used mostly for Christmas decoration. If you are going to cook them, roast whole due to their small size. We had a local chef that would buy them to serve as a garnish on his fall dishes.
Out of all the apples in our orchard, the Japanese Mutsu was my favorite. The apple is crisp, juicy and very sweet and is an excellent eating and baking apple
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Consider making apple picking an annual family tradition, as many New Englanders do. The peak time for picking is usually September and October.
With more apple varieties available than ever before, how do you choose the right apple for eating, cooking, and baking? To learn more, read Apples, Autumns Antique Delights. When visiting an apple orchard, ask the orchardist which apples you should get. They will suggest apples best suited for your preparation.
Oh this is so wonderful and informative, Karen. I love apple picking and really miss it 🤍
Great pictures and text! Fun times!
We used to go apple picking at an orchard here in Southampton by the ocean. 1990 a bag was $11. This year, over $50! Too expensive for me. I too love the Mutsu, best for baking and eating!
I hope your husband is better and that you are both enjoying Fall.
Such an informative, educational and fun entry! I have never visited an apple orchard though I used to eat tons of apples :-))
Yes, to orchard roots and fond memories! My parents planted several apple trees in southern Minnesota and there is something wonderful about the scent of apples in the air. Now, we try to buy organic apples whenever possible.
I have a neighbour who asked me to come and pick apples on his allotment this Autumn to make cider. I was really looking forward to it – I need to bottle some sloe gin and cider gets a second fermentation when added to a demijohn of sloes. His cider last year was bone dry and delicious -perfect! Sadly he had a heart attack recently, he’s OK, well and recovered (which is the most important thing), but has given up the allotment, so no cider. I will be visiting my mother in a couple of weeks – she has a small arable farm and orchard, so perhaps I can find something there… My farmer at the farmer’s market, collects rare breed apples and has an apple fair this weekend!
This brings me back to our days in Michigan and Kansas. We would take the kids to the orchard to get apples, donuts and cider. Such good memories!
This is a delightful read, Karen. I remember when you were in New Hampshire and had the orchard and it’s great to learn so much more about it.
I know one thing – you enjoyed writing this post, and there was a smile on your face doing it. Great info, and I’m planning to stop at DeMerritt tomorrow since it is only 5 miles from here. I hope the drought hasn’t affected them too badly. Thanks for the info on the various varieties.
Although some are able to grow certain types of apples by the coast where we live, it’s not a usual crop except towards the mountains east of us. I don’t think I’ve ever had the chance to pick apples from an orchard but I’d love to sample all the different varieties.
What a beautiful post of sweet memories and deliciousness!
Every single photo made me smile! There’s nothing better than apple season!
Thank you for sharing, dear Karen.
I gulped a bit when you said cider was for children! Of course here in australia, cider is an alcoholic drink! Apple picking sounds like a lot of fun.
cheers
sherry https://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/
Apple picking would be fun. We didn’t have apples growing up on the Canadian prairies but they are common in BC. My daughter had a job on an apple orchard when she was a teen. She loved it.
A trip to the apple orchard and cider mill is the perfect way to welcome the autumn season. The apples are so sweet, the cider is delicious and the hot cinnamon donuts fresh from the fryer are not to be missed. Thank you for sharing. Please take Care, Healthy World Cuisine
This takes me back to fond memories of going to an apple stand and drinking fresh apple cider! I think it was my favorite part of Fall!
Jenna
Lovely post! So many apple picking memories!
Lovely memories and photos! My grandmother owned an apple and pear orchard, I spent many happy days there as a child.
What fun. I’ve been apple picking only once. I need to do it again! So many more varieties I need to try!
Karen, I love this! I know you have many fond memories of your apple orchard and the experience of families picking their own apples. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos. Now, I must eat an apple!
I haven’t gone picking in years — but I’m first in line at the farm market to get loads of apples for wonderful autumn recipes!
Annual Fall event to our local orchard – just wish the bees would stay away! They love the sweet cider and donuts 🙂
We have been apple picking as a family for years. We just went last weekend
A lovely post Karen. We have a few apple and pear trees, but there was practically no harvest this year as our cold and windy spring spoiled all the blossom. We love the apples for apple strudels most of all!
Lovely post full of memories for you! I also remember > in Australia way back one could offset business taxes by running a farm or similar . . . well, my belove FIL began growing apples on a 120 acre property less than 2 hours out of Sydney in our Blue Mountains >>> it became as big a ‘business’ as his plastics concern in town. I used to love going picking at times and it was huge fun to stand awhile on the long assembly line packing them . . . smiley memories also . . .
I miss apple picking terribly. It was always a highlight of fall when I was a kid; we’d do a big family outing and pick apples, drink cider, and grab donuts to go. Now I treasure those memories. Not so many orchards out in Texas.
we used to love going apple picking in Maine/NewHampshire! And upstate New York, as well. It was always interesting to see what different varieties were available in different areas. Here in Tucson, or nearby in Willcox, we can go apple picking at this time of year and I enjoy it so much. The orchard actually has one of my favorite apples: Macintosh. They are hard to find here in Tucson, but occasionally (in season) stores will carry them. I didn’t know until I moved here that they are very difficult to transport. Thanks for the memories of many decades of apple picking. Also, I’d love reading about those varieties I never knew before.
Hello Karen,
This such a delightful post. We love fruit picking too,especially through the summer. I’m sure you enjoyed your visit to the Apple orchards.
The family that picks apples together…
What a lovely way to spend an afternoon. 🙂
Now I am craving an apple! Beautiful photos.
Apple season has always been a wonderful time of year for my family, including visiting apple orchards with my young children and including old activities of ‘bobbing for apples’! Simple things such as what we enjoy in this season are cherished and never grow old!
Thanks for the lovely post!
We try to go apple picking every year, and the memories are so fun! I love that you had an orchard back in New Hampshire – how quintessential New England is that!? I’ve never pressed apples for cider, but I bet it’s a lot of fun!!
One of my favorite things. And there is nothing to compare to the taste of an apple freshly picked from a tree. Good for you.
Amalia
xo
Lovely pictures – and I enjoyed reading about apples. There are some wonderful heirloom varieties. I have warm memories of eating Yellow Translucent and Pound apples when I was a child.
What a lovely read, Karen! I could almost smell the crisp autumn air and the sweetness of freshly picked apples while going through your post. I really enjoyed the personal touch about your own orchard in New Hampshire, it makes the whole story feel warm and nostalgic. We do something similar here as a family tradition, strawberry and blueberry picking during summer.
I don’t think I have ever been apple picking! It looks like a fun tradition.
I love visiting apple farms and discovering so many varieties I have never heard of before. It’s one of the true treats of autumn.
Picking apples always feels like a fall rite of passage, Karen, so it was fun to learn more about all the different varieties. I can’t wait to try them! Plus, I loved learning more about your orchard. It sounds amazing! Hugs, CoCo