Above: Though Delaware’s peak apple production was in the 1940s, the state still grows more than 15 million pounds per year.
By Pam George
Judging by the products on supermarket shelves, pumpkin is the flavor of the month. However, apples have an edge. They’re abundant all year. You can eat them raw, right from the tree, or cook them. Plus, bobbing for an apple is much easier than a pumpkin.
While always plentiful, apples are especially popular in autumn, perhaps because apple trees are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves each fall. In October, the fruit is also the apple of a chef’s eye. “Apples and onions are my go-to in the fall,” agrees chef Robert Lhulier, operating manager of the rechristened Brandywine Brasserie in Wilmington. “The third element of a trilogy is pork — any kind of pork, but mostly some version of smoked ham hock, pork belly or braise.”
Apples also pop up in desserts. “Apple crisp with oatmeal crust and salted caramel gelato is a crowd pleaser,” maintains David Leo Banks of Banks’ Seafood Kitchen on the Wilmington Riverfront.
Healthwise, you can’t go wrong. Consuming apples may lower your chance of developing cancer, diabetes and heart disease. No wonder they are the most consumed fruit in the world, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Services.
An Impressive Past
Apples are symbols in many cultures. For instance, an apple hung from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, and they play an essential part in the Rosh Hashanah feast: Apple dipped in honey symbolizes a sweet new year. Legend has it that apples kept Norse gods from aging and the first apples may have come from Asia and the Middle East. Some scientists maintain that Kazakhstan is the birthplace. The capital, Alma Ata, means “full of apples.” As the Romans expanded the empire, the seeds traveled to northern Europe, including Great Britain. Settlers brought the seeds to the New World, which only had crabapples until the Europeans arrived.
Delmarva’s oldest commercial apple orchard is T.S. Smith and Sons in Bridgeville, founded in 1907. But in the late 19th century, Kent County was the “Apple Belt” thanks to the Derby farm, which devoted 300 acres to apples.
In north Wilmington, Highland Orchards’ deed — written on sheepskin — was signed in 1832. The land has been used to raise dairy cows, pigs and produce. The farm, known for apples in the fall, remains in the hands of founder Clark Webster’s family.
Delaware’s peak apple production was in the mid-1940s, with a total annual harvest of 550 million pounds. More recently, apple production has averaged about 15 million pounds with a value of just under $3 million.
Washington, New York, Michigan, California and Virginia are top apple-producing states. As for countries, Chile, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand are the leading worldwide producers.
Ripe for the Picking
Harvesting apples is still a largely manual process impacted by labor shortages. Orchards that let customers pick fruit can ease the burden, although insurance goes up and the customers expect an experience.
Picking your own apples is still an option at many area orchards.
At Thousand Acre Farm in Middletown, an increasing number of people are picking their apples versus buying them prepicked, said co-owner Shannon Hynson. Honeycrisp is the most popular choice. Many visitors combine the apple-picking outing with u-pick pumpkins and sunflowers, she adds.
Since Thousand Acre Farm is a wedding venue, you must schedule a date that won’t conflict with an event. There is a website calendar at ThousandAcreFarm.com.
In Elkton, Maryland, Milburn Orchards takes online reservations at MilburnOrchards.com. The admission includes a wagon ride to the trees. In October, varieties include Stayman Winesap, Fuji, and Sweet Zoe, an apple the orchard developed. “It’s only grown on our farm,” says Olivia Johnston, a fifth-generation family member.
In nearby Media, Pennsylvania, Linvilla Orchards requires tickets if you want to pick Honeycrisp. Don’t want to pick? Pay to shoot them out of a high-powered air cannon. Get tickets at Linvilla.com.
Good Enough to Eat
The Honeycrisp was developed in 1974 at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station’s Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Released in 1991, it’s become a favorite apple to eat raw. Juicy Gala and Fuji are other apples you can grab on the go for a fiber and anti-inflammatory boost.
Fuji, Honeycrisp and Gala are also suitable for baking. Indeed, don’t be surprised to see apple cider doughnuts at any area orchard. Formerly a fall treat, the sugary confection is available at many farmstands in summer.
The fall salad at Le Cavalier in Wilmington features Honeycrisp apples, endive, feta and Sicilian pistachios. Photo by Taylor Mickal.
The new Sleeping Bird Doughnuts in Talleyville puts a signature spin on the apple-flavored doughnut. In September, for instance, a brioche donut was filled with apple butter and tossed in cinnamon sugar. This month, owners Leigh Ann Tona and Zach DeLong plan to use homemade apple pie filling in the brioche doughnut.
At Sleeping Bird Coffee, the couple’s shop on Miller Road in Wilmington, guests can order apple butter spice cake with brown butter-cream cheese frosting. Cake, not pie, is also available at Cajun Kate’s on Philadelphia Pike, where co-owner Kate Applebaum makes Jewish apple cake cupcakes for fall.
As part of Crooked Hammock’s Crooktoberfest, the Middletown brewpub is featuring caramel apple strudel sundae: vanilla ice cream with caramelized apples, cinnamon streusel topping, caramel sauce, stroopwafel cookie pieces, whipped cream and cinnamon sugar.
The restaurant’s sister restaurant, Taco Reho, serves apple-cinnamon churros. They’ve grown so popular that co-founder/chef Billy Lucas made them a menu staple.
Apple and beer are evidently a good match. Consider Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant’s walnut-and-pecan upside-down apple pie. Vanilla bean ice cream sits on a candied walnut-and-pecan crust. It’s all topped with Pig Iron Porter salted caramel sauce.
At the newly rechristened Brandywine Brasserie, pastry chef Kaila Brenchi has created honey apple cake, which will be available all season. In late fall, she will add apple crisp with a warm filling and streusel topping.
Apples also appear in salads. Take, for instance, the fall salad at Le Cavalier in Wilmington. Honeycrisp are tossed with roasted beets, endive, feta and Sicilian pistachios.
Meanwhile, mixing apples into savory dishes brings out the natural sugars in other ingredients, Lhulier says. “They create another layer of flavor in roasts and braises or sauteed into greens or potatoes, as well as other root vegetables.”
Sip & Savor
Lhulier is also fond of eau de vie-style spirits, such as Calvados from France’s Normandy region. “Distilled from apples or pears, a dash or a splash here and there also kicks things up a little in a sauce or marinade,” he explains.
When it comes to drinking apples, most people are familiar with cider, the most common beverage in the American Colonies in the mid-17th century, according to Washington State University’s extension office. That’s not surprising, given it dates to Roman times.
Unlike apple juice, which is filtered, “fresh” or “sweet” cider still has pulp and sediment. Drink it hot or cold. Cajun Kate’s, for instance, sells hot mulled cider in colder months.
That Pie Girl’s Apple Pie Cider returns to Wilmington Brew Works. Photo courtesy WBW.
Hard cider is fermented and can have an ABV of less than 3% to as much as 8.5%. Last year, the American Swedish Museum in Philadelphia approached Liquid Alchemy in Wilmington to make Rambo’s Revival Cider with heirloom Rambo apples grown on its property. The meadery plans to do the same this year.
“The Rambo apples have an exciting history dating back hundreds of years,” says Terri Sorantino, who founded Liquid Alchemy with “Doc” Jeffrey Cheskin. The Rambo family brought the seeds from Sweden to the colonies, he explains. Side note: Supposedly, Sylvester Stallone met a Rambo family member and asked to use the name for his movie. “The rest is history,” Cheskin says.
Similarly, Wilmington Brew Works (WBW) in Wilmington has used Hagley’s apples and cherries to make Fruits of Eleuthrian Mills cider. The brewery produces cider all year, but “fall is cider’s time to shine,” says John Fusco, vice president of creative and brand marketing.
Wilmington Brew Works has brought back That Pie Girl’s Apple Pie Cider, a collaboration with Amy Watson Bish, WBW’s neighbor, fan and winner of multiple Delaware State Fair blue ribbons. (She also works at Out & About.)
“With hints of nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice, it’s the perfect beverage for autumn,” Fusco says. “It will be on draught at the Wilmington Brew Works taproom and available in bottles as we get closer to Thanksgiving.”
For something completely different — and nonalcoholic — consider Drip Café’s caramel-apple milkshake, available at the Hockessin and Newark locations through fall.
Cold, hot, raw or cooked — with so many options, there’s no excuse to miss an apple a day in October.
