All About Apples - Little Bites Of Joy

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It’s finally apple season. Follow my adventures in learning all about apples in NJ!

andreea eats apples — Photo by Lara Robby Photography

This post has been months in the making. Ok, a whole year. It started when I tasted Macouns at the Farmers Market last year, grown by Hauser Hill Farms right here in Colts Neck, NJ. I asked if they were organic and the apple ladies, as I call them (my new friends, Liz & Bernadette) told me about how the farmer uses pheromones to deter pests. And also some clay as a coating. I was intrigued. Tell me more all about apples!

The $20 box

I then proceeded to buy $20 boxes of apples every week (at the time I wrote this post, the boxes were $20, the prices have since changed). I was eating about 3 a day, and I couldn’t get enough. The tastes were all different, so sweet, so distinctively different than anything I’ve ever found in a store.

It’s Apple Season and We Need To Know More!

I soon came to realize that people didn’t know a lot about apples (myself included). Well, we really have about 5 varieties in the stores, right? In Romania, I remember only having yellow delicious, and choices there were even more limited. And even then, when do these apples come into season? How long do they have to travel to get to you? How are they picked? Which ones are best raw, which ones are best for pie? I decided to investigate further.

A Visit To The Farm to Learn All About Apples

This past summer, I visited the farm, and interview John Hauser, the farmer of Hauser Farms. I learned about his homestead, visited his apple orchard (plus peaches, greenhouses, dahlias, and more), fell in love with the buzz of bees and abundance that was there. He told me that he’s the third generation of farmers, and he has many many many acres. Don’t quote me, because I’m not a journalist, I was just listening.

A Fun Apple Fact

They have suntans! In fact, when an apple is touched by a leaf or a stem, they leave an imprint and the apple suntans around it. Also, many apples are brighter on the top (the part that’s exposed to sun) and lighter (greener, less color) on the part of the apple that hasn’t seen sunlight.

Here We Go ~ All About Apples

Here’s a summary of what I learned from Farmer John. I hope you too enjoy these little details as much as I did learning them.

Summer Apples

Vista Bella

These are soft apples, tart, and small (super small).
They always come first, around July the 4th.
When I saw these at the market, I actually teared up a bit because I knew what was coming in the next few months. These apples begin the apple season for me.

Greenie

New Jersey heirloom
Looks like a Granny Smith
Ttart, and firm, great for pie.
These come out sometime around July 14th & 15th.

Star

These come out in July
Heirloom.
They have a red blush, are crunchy, softer, not as tart, and better for eating.

Pristine

Farmer John especially loves these apples.
They are disease resistant
Bright, tangy, crunchy.

Jersey Mac

These come out the last week of July, one month ahead of regular Macs.

Zestars

They come out August 1st
Related to Molly Delicious

Autumn Apples

Cortland

Some of John Hauser’s family’s favorites.
Great for apple sauce and cooking (it actually makes their apple sauce pink, and he grew up eating it that way ~ skin has to be ripe, dark red purple color to achieve this).
White flesh.
A lot of the color is on 1/2 of the apple.

Red Cort

Cortland variety that’s a spur.
It has more color than the traditional color (dark all the way around).
The remaining characteristics are the same as the cortland.
Earliest to pick is September 15-25th.
For extra color, they leave them out on the trees. On cooler nights, they get to the ripe/over-ripe color which is darker.

Liberty

Came out of the NJ Breeding program.
Crossed with Macoun and Red Delicious. Has a little bit of both qualities.
Resistant to scab (NJ has wet weather and dew, scab starts in the spring, builds and builds and ruins the leaves and apples)
Hard, good apples with purple color, hangs on the tree (Macouns have drawbacks, since they drop early and don’t get to mature color).
Eye appeal, and loved for eating and growth habit.

Macouns

Heirloom variety (and my favorite).
Related to Macs.
If they stay on the tree until the first week of October, they get a nice purple color (cold nights form color on the fall apples, and the purple color indicates full ripeness).
They get even more beautiful color up in north jersey where it’s colder.
They fall on the ground and often get turned into cider. Growers often pick on the green side so they don’t fall.
John’s grandparents had it, it’s not new (about 75-100 years old)
They are better adapted to a standard tree size vs. dwarf (as they may fall off)

Jonathan

Old type variety, creamy flesh, tangy, red.

Orleans

Heirloom Variety, from John’s grandfather’s days
Looks like a traditional
Delicious taste, juicy, sweet

Golden blush

Has pink cheek.
A cross between a golden delicious and a jonathan apple.
Brighter yellow than golden delicious and no russet (the little brown spots that golden delicious apples have)

Macs (Macintosh)

Get picked early fall, beginning of sept.
Short stems (actually almost no stem; even with the shoulders, the stem is buried ~ other varieties have stems with 1 inch)
Related to Macoun
Juicy white flesh

Winter Apples

More on this, as they become apparent in farmers markets. But so far, we have:

Rome Beauties
Granny Smith
Cameo’s
Fuji’s
Weinsteins
Wine Sap
Jersey Red
Pink Lady
These are better for storage long term vs. summer apples (which don’t keep as long). In fact, I bought a box of winter apples in November and ate the last one in January).

Apples for Eating Raw vs. Cooking

I prefer Granny Smith for pies or items that need to retain their shape. Also Honeycrips, Jonathan, and Winesaps also do a good job retaining their shape.
If I want an apple to smoothen while cooking (such as the perfect apple butter, apple sauce, or even better: apple cinnamon oatmeal, made in minutes, where the apple just disintegrates into the oats and makes a gorgeous mush) I’d go for Macs or Macouns where the flesh is really soft, white, juicy and sweet.
The apple ladies (Liz & Bernadette) actually told me to try making apple pie using a mixture of apples to get a variety of tastes. I have yet to do that but will try it this Thanksgiving.
For more culinary tips on apples, check out this article.
That said, culinarily speaking aside, you do you. I’ve never thought of cooking a golden delicious, as I always eat it raw. I love Macs both raw and cooked. Granny Smiths are awesome in a pie, but when I eat it raw, I peel it since the skin is super thick. It’s really a personal preference, and you do as you see fit.

That’s A Wrap

Except that it’s not. These apples are waiting for you at the farmer’s market! Familiarize yourself with new flavors, colors, tastes. The biggest surprises for me were golden delicious and Jonathan’s. The golden delicious brought back memories from my childhood in Romania that I had forgotten. My mother spoke of Jonathan apples, that they were also available, and when I tasted one from the Hauser Farm, I was blown away! It’s such a small, little humble apple with a powerful, floral taste. Which one is your favorite? Comment below!