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APPLES

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EXPLORE OUR ORCHARD

Pick your own apples from our many varieties, or visit the store to select our freshly picked apples off the shelves.  Families can enjoy quality time together outdoors while savouring the crisp flavor of freshly picked apples.  The apple season runs from mid-August into October.  Come early as the apples are in high demand and your family will be begging to come back for more fun!  Apple picking continues until the trees are bare (usually around the end of September or Thanksgiving weekend), depending on the crop and number of pickers.  Most years there are apples in the store until November.  Dogs are not allowed on the property.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Apples are fat, sodium and cholesterol free.  A medium apple has about 80 calories.  Apples are high in dietary fiber, vitamin A and niacin.  They contain iron and other trace minerals and are a fair source of vitamin C.

  • Apples are ranked #1 in antioxidant activity compared with 40 other commerically available fruits and vegetables.  That means a serving of apples has more of the antioxidant power you need to fight aging, cancer and heart disease.

  • Apples originated in the Middle East (in an area between the Caspin and the Black Sea) more then 4000 years ago!  They were the favorite fruit of ancient Greeks and Romans.

  • Apples arrived in England at around the time of the Norman conquest (in 1066) and English settlers brought them to America in the 1600s & 1700s.

  • Apples are one fo the easiest fruits to pick and use.  They're big and easy to pick, and can be eaten fresh, cooked, canned, frozen or made into many tasty and healthy dishes.

  • Apples ripen from the outside of the tree towards the centre, so the apples on the outside of the tree will ripen first.  Picking apples directly from a tree is easy.

DID YOU KNOW?

Apples give off a gas that speeds up the ripening of bananas, kiwis, peaches, plums and pears.  Place these fruits in a paper bag with your appels to quicken their ripening!

PICKING TIPS

When picking apples the colour can be anything from dark green, to yellow, pink, orange, bright red, dark red or even a combination. It all depends on the variety. And colour is not really how you tell when an apple is ripe. Apples should be crisp and firm. You will see that there are almost always two or more apples growing stem to stem, and many more along the branch. After deciding which group of apples you want, you pick them in the following manner:

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  • Place the palms of your hands on each apple, at the same time.

  • Gently use your fingers – without putting too much pressure on the apples – to twist and turn the apples.

  • As you twist and turn the apples, gently roll the apple upwards off the branch. (If you have more than just the stems attached to the apples when they are picked you did not quite do it as we do.)

  • If the apple you’re trying to pick drops (or any others on the tree) go ahead and pick it up and put it in your container. It is perfectly okay.

  • Place the picked apples into your container. Never drop or throw them into your container. Throwing or dropping them into a container will bruise a lot of fruit.

STORING APPLES

  • Keep your apples cool after picking to help increase their shelf life. Store your apples in the coolest place you have. (Even a cool basement will work.)

  • Apples stored in the refrigerator stay fresh twice as long as those left out. Refrigerate your apples in the crisper section of your fridge; cool air maintains juiciness, quality and crispness.

  • Handle your apples gently to prevent bruising.

  • If unable to store in the fridge, store apples in a cardboard box with holes in the side (or ventilated storage bag) away from food with strong odours. Kept cool, fresh-picked apples will generally keep weeks.

  • High humidity helps to keep the apples from shriveling, but don’t let them get actually wet. A wet towel placed nearby helps to keep the humidity up. Sprinkle with a water mister a few times a week.

  • Don’t wash apples until just before using to prevent spoilage.

  • When storing apples check them frequently and remove any that are beginning to spoil.

REMEMBER!

  • NEVER pull the apple straight away from the tree.

  • NEVER shake the tree or branch.

  • NEVER climb in the tree.  Your feet always stay on the ground.

  • It is okay to eat an apple in the orchard as long as you put the apple core in the garbage.

  • Apple cores left on the ground attract mice and mice can do a lot of damage to the apple trees in the winter.

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