Time for PIE!

Courtesy of Tim Seaman and Glenna Dean

Culinary apple varieties are now ripening in our orchard. It's easy to make a good pie with most any store-bought apples, and most everybody has apples on their own trees this year in and around Abiquiu, but you might be surprised at the difference these old time apples make in your baking. Many of the best American pie apples are simply unavailable because they are difficult to grow, low yielding, don't travel well, or are just plain ugly. 
​
We will be bringing these apples to the Abiquiu Farmers Market through October where you can sample and compare them for use your best recipes. Our apple varieties vary in their culinary properties. They can remain firm or soften into a custard when baked. They can emphasize sweetness or tartness, or both (best). If you want to make a visually pleasing pie like the pictured gallete, you may want to choose larger, symetrical apples. If apple cobbler or crisps are on the menu, look for the small-to-medium sized apples. Some of the best culinary apples have uneven or russeted skins so you might want to peel them (we don't). Some say the ugliest apples have the best taste, and store better through the winter months. 

We will continue bringing crisp eating apples to market as long as they last, but as the days shorten and we pick the highly flavored varieties, some apples develop extra sweetness when left on the tree, especially after an early frost or two. These are our favorites and we really don't want to sell them so we might have to raise the prices. We call these flavor bombs. We may also bring some tangy apple juice (aka cider) to market in 1 gallon containers. 

Tim Seaman and Glenna Dean
Manzanar los Silvestres
21581 US 84