My children spent their school days years a beautiful country Connecticut village know as Woodstock, the apple capital of the Northeast. Our local farmers, Bishop and Joy, let us pick all the apples we could eat from their trees. The Healeys invited us into there barn at any time to sip homemade sweet cider. Woodstock is that kind of place. I returned last Thanksgiving to find Joys stand, Healeys farm and Bishops orchards still going strong.
I learned a few basics about apples, although the names can change in different regions:
Red Delicious – with smooth, dark crimson skin, are best eaten fresh or cut up in salad.
Granny Smith – with smooth, bright green skin, are tart and crunchy. These are my favorite to enjoy with a wedge of cheddar, and for apple pies and applesauce. The pie that usually won the 4H contest at the annual Woodstock Fair was made with Granny Smiths. I was surprised to learn that food network chef Guy, of Triple D and Guy’s Big Bite, likes diced Granny Smiths (skins on) in his buttery Yukon Gold mashed (skins on).
Fugi apples are beautiful in a fruit bowl with their red, gold and yellow-green skin. They are juicy, tangy and sweet. Fugis are good in crisps, cobblers, Brown Betty’s, pancakes and pies.
Honey Crisps, love the name, golden brushed with deep red, are also sweet and juicy. Like red delicious, a good eating apple for picnics and lunch boxes.
Tips:
The Hill Team enjoyed one of the best French Apple tarts they ever tasted, even in France, lovingly prepared by Captain Ken Barnes at the Captain Lindsay House in Rockland, Maine.
We would love to hear YOUR apple ideas:
Please send us some dishes, and recipes to publish, where adding a few handfuls of chopped apples will add to flavor and crunch. Some of our add-ins are, turkey stuffing, couscous, chicken wraps, and apple pancakes with apple sausages.
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success Log Global Log
Finalist in the Writing and Publishing category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, “$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book”
Author: Brenda Hill
As a longtime food writer for Where Magazine New York City, Brenda Hill, along with her writing partner, Maralyn Hill (no relation), writes and publishes books about chefs, food and international travel. They co-authored "Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel" and joined French Master Chef Herve Laurent in writing "Cooking Secrets: The Why and How" Brenda has been active in the California Writer's Club, IFWTWA, and the Santa Barbara's Writers Conference. Brenda Hill and her partner Maralyn Hill conduct marketing and writing seminars. Maralyn and I will be heading back to Rancho La Puerta in July to give our presentation on writing and marketing your book, as well as bringing back some freshly picked off the farm nutritious and tasty recipes.
