Rosslyn Redux

Tag: Kidd’s Orange

  • Apple Season

    Apple Season

    Apple Season (Source: Geo: Davis)
    Apple Season (Source: Geo: Davis)

    It’s apple season in the Adirondacks, in my view, the quintessence of the North Country autumn harvest. Grab a crunchy treat and sink your teeth into its sweet-tart bliss. Aaahhh…

    Apple Concoctions

    An apple (or three) a day keeps the concocter away? Perhaps. Unless, of course, you enjoy experimenting with the nearly infinite concoctions born of the forbidden fruit. The aromas of autumn profit amply from the influence of apples, so I’ll offer a few suggestions to stimulate your imagination. Cinnamon-y applesauce, apple crumble, apple butter, cider, apple pie, apple streusel, apple vinegar, apple fritters, apple chutney, applejack, apple upside down cake (aka tarte Tatin), apple brandy, apple-raisin muffins or pancakes,… It’s easy to get carried away.

    Apple Abundance (Source: Geo: Davis)
    Apple Abundance (Source: Geo: Davis)

    Apple Family Tree

    While apple picking, harvesting, pressing, concocting, and fermenting rightfully share center stage, apple season is at once an invitation to reflect on the diversity of apple varieties in particular, and the many somewhat surprising cousins in their broader family tree.

    Did you know that domesticated orchard apples are in the genus Malus which is in the family Rosaceae? Yes, the same taxonomic family that includes rosebushes also includes one of our favorite autumn harvest fruits, the apple. Also pears, quince, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. And that’s just some of the edible Rosaceae.

    And if apple season offers an annual invitation to celebrate the broader family tree, it’s also a nice celebrate the Malus varieties we cultivate in Rosslyn’s holistic orchard:

    Belle de Boskoop 
    Duchess of Oldenberg
    Enterprise 
    Freedom
    Gala
    Kidd’s Orange
    Liberty 
    Pixie Crunch
    Rubinette
    And in addition to the twenty apple trees in our orchard, we have another dozen or so trees scattered along the borders of our back meadows that I’ve gradually pruned and pampered back into production. So far I’ve been unable to identify the varieties, but there are some tasty fruit among them. In keeping with our abundance approach to gardening, we mostly harvest the trees in our orchard and leave the outliers to the deer, raccoons, bears, coyotes, wild turkeys, and probably a bunch of other apple motivated wild neighbors.