Thought by many to be the “king of fruits,” the apple is the oldest fruit known to man. Most people are pretty convinced that the fruit in the Garden of Eden was an apple and we put it into high esteem with sayings such as you’re the ‘apple of my eye.’ A golden apple in Greek mythology caused the Trojan War.
The apple tree grew wild thousands of years ago in central and southwest Asia, China and the Near East. The fruit was carried to the Middle East and finally to Europe. The Romans grew at least 22 varieties and when they invaded Britain they brought along the apple.
But it was John Chapman, “Johnny Appleseed,” who we can thank for our wonderful proliferation of apples. He brought his seed stock from orchards in Pennsylvania to the edge of the frontier as it pushed west. He has become a mythical figure immortalized in song, story and poetry. That figure is a wiry man plodding along with bare feet and wearing a saucepan for a hat, with a leather knapsack of apple seeds on his back. He traveled just ahead of the western-spreading population. By the time the settlers arrived, his seedling stock was ready to be sold or given away to those who could not afford to buy the trees.
The apple was a basic crop to the early American pioneers. They made their fresh apples into pies and sauce or ate them fresh. Then they began to preserve. Drying was the most feasible method of keeping apples. They were most likely to dry them whole, setting them on a wooden stage and covering them at night with blankets. If it was about to rain, they gathered them and brought them into the house. This was repeated until they were perfectly dried. They would shrink to an incredibly small size and then when the pioneers were ready to use them, they put a small handful in warm water overnight and in the morning they were swollen to their former size.
Apple cider was another use for the fruit. Cider was the staple beverage in most households in Colonial America—barrels of it for the family to drink in early autumn when it was at its best, and then fermented for the rest of the year to use as a beverage--hard cider--or as vinegar.
“As American as apple pie” is a true analogy. Apple pie had been popular in Britain; in American colonies it became not only the standard dessert but often a breakfast staple. And apple pie was always served with cheese. “Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.” At Yale College every supper served for more than a hundred years is said to have included apple pie. The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher wrote of apple pie, declaring it should be anointed with sugar, butter and spices to form a “glorious unity…the morsels of apple neither dissolved nor yet in original substance, but hanging as it were in a trance between the spirit and the flesh of applehood…”
The varieties of apples available today are a far cry from what Johnny Appleseed had in his leather bag. The University of Minnesota is one of the foremost universities to research and develop new strains of apples that are juicy, sweet, good keepers and can withstand our climate. Here in the Hiawatha Valley we are blessed with several great apple varieties including the best sellers: Honey Crisp (the most popular apple), Sweet Sixteen and Haralson. On our stop at Pepin Heights Store in Lake City, we were treated to taste test a new variety, so new it is only numbered 1914. It was delicious; even sweeter, juicier and crisper than Honey Crisp.
The apples are ready for eating from mid August to mid October, with the different varieties making their appearances from the earliest—State Fair—to the latest—the Regent apple.
Apples are also classified according to their best use. The best for baking and sauce are McIntosh, Cortland and Haralson.
Although the Honey Crisp is my favorite for eating, the Haralson apple is my all-around choice for flavor, crispness and tartness, making it both a good eating apple and a great apple for pie. Every year I get at least one bushel to freeze for apple desserts all year at the inn. I’m including one of the favorites and also—of course—one for a great apple pie.
Apple Crisp
Make in a 9” square pan (serves 8-10)
5 apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup water
Three-fourths cup flour
½ cup butter
One-fourth tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon juice (or more if using very sweet apples)
1 cup sugar
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
Spray pan with Pam. Slice apples into pan. Put cinnamon, nutmeg, water and lemon juice over apples. Mix sugar, flour and butter in food processor or with pastry blender until consistency of coarse meal. Spread over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Old-fashioned “as American as” Apple Pie
Pastry for double crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
Two-thirds cup plus 1 Tbsp. Crisco shortening (don’t substitute)
1 tsp. salt
5-7 Tbsp. ice water
Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening by hand, using 2 knives or a pastry blender until crumbs are size of small peas. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition with a fork, only until water is barely absorbed. Continue until mixture holds together and can be gathered into a ball with your hand. Handle very gently, barely pulling dough together. Divide dough into equal halves and pat each into a disc. Discs can be wrapped and refrigerated or rolled out immediately.
Pie filling:
6 or 7 baking apples (Haralson preferred)
Three-fourths to 1 cup sugar (depending on tartness)
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ to 1 tsp cinnamon
Dash nutmeg (optional)
½ tsp. lemon juice
One-fourth tsp. salt
Pastry for 2-crust 9” pie
2 Tbsp. butter
Pare apples and slice thin. Combine sugar, flour, spices and salt; mix with apples. Flour a board generously. Using a cloth-covered rolling pin, roll from center to edges until large enough to fit into 9” pie pan with slight over-hang of crust. Line 9” pie plate with pastry, fill with apple mixture; dot with butter. Roll out top crust same as bottom. Adjust top crust on pie. Flute edges, sealing so juice does not run out of pie. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar for sparkle. Bake at 400 for 50 minutes or until done. You can cover edges of crust with foil and remove them 15 minutes before pie is done to keep them from over-browning.
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