|
Potluck
APPLE TIME OF YEAR
By Mary Emma Allen
 |
Arkansas Black Apples growing at Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge Georgia
Credit Kathleen Walls |
Around the country, in apple growing areas, youngsters are excited about apple picking field trips. Parents may be planning family outings to local pick-your-own orchards. Apple dishes, such as pies, apple crisp, applesauce, apple cake, muffins and more fill kitchens with enticing aromas.
As you travel, whether in your home area or in places further afield, you'll find a new crop of apples to pick and/or purchase this time of year. Apple time meant hours in the orchard when I was growing up in the Hudson River Valley of New York State. Although Father was a dairy farmer, he also operated an orchard and grew apples to sell. O ne of my tasks was going to the orchard after school and on weekends to pick apples for our use and to send to market. The views from the orchard were spectacular since it was near the top of the "Big Hill" on our farm. From there we could view the Hudson River in the distance and, on clear days, the Catskill Mountains west of the river.
Apples - A Versatile Fruit
The range of uses for apples in recipes and even crafts (dried apple head dolls) are extensive. This fruit has been grown for ages and used in dishes throughout the world. Nowadays, with modern refrigeration and preservation methods, they?re generally available year round. Days ago, apples were cut into slices and dried for winter use. Some cooks still dry them in ovens designed particularly for preserving foods this way. Homemade applesauce was and still is a favorite way of preparing apples for many families. This also can be canned and/or frozen. My family likes this dish every fall.
Old Apple Trees
If you hike along country roads and even through woodlands, you're likely to find old apple trees growing and even producing fruit. These designate the locations of former farms and homesteads where settlers had one or two or more apple trees, along with peach and pear and cherry, to provide fruit for their diets. I often wonder about the families who used to live in these places and speculate about their lives and the recipes the cooks prepared.
Chunky Apple Cake is a recipe I acquired from a friend many years ago. I like it because it's filled with apples, so is moist and delicious.
Cream together 1/4 cup shortening, 1/3 cup sugar (you can add more if the apples are tart and you like it sweeter); add 1 beaten egg. Then stir in 3 cups peeled and diced apples, 1/4 cup chopped nuts and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Sift together 1 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Combine with creamed ingredients.
Bake in 8-inch pan at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes, or until tests done.
Serve warm or cool with whipped cream or ice cream. It's also good plain.
(c)Mary Emma Allen
Mary Emma Allen lives in New Hampshire but grew up in apple and dairy country in the Hudson River Valley of NYS. She often writes about her childhood and shares recipes, farm memories, and foodways. Some of her children's stories, in Tales of Adventure & Discovery , stem from her experiences there. For more information about her children's anthology, e-mail her at: me.allen@juno.com
|
