For apple lovers, the time is ripe for picking and baking

For apple lovers on P.E.I., there's no better time of year than now.

Whether it's biting into that juicy McIntosh you just picked off the tree, taking the first pie out of the oven or boiling crabapples for a batch of jelly, the apple is one of our most revered fruits.

It's what we give to teachers to say thanks. One a day, they say, will keep the doctor away.

You really want to annoy someone? You simply have to upset the applecart. You'll no longer be the apple of their eye.

How do you like them apples?

I love this time of year.— John Brady

Carol Balsom of Arlington Orchards likes them a lot.

She said she always looks forward to September, especially seeing the people who come to her orchard to pick apples year after year.

"This time of year is nice," she said. "We have families in the orchard who were children when their parents brought them originally because we've been in this for over 25 years. And so we're seeing the children's children now. It's really nice to see."

Not even post-tropical storm Dorian could dampen her enthusiasm.

"It was a really good crop — still is," she said. "We still have lots of apples but a lot of them did fall on the ground where the wind struck."

The Olde Towne Orchard in New Glasgow, scheduled to open Sept. 28, posted on its Facebook page that it survived Dorian "and still have a pretty big crop." 

Wintermoor Orchard in York opened earlier this month, and MacPhee's Orchard in Cardigan posted that its U-pick is opening on Saturday.

John Brady, who has been growing apples for about 35 years, said Dorian damaged about 90 per cent of his honeycrisps at his Tyne Valley orchard, but the russets, Cortlands and Spartans "did very well."

Good time for baking

Brady's U-pick is open and he's been spending long days harvesting his crop.

"I love this time of year," he said. "It's busy but … it's good harvest weather."

It's also a good time to be doing some baking.

"My wife makes what is like a baked apple inside a pie pastry crust with a brown sugar sauce over it, and it is just excellent," he said. (See recipe below.)

Brady said you can cut up apples and freeze them to bake later, or store them in a cool place. 

Balsom recommends a place like a garage or, for some varieties, a fridge.

"The early apples like your Yellow Transparents and Jersey Macs, they probably should be refrigerated because they do not last as long as you get later on in the season," she said.

"We've had people that have kept a honeycrisp in their crisper for a whole year and it was just like the day they put it in."

Cortlands good for pies

If you're making your first apple pie of the season, you can't go wrong with a Cortland, she said.

"If you lived in Nova Scotia you'd probably say a Gravenstein, but the Cortland they hold their shape when you cook them and that's kind of nice."

Of course, if you're really serious, you could do what celebrity chef Anna Olson suggested when she visited Arlington Orchards a few years ago.

"Anna Olson used to say you probably should have three different varieties in the pie because it gives us an all-around taste," Balsom said.

"Cortland definitely and then I'd probably throw a McIntosh in there for a little bit of the sauciness and something else for flavour, like Jonagold is really good."

When it comes to making jelly, bigger is not always better when it comes to apples. 

Balsom prefers the sometimes-underappreciated crabapple when making apple jelly.

"You would not want to just decide you're going to have an apple and eat a crabapple because it's pretty sour," she said. "But they certainly have a lot of taste to them when you cook with them."

Balsom uses a 100-year-old recipe passed down from the mother of Doris Gillis of Tyne Valley.

"It turns out perfect every time I make the jelly," Balsom said. "It's got such a beautiful taste."

Gillis's Crabapple Jelly recipe

Fill a pot with crabapples, add water just until you can see it. Boil crabapples until soft on low to medium heat. Take off stove and let set overnight, or for a few hours to heighten the taste. Strain crabapples in jelly bag or cheesecloth. Do not squeeze bag. 

Measure 10 cups of juice into a heavy pot. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat and let boil approximately five minutes. Add eight cups of sugar, and boil for 20 minutes. Take off heat and ladle into glass jars. Process as per jar recommendations. 

Makes approximately 10 (250 millilitre) jars. 

Brady's Cinnamon Apple Dumplings

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized apples, peeled and cored
• Pie pastry dough

Filling

• ¼ cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp raisins

Egg wash

• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 tsp water

Sauce

• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 1 ⅓ cup water

Directions

Peel and core four medium sized apples. Roll pastry into 14-inch square and cut into four squares (one for each apple). In a small dish combine filling ingredients.

Place apple in the centre of each seven-inch square and divide the sugar mixture to fill each apple.

Bring corners of pastry up to centre of the apple. Press edges to seal well. If you want to get fancy, cut out some leaf shapes from any leftover pastry dough and use as a garnish.

Brush pastry-covered apples with egg wash made from 1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water.

Place apples in nine-inch square pan. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes.

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