Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Autumn has arrived

Around these here parts, Indian summers and the first cool days of Autumn are signified by one thing.

The Honeycrisp apple.


Even tho the date denotes that Autumn is upon us, the temperatures have not. This is why I say Indian summers go along just as easily with this particular apple.

People come from far and wide to buy this apple by the bushels. Thats how good it is. Included in those said people would be my MIL, who lives 3 hours south of me. She makes a trip here every Autumn to purchase some of these apples.



This apple is so darn popular that even folks like myself, who normally avoid large crowds, will go to the orchard to get some. In fact, it seems that on this particular day, I was willing to forgo the aforementioned aversion to crowds AND ignore the rain that seemed to be falling on me as I made my way to the orchard shop!

Once inside the shop, the next step was to find a wagon. Have you ever tried to carry bushels of apples without a wagon? You have? Well, you must be really strong. Of course, in order to get a wagon I had to make my way back outdoors, in the rain, to the wagon corral. Which was EMPTY. Hmph. Excuse me, Miss You Look Like a Nice Lady, are you done with that wagon? No, she says. In my head I say, Well, it looks like you are done with that wagon. Then she says, Actually, you can go ahead and take it....Im just waiting for someone. Then, in my head again, I say, Did I actually say that out loud? Im pretty sure I was just thinking that...I hope I didnt say that outloud.....So, I say, Thanks. This is really gonna help me out.

Me and my wagon go back in the shop and find my MIL, who is now requesting even more apples from the lady working in the back. As she managed to clear the ones from the shelf in a matter of minutes. As we are waiting for the rest of her apples, we overhear a small group of college kids gasping at the price of the Honeycrisp apple. They want how much for that apple? Are you serious? That has to be wrong? Who would pay that much for an apple? To which my MIL replies, have you tasted it? Well, no, they say. Okay, my MIL says, well, you really need to taste it. Then you will know why people pay so much for this apple. Yeah, right, they say. It cant be that good. So one of the employees comes out with some pieces of the apple and the next thing you hear is, OMG, this is so good. Are you for real? How could we not have known this was so good? How much do we each have to pay if we split a bag?

The power of the apple. It brings even the toughest critics to their knees.


8 comments:

Kathryn and Ari said...

I miss the honeycrisp! We rarely have them here in Maine, but I remember them from warmer climes and know that they are absolutely worth any hassle. Here where I live, we're transitioning from ginger golds (double yum) to our cold weather varieties. Do you know the Ida Red? It very famously overwinters in a cellar: we ate the last of last season's in June this year.

frugalmom said...

Kathryn and Ari: Is Ida Red the one that you can wrap in newspaper in your cellar and it gets better and better as it sits? I dont think I can get that here.

Anonymous said...

way to go MIL! You tell them young whippersnappers!! :) And I love your little internal conversation! I find myself doing that more and more "did I say that outloud?!" :)

Pat in east TN said...

It's almost time for our local Apple Festival and I'm looking forward to seeing the different types of apples the growers bring in ... I'm going to be looking for the honeycrisp, which I've heard of, but have never heard of the Ida Red.

Mim said...

Mmmm, Honeycrisp. I had some this week from an orchard not too far from here. You might have heard of the town-Salem, IL. LOL I didn't get a bushel of them though. My MIL would not spend that for an apple. Too much, too much she said. Mmmm, I like the Ginger gold too. And fresh apple cider and cider doughnuts. MMMMMMmmmmmm!

Adventure girl said...

Makes my want to visit this cool apple place 2 hours south of here;) Thanks:)

sugarcreekstuff said...

I'm catching up on blogs.
We are lucky to have the honeycrisp here too. The kids and I went to one of our local orchards that I handn't been to in upteen gazillion years, just picture apples instead of Mickey and you get the picture. What the..?? No thanks, back to the simple orchards for me.

Danni said...

Mmmmm....honeycrisp. How could I have been so in the dark about such yummy little apples?! Well, no more...thank you for my trio of honeycrisp apples, Marc! I ate my last one on the way to the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary's Wine & Music Event on Saturday. Do I have to wait until next year for more? :-) Postage be damned!!