September Is Apple Time
Oh, Dear Readers, can you believe it is September again? Maybe because I have been essentially in my house and yard for six (6!) months, I am finding it hard to accept thattwo seasons have passed us by.
no graduations, no weddings, no beach (not that I go to the beach), no trips to NewYork City (that’s the one that broke my heart).
I am really liking the updated version of an apple a day: I grew up with apple orchards on either side of our farm. Yep, we did hurl a few apples, especially the almost rotten, ugly ones. [Always such a young lady.]
He apparently did not wear a pot on his head or go barefoot. He was a leader in land use, showing farmers where the apples would grow best, and how to fence off parcels to keep wild animals from eating the immature trees. He died in September of 1845, leaving a legacy and a legend.
No spring Apple Blossom Festival,
This blog may strike you as random – because it is. As you know, my best friend Google and I started by playing around with the word “apple.”
I got a bit upset with my friend because the first hit that popped up was this: I’m thinking NO! NO, Google, NO! Well, I had to forgive Google because I used a capital A in my query. Used lower case and voila, I get the fruit!
We all know the saying, “ An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Is it true? Heathline.com/nutrition says, “Sort of….” Apples have vitamin C, antioxidents, is good for heart health, and may help prevent some cancers. However, apples are a high carb fruit--25 grams in a medium apple and with 4.5 grams of fiber can cause gas, bloating, and stomach pain. The daily recommended amount of fiber is 25 grams.
So, it seems to me that apples are best to be eaten freshly picked off the tree or used in pies. With apple desserts one can pretend nutrition and prevent roughhousing at the table. I learned how to make apple pies at a very early age (maybe five or six), but I grew out of the habit as a teenager. There are a couple of kitchen hacks, though, that I learned from my grandmother that still make me feel superior when dear husband and I watch a cooking show.
I have two useful pieces of information to share with you. The first is that although Red Delicious apples look so pretty at the market, they are mealy and not good for cooking. Use Golden Delicious or Granny Smith. They are both firmer and tarter and keep the pie from having “soggy bottom” and tasting too sweet.
The second tip is use store-bought pie crust. Pillsbury is just fine. You are ready to make your pie. First do this: break one egg, separating yolk and white. Use a fork to froth-up (is this a word?) the egg white and brush it on the bottom pie crust you have just put in your pie pan. Something in egg white creates a bond that will keep separate the pie shell and the fruit. I do not know the science on this, but it works.
Now you’ve filled your shell and put on the top crust. Beat the egg yolk (with a fork is just fine) and brush that on the top crust for a professional shine!! Actually, I have a third tip: call ahead of time to your favorite bakery or market and order one!
Another random thought was the story of Johnny Appleseed. Thirty-plus years of being a librarian and this story is annual September display. Most folks who know anything about apples are aware of his story. [I was once in a play about this legendary man. I played a school teacher named Miss MacIntosh. How cute was that?]
If you have little ones around–in school (maybe) or for a fall visit, entertain them with the story of Johnny Appleseed. He really was real. John Chapman, born in 1774, was actually an early horticulturist who traveled throughout the mid-Atlantic and mid-west and gave apple seeds to farmers to cultivate apple orchards to make cider.
He apparently did not wear a pot on his head or go barefoot. He was a leader in land use, showing farmers where the apples would grow best, and how to fence off parcels to keep wild animals from eating the immature trees. He died in September of 1845, leaving a legacy and a legend.
Enjoy your September. Eat an apple. Bake a pie and be the “apple of someone’s eye.” Maybe it’s time to get things “in apple pie order,” but don’t let “one rotten apple spoil the bunch.” Enough clichés!!
Stay healthy, wear those masks, and keep in touch!
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