Before there was pumpkin spice, apples owned autumn.
Apple pie, apple cake, apple cider, apple jack, apple orchards, and apples — all kinds of them.
And apple picking was a big part of the fun.
Yes, there are more than 7,500 varieties of apples in the world and, yes, a fair number of them grow right here in northern Illinois. Most years.
But, like the rest of us, the apple crop struggled this past season. Yields are down and picking opportunities are slimmer.
But there are still apples to be had.
So put the maddening summer behind you. Forget about the storms, the rainouts, the oppressive heat, the mosquito offensives, the changing climate and the sunburns.
Embrace fall. Make a pie. Make a cobbler. Melt some caramel. Because some orchards are still producing. And crisp apples are calling.
Take a drive out to the country, maybe see some leaves change color before your eyes. Arrive at an orchard, grab a bucket and pick bunches of your favorite apples. Then go home and bake some pies or cakes with whatever you didn’t eat on the drive back.
Right now, Honeycrisp and Cortlands are ripe for the picking at Keller’s Apple Orchard in Oswego. Soon, Empire and Pixie Crunch will be jumping off the trees.
To every apple there is a mini-season.
Apples are special for so many reasons, said Laura Keller Miller, spokesperson for Keller’s.
First of all, they’re a member of the rose family, which sort of elevates them right out of the gate. Plus, they’re yummy. Then, there’s the whole nutritional thing.
And, talk about variety, apples come in different colors and a whole spectrum of textures and flavors, from tart to sweet.
Apple varieties are a mix between two “parent” apple types, Keller Miller said.
“For example, a variety we grow called Rosalee is a cross between Honeycrisp and Fuji apples. Empire, which we also grow, is a cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh apples,” she said.
One more cool thing about apples, she said, is this: “If you cut an apple in half sideways, you will see a star.”
Talk about a-peeling.
Although there are so many apples, there is so little time. It all ends in a few weeks.
Go to kellersfarmstand.com/fall/apples for their hours, pricing and recipes, including the staff’s favorite, Grandma Keller’s Apple Kuchen.
Esther Hong, of All Seasons Orchard in Woodstock, said different varieties of apples lend themselves to different roles.
“For pies, you want an apple with a good balance of sweet and tart that will hold up when baked. Jonagold and Cortland are both good choices,” Hong said.
“For caramel apples, we prefer apples that are crisp and firm with a little bit of tartness. Honeycrisp is our favorite because it provides the crunch and tartness that balances the caramel’s sweetness,” she said.
And, she said, “For cider, we use a mix of apples that provide both sweetness and acidity. We like to use a combination of apples including Gala, Jonagold, McIntosh and Honeycrisp.”
In addition to apple picking, All Seasons offers Barnyard Fun with games, a corn maze, ropes course and petting farm. Go to allseasonsorchard.com for information on hours and pricing.
Though the apple dates back to ancient times, we have frontiersman Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman to thank for America’s robust production, even if his intent wasn’t to create an apple industry.
According to biography.com, the trees that Chapman planted had multiple purposes, but yielding edible fruit was not one of them. The small, tart apples his orchards produced were used primarily to make hard cider and applejack. Back in the 1800s, orchards also served the critical legal purpose of establishing land claims along the frontier. As a consequence, Chapman owned around 1,200 acres of valuable land at the time of his death, the site states.
“While Chapman planted strategically for profit, the Johnny Appleseed character sowed seeds at random and without commercial interest,” the site states. “The fact that Chapman’s crops were typically used to make alcohol was also excluded from the Johnny Appleseed legend. Despite these discrepancies from the historical record, the Johnny Appleseed character reflects an interest in the frontier settlement during a period of expansion in the far western portion of the continent.”
Whatever Chapman’s motivation, the result is that Illinois has a bunch of apple orchards. But the Prairie State is hardly tops in America. That honor goes to Washington, followed by New York and Michigan. And America is hardly tops in world production. That distinction belongs to China.
Still, each autumn, thousands of Illinoisians realize we have a pretty good thing right here in the middle of the country.
We may not be able to name every kind of apple, but we can easily access people who can. Even though the crop struggled this year, there are still some U-pick opportunities, as well as lots of side shows, such as pumpkin patches, carnival rides and corn mazes.
Here are some other places that welcome your quest to return to your agrarian roots, even if only for a few hours.
Goebberts Farm in Pingree Grove grows 18 varieties of apples on 35 acres. The public is welcome to enjoy u-pick as well as autumn festival fun, including pedal carts, rides, a shooting gallery and pumpkin patch. Go to www.goebberts.com/fall-festival-overview-2 for details.
Royal Oak Farm Orchard, 15908 Hebron Rd, Harvard, Illinois; 815-648-4141; www.royaloak.farm.
County Line Orchard, 200 S County Line Rd, Hobart, Indiana; 219-947-4477; www.countylineorchard.com.
Garwood Orchards, 5911 W 50 S, La Porte, Indiana; 219-362-4385; www.garwoodapplefarm.com.
Jonamac Orchard; 19412 Shabbona Rd, Malta, Illinois; 815-825-2158; jonamacorchard.com.
Edward Orchard, 7061 Centerville Road, Poplar Grove, Illinois; edwardsorchard.farm/pick-your-own/apples.
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years. She can be reached at donnavickroy4@gmail.com.
