Wednesday is Farmers' Market Day for me. I have three of them within ten minutes of me. In Lexington they have it on Tuesdays, in Winchester where I live on Saturdays, but I almost always go to the Wednesday Arlington Farmers' Market. I have to work the store (an artists' cooperative where I sell my work) about two to three times a month. I happen to be the scheduler and always schedule myself on Wednesdays mornings during the market season. This way I can go home via the farmers' market.
Usually I don't buy much there. Free range eggs. Fish. Corn. Occasionally I pick up honey or some strawberries in season. But Autumn is apple season. I have no apple trees here, so the farmers' market is where I get them. There are so many varieties. I've eaten them all and loved them all. There is nothing like a freshly picked apple. Some are sweet; some are tart; they are all delicious. This week the Ginger Golds showed up as did the Honey Crisps.
Honey Crisps are my favorite apple, though it is hard to choose. It is sweet and crispy and has a good dollop of sour to it to round out the taste yum. However Honey Crisps are expensive. One stand was selling them for $2.50/lb while all the other varieties were only $1. Since they had Ginger Golds I stuck with those. These are wonderful apples that have a lot of the same characteristics. I bought a mix of the Ginger Golds and some McIntosh. I wanted to make applesauce, apple butter and maybe some pie filling too (not the diluted stuff with corn starch, but basically apple slices, sugar, and spices in a bit of apple sauce).
McIntosh is one of my favorites for applesauce. It sauces down quite quickly. The Ginger Golds I'd never cooked with before so didn't know their tendencies yet. Well it turns out they hold their shape quite well. My husband is not a chunky applesauce man. He likes it smooth. So I brought out the strainer and made the smoothest cinnamon applesauce that I've ever made. The tomato screen makes a really fine applesauce - well if you don't like chunky applesauce. Luckily for me, I like it both ways.
The seven pounds I bought were enough for about five pints of applesauce with a bit more left over for lunch. Sadly one of the jars didn't seal. It happens. Maybe I'll make some gingerbread pancakes. These are the prefect accompaniment to cinnamon applesauce. No syrup needed, just pour on the sauce.
Next week I'll buy more apples to make either pie filling or apple butter. Homemade is so much better than what you get in the store.
Definitely Daphne, home made is so much better than those from the store. Yours will last for weeks or months?.... Cheers ~bangchik
ReplyDeleteOh, tis the season for that sweet smell in the air...applesauce and apple pie and all of it spiked with cinnamon. You've stirred me to think about heading off to the orchard...
ReplyDeleteMMMM! Homemade applesauce, that's such a treat! I really have to try to stop by the local orchard, last time I wanted to they were closed, weird schedule. I must do this before the season is over though!
ReplyDeleteYUM, Daphne! Your applesauce looks fabulous! Honeycrisps and Ginger Golds are two of my all-time favorites. I love your apple pie filling, since I think cornstarch ruins the texture and even affects the flavor of dishes it's used in. I'll have to try yours! As for that unsealed jar, of course I'd just eat it! You could cook it down to make some apple butter for those ginger pancakes, too. (Or how about ginger waffles, with all those pockets to hold the sauce?)
ReplyDeleteThat looks just super tasty! You are so right, homemade is much better.
ReplyDeleteYou folks are making my mouth water. I think Mass. has more good types of apples than we can get here in KY. When one of our sons lived in upstate N.Y. he talked of apples I had never heard of. Daphne, you are so smart and it all looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteNice looking applesauce. We have an apple tree and I'm hoping to get a good harvest. Applesauce and apple butter, here we come!
ReplyDeleteOh god....i'd love to make homemade applesauce. Hopefully my trees will allow me to do so, in about 4 or 5 more years. Never made apple butter, either - but I did make pear butter last year. The family loved it!
ReplyDeleteBangchik, hopefully I won't eat it all in the next couple of weeks. The first jar was really good.
ReplyDeleteJune, I haven't gone apple picking in years. I think I like the variety of the market and I like seeing how the apples change over time. The Ginger Golds were so good in the sauce (if more work because I had to strain them) that a lot of those might be nice.
Lzyjo, luckily apple season lasts a while as the different varieties come into season.
our frined Ben, I make apple pie without a bottom crust so it thickens up more than if it had a crust. The top crust is still there (and I sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar). We had it straight over the gingerbread pancakes and it was delicious. Yum. I would love to make waffles, but I gave my waffle maker to my son. He makes Sunday brunch for his suite mates and friends at college. I think he needs it more than me even though I bought him another one for college. Even two probably takes forever.
prue, thanks
Barbee, we do have a lot of orchards scattered all around. We have really good apple growing weather.
Jackie, I so want a couple of trees of my own. I actually would love an assortment of dwarf trees, though I think semi dwarfs look prettier. If I ever find a house I'm going to plant some.
EG, I've loved apple butter since I was a kid. YUM. I haven't made it in years though.
yum! i grew up in upstate ny and miss fresh apples so much!
ReplyDeletealso great idea for gingerbread pancakes/ applesauce combo. sounds amazing. i think ill make that for my daughter soon.
Josie if you ever make them remember that they burn easily (because of the molasses). They have to be cooked at a lower temp than regular ones.
ReplyDeleteThis applesauce looks great.
ReplyDeleteMy new obsession is growing apples - probably espalier style.
Ok, I'm drooling over your applesauce!
ReplyDeleteI miss macs... don't grow them out this way, I guess.
Going to those Farmer's Markets sounds like fun!
Good luck with your jewelry business! Do you have a website? You should post it on your blog!
Wow your pancakes and applesauce made my mouth water! I have to see if we have farmers markets in my area, they sound great.
ReplyDeleteYum! Apple Season!
ReplyDeleteDo share your apple pie filling recipe! I've been wanting to try making that.