The local apple season starts with a thin trickle in July and slowly builds to
its October climax.
|
Blushing Golden |
In November things drop off the edge of a cliff.
This year the end of the harvest felt particularly abrupt. At those few
farmers markets that continue past Halloween, pickings were slim compared to
last year, when you could buy
Blushing Goldens
the day before Thanksgiving.
I chalk this up to the vagaries of the harvest, from this year's
odd Spring
to Fall's windstorms. I wonder how long the Macouns will last in supermarkets
this winter.
|
Enterprise |
Treasures were few this month, and if you are reading this wondering what to
buy in some future November I refer you to the
guide I wrote last year.
I did get some wonderful unpasturized sweet cider from
Phil's, a
blend of
Enterprise
and
Cortland.
It was the best I've ever tasted.
The local Whole Foods had some heirlooms from
a farm in Vermont.
These were indifferently labeled and sometimes the worse for wear, but still
rewarding.
The apples sold as
Blue Pearmain
were clearly no such things when I bought one in late October, but when I ate
it a month later it was excellent and probably a
Cox's Orange Pippin.
I wish I'd gotten a few more!
At the close of this November my store of
keepers,
mostly Blushing Goldens and
russets,
seems thin. I'll eat them in December, then hope for decent choices at
supermarkets.
Click here for my
November buyers' guide from 2009.