Many customers come in and ask us if we grow that apple that their grandmother’s told them you only need one apple for one pie – of course we do – the Wolf River. I’ll have to admit that we really don’t actually get apples the size for a pie (we think it has to do with the fact that we grow dwarf trees) but we do get them quite large…(yup, that one was 1.36 lbs) I’ve heard from a lot of people that they really how these Wolf River’s work when making applesauce and even one gentleman that swears by them for his apple butter. The guys picked quite a few bushels of these beautiful, large apples this year so this is definitely your chance to try them out!

A Little More Info:

Cooking Tips
Can be eaten fresh if they haven't been off the tree too long. Otherwise, use for baking , apple sauce or dried apple chips (we’ve never tried this…).
Storage
Does not store well.
History
A man named William Springer was emigrating from Quebec, Canada, to America. Along the way to Wisconsin, he bought apples, probably Alexander apples.
He planted seeds from the apples when he arrived at his new farm along the Wolf River in Fremont, Wisconsin. The Wolf River apple sprang from one of those seeds; he noticed the new tree sometime before 1881.

From Wikipedia:

Apple very large, some growing to size of large grapefruit. Red with yellow blush. Once very popular commercial apple in United States but presently relegated to upper Midwest if grown for profit. Occasionally can be found growing wild in backcountry thickets or abandoned land in Shenandoah Valley. Named for area where found. Feral trees can be brought back with care and pruning.

Stop by and check them out soon!

That’s right! Apple season has BEGUN! We have started to pick the McIntosh! Here’s a little background on these fabulous, classic apple!

This is taken directly from the Wisconsin Apple Grower Association Cookbook.

Nothing announces the arrival of fall more clearly than the scent of a freshly baked apple pie. And what better apple to choose than the McIntosh?

The McIntosh remains the most popular apple in the Eastern United States.

Characterized by a perfect balance of crispness, tartness and sweetness, the McIntosh is also one of the oldest apples. Today more than 3,000,000 McIntosh apple trees flourish throughout North America, [we have about 350 trees growing at our Kroncke Road Orchard] all stemming from a single tree discovered by John McIntosh in undergrowth on a farm in Dundas County, Ontario, in 1811.

The survival of the variety and its ultimate popularity almost 200 years after its chance discovery was the long-time effort of several generations of the McIntosh family.

When fire swept through the McIntosh farm in 1895, John’s son, Allen, managed to nurse back to health the badly singed original tree that was still producing apples. In fact, the tree outlived him. Allen died in 1899, but the tree continued to bear fruit until 1906.

McIntosh apples are medium-sized oblate fruits that are red on a green background. There are many strains available with many color variations from red-striped strains to full red-brown blushed strains.

The flesh is white, soft and fine-textured. The flavor is distinctly tangy and aromatic. This variety is excellent for eating fresh, sauces, salads and pies, and is available in Wisconsin during the month of September, with storage capability through early spring.