Not only is there an ‘apple season’ but there is a ‘season’ of the apples.  Currently we are in the ‘early apple season’.  September is ‘mid apple season’ and October/November is ‘late’ apple season.  Why am I distinguishing between these periods?  It tends to make a difference in the storage of the apples.

The early apples don’t tend to store very long.  And by very long I mean not for months and months.  If you refrigerate your apples they typically will store for about 2 to 3 weeks.  Again this will depend on the variety … the Duchess, even when refrigerated will go soft fairly fast … but considering these are meant to be a good apple for cooking sauce and pies that doesn’t matter too much. 

As we move into later seasons, the refrigerated storage life of the apples tend to be longer.  Certain apples will store for months and months.  Later in the season – stock up on Idareds, empire, golden delicious and red delicious for refrigerated storage life into the spring months. 

Have you noticed that I’ve been emphasizing ‘refrigerated’ storage for the apples?

I found a really interesting article about the storage of apples here. 

Apples ripen 10 times faster on the counter … so if you prefer a softer apple this would be the way to store them.  If you want your apples to keep there crisp – put them in the refrigerator loose and away from other fruits.

I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion about the storage life of apples … or at least maybe you discovered a few fun facts!

Yup, it’s Sunday again. Which means you get to read a lovely post from me!

So, you want to know what we’ve been doing at the orchard since it’s not apple season – probably resting and watching lots of TV, right? Nope, the guys have been trudging through the crazy amounts of snow in the orchard working on getting the trees pruned and ready for spring. It has not been a fun year for pruning. One Sunday I didn’t feel like driving all the way to the gym so instead I took a “walk” around the orchard…man was that a workout! In some spots, the snow went higher than my knees! And, to make it even worse, there would be places were you could walk on top of the snow but then all of a sudden you would sink. Now, imagine having to do that hauling a chain saw and pruning shears around! But, it has to get done.

Diane, Frank and Jared have also been slaving away in our commercial kitchen processing our apples into various yummy canned goods. In the upcoming weeks there is strong possibility that we will be offering these for sale online. I’ll keep you posted.

Jared has also continued to renovate the shed to convert it into our ‘store’. Every time I go in there I’m amazed at what he’s accomplished so far. I can’t wait for everyone to come and see it!

I have been busy enjoying time with my girls and stocking up on more craft items. I recently agreed to be a seller at a new boutique in Milwaukee, Project M, so I’ve been franticly making enough jewelry to send down there. I also have a few different shows coming up this Spring, the ‘Valentine’s Craftacular’ and ‘Cupcakes and Crafts’. Keep an eye on my ‘crafty’ blog to see what’s happening: www.kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com

And now, as promised…something about apples!

We’re going with a fun apple fact today!

Apples are one of the few fruits that you can find fresh any time of the year, all over the country.

(found on the WAGA website)