Apple-picking time is here

Crisp fall air and turning leaves point to another treat of the season — apples.

Whether you prefer them sweet or tart, crunchy or with a bit of give, local orchards report the fruit is in full season, and varieties for eating or baking are available through late October.
Brenda Mowry, who owns Mowry’s Fruit Farm in Crown Point with her husband, Floyd, said the property has been in her husband’s family for 56 years and was a dairy farm.
“This is an actual working farm,” she said. “We try to let people experience a real farm experience.”
The farm is 40 acres, with 25 acres in fruit, including 12 apple varieties and two types of pears, which also are in season.
County Line Orchard in Hobart has 50 acres of apples, including 20,000 trees. The orchard offers 35 varieties of apples, said owner Ryan Richardson, including a handful of more unusual varieties, such as Arkansas Black and Sweet 16.
“It allows us to test them to see what people like,” he said, adding the orchard added 20 acres of apples in the past four years.
Though the apple-picking season has been in full swing for a few weeks, Mowry and Richardson said there’s a lot available now and through late October.
“We’re currently picking Jonathans, Cortlands and McIntosh, and then we go into Red and Golden Delicious, and Ida Reds, and then we have Northern Spy and Romes, and we also have Empires,” Mowry said, ticking off a timeline of the growing season.
Whether a customer is picking or purchasing picked apples, Richardson recommends selecting apples without blemishes or bruises, with smooth skin and good color. The best way to store them is in the refrigerator’s crisper bin, out of the bag. That allows the escape of ethylene gas, which the apples produce as they ripen.
Early season apples are good for about two weeks, but mid- and late-season apples, like Fujis, can be stored for a couple of months, he said.
When it comes to cooking, Mowry said pureed apples could be used as a substitute for the fat in cakes and other baked goods, producing a lower-calorie and healthier treat.
She likes making apple crisp and apple pie; she’s developing a caramel apple apple pie for an upcoming pie-baking contest.
As far as Mowry’s favorite fruit, well, it’s not the apples and pears her family grows at their farm.
“Don’t tell my husband — it’s blueberries,” she said.
Rachel Alvarado (above) waits patiently with a bag as her husband, Manuel, looks over a pair of freshly picked apples during their visit to Mowry’s Fruit Farm in Crown Point. Holly Klisiak (left), of Lowell, exits the check-out shed at Mowry’s Fruit Farm with a container of homemade apple cider. | Photos by Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media Andy Lavalley Andy Lavalley Rachel Alvarado (above) waits patiently with a bag as her husband, Manuel, looks over a pair of freshly picked apples during their visit to Mowry’s Fruit Farm in Crown Point. Holly Klisiak (left), of Lowell, exits the check-out shed at Mowry’s Fruit Farm with a container of homemade apple cider. | Photos by Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media Andy Lavalley
Fact Box: Learn more County Line Orchard is located at 200 S. County Line Road, Hobart. For more information, call 947-4477, or go to www.countylineorchard.com. Mowry’s Fruit Farm, 2411 E. 109th Ave., Crown Point, can be reached at 663-4782. Additional information also is available at www.apples2pick.com. Learn more County Line Orchard is at 200 S. County Line Road, Hobart. For more information, call 947-4477, or go to www.countylineorchard.com. Mowry’s Fruit Farm, 2411 E. 109th Ave., Crown Point, can be reached at 663-4782. Additional information also is available at www.apples2pick. com.