"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Why Mac's?

I love most apples.  My current favorite is Pink Lady.  This is a great tart-sweet CRISP eating apple.  But they don't come in until October.  And they don't sauce well at all.  Strictly an eating apple, IMHO.


And I LOVE applesauce.

So whats an apple lover to do?  Buy MacIntosh.  Why Mac's?  It's a childhood thing I guess.  I grew up in Ohio and my Dad and I would drive over to a local orchard and buy cider and apple butter and fresh apples of course.  My favorites were the Mac's.  Hands down.



It wasn't until I became an adult "cook" that I learned the best way to eat a Mac.  You sauce it.  There is something about the flavor of MacIntosh Applesauce.  I'll often add Granny Smith's to the mix as I like a chunky applesause and the Granny's hold up a bit better.

So the past few weeks I've been watching the websites of a few orchards up and around Hendersonville.  (*We went to the Hendersonville Apple festival last year.  What a dud.  Not what I was hoping for at all...but I digress.)  The websites have a listing of what they're picking now and what's coming up soon, so I knew that the Macs were in.  The question was did I want to drive 3 hours and use up all that gas just to pick apples?

"Lets try the Farmers Market first."  I suggested.  So when we went the other day, I had my eyes peeled for apples.  Only 4 vendor's had any.  Just a few varities available.  And the prices!?!  Early bird gets screwed!  Last year I paid $15 for a case of apples.  This year?  $22 dollars.

"Why so much?"  I asked.  

"It's early in the season and there's just not a lot out right now." was the reply.


So I took what I could get and paid $12 for the only Mac's in town.  (Mine.  Go away, you can't have my Mac's.)  When I got home I weighed them on the scale.  $18 pounds for $12 dollars equals $0.66 cents a pound.  Again, buying in bulk saves.  (All the apples we saw were priced at 0.99 cents a pound.)  So I saved $6 dollars.  (It's the little things that make me happy..&;)

Do you have a favorite saucing apple?  Eating apple?  Last year was my introduction to Pink Ladies, so I just know there has to be more tasty apples out there that I've not discovered.

8 comments:

  1. There's no doubt Macs are a great apple.
    I have a tree out front that I use for applesauce...I have no clue what variety it is (ancient, gnarled tree). It makes out of this world applesauce. I want a neighbor to help me get some grafts from it. I don't want that tree lost.....

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  2. I love using any type I can get and mixing...each year I get a different blend...but one rule...no "delicious" apples...I used deer drop apples last year and they were the best and cheapest ever ($4/bushel).

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  3. I am with you on the Pink Ladies! Super yummy to eat!

    For our sauces and butters, we just mix whatever is on the old trees. No on knows what kind they are but when they all come together, they are wonderful.

    So many people have fruit trees around here that never get picked. So every year, me and the golf cart and long picker go for a ride. I usually get way more than we need.

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  4. I'm like everyone else, I sauce my old unknown apples. But if I want a really good eating apple, I love Empires. Yum sweet and tart and so crunchy.

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  5. My favorites for eating are also the Pink Ladies but I haven't found any of those locally for the last 2 years. Keeping my fingers crossed for this year, though!

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  6. The pink ladies are divine! I got some Fuji's from our co-op that were great too.

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  7. Burgundy. My favorite for sauce, without doubt. Definitely not widely available, but they make a delicious and very pretty pink applesauce.

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