It's one of my favorite times of the year. Apple Season! I love all the varieties of apples we can get in the late summer and fall, and Gravensteins are one of the yummiest.
Gravenstein apples are grown and celebrated in the town of Sebastopol, California. Sebastopol is about an hour's drive north of San Francisco, in Sonoma County, which is mostly known for wineries. But it also produces amazing apples.
Sebastopol is one of the inspirations for my fictional town of Shelter Creek, where my current Heartwarming books are set. It calls itself the Gravenstein capitol of the world, and they take their relationship with this humble apple very seriously.
Gravensteins were either brought to the area by Russian traders from Fort Ross, or possibly were carried north by Spaniards from Mexico. Either way, they became the most important crop in the area and Gravensteins used to be shipped all over the country.
But the apples have a thin skin and don't keep that well, so as other tougher varieties of apple were developed, the Gravenstein apple became more of a local crop. Local and beloved! They even have their own festival each summer, as this early-ripening fruit is seen as the start of the harvest season.
Each fall, we take a road trip through Sebastopol and Sonoma County to go to a family reunion. We're headed there in a couple weeks and as always, we'll stop to buy apples. Our favorite fruit stand has been there for generations and I love the rustic ambiance. There are many unique varieties of apples to choose from, including another of my favorites, Sierra Beauties, which are tart, crunchy and delicious.
We also grow our own apples in our yard at home, on a tree that has fuji, red delicious, gala and a few other varieties grafted on. I have to admit that in our cool, coastal climate, the apples don't get very sweet, and regardless of the variety, they all taste kind of the same. It's fun to try, though, and the squirrels certainly love to steal them!
Happy Apple Season! Do you have any favorite apple varieties?
Thanks for reading!
~ Claire McEwen
Gravenstein apples are grown and celebrated in the town of Sebastopol, California. Sebastopol is about an hour's drive north of San Francisco, in Sonoma County, which is mostly known for wineries. But it also produces amazing apples.
Sebastopol is one of the inspirations for my fictional town of Shelter Creek, where my current Heartwarming books are set. It calls itself the Gravenstein capitol of the world, and they take their relationship with this humble apple very seriously.
Gravensteins were either brought to the area by Russian traders from Fort Ross, or possibly were carried north by Spaniards from Mexico. Either way, they became the most important crop in the area and Gravensteins used to be shipped all over the country.
But the apples have a thin skin and don't keep that well, so as other tougher varieties of apple were developed, the Gravenstein apple became more of a local crop. Local and beloved! They even have their own festival each summer, as this early-ripening fruit is seen as the start of the harvest season.
Each fall, we take a road trip through Sebastopol and Sonoma County to go to a family reunion. We're headed there in a couple weeks and as always, we'll stop to buy apples. Our favorite fruit stand has been there for generations and I love the rustic ambiance. There are many unique varieties of apples to choose from, including another of my favorites, Sierra Beauties, which are tart, crunchy and delicious.
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| Old apple crates stacked along the wall of our favorite fruit stand. |
We also grow our own apples in our yard at home, on a tree that has fuji, red delicious, gala and a few other varieties grafted on. I have to admit that in our cool, coastal climate, the apples don't get very sweet, and regardless of the variety, they all taste kind of the same. It's fun to try, though, and the squirrels certainly love to steal them!
Happy Apple Season! Do you have any favorite apple varieties?
Thanks for reading!
~ Claire McEwen
I'm the Honey Crisp queen. Two of my grandsons work seasonally at a popular local orchard--they keep me supplied.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great connection to have, Liz! My son adores Honey Crisp. His absolute fave.
DeleteApples! I do love them. I like Jonathons, and I like Golden Delicious for baking. The Honey Crisps are outstanding! Fresh in the fall like this, it's hard to find a bad apple!
ReplyDeleteSo true! and I love Jonathons, and my local store has Jonagolds, which are really yummy too.
DeleteI love honey crisps, but I rarely get them because they are so much more expensive than the other ones, at least here. I've never heard of Gravensteins, but I bet they are delicious. I'm not a fan of MacIntosh, but I love almost every other kind of apple!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I saw MacIntosh in the store today but passed them by. They have an odd texture to me! Gravensteins are delicious, very sweet and tart and crisp. But their season is so short, and only smaller, more local markets and farmers markets usually have them.
DeleteThere's something about seeing MacIntosh apples around that tells me fall is here, for sure! Apple season in general is a happy time of year for me.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a favorite apple but they are a sure sign of fall. To me to best apples are the ones bought at an outdoor fruit stand, a totally different feel and smell than in the supermarket!
ReplyDeleteI love Fuji apples! I haven't seen any local apples around here this year...
ReplyDeleteI like fairly tart apples and crisp ones. Fujis are sometimes good. A great applesauce apple is the White or Red Astrachan. But they are hard to find.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother taught me the best apples for making applesauce are MacIntosh so that's what I always use. Callie, one of these days I'll venture out to try some new ones:-) Apples do advertise fall. Apple cider season is finally here!
ReplyDelete