The crunchy juiciness of a ripe, fragrant apple is one of the best things about the fall harvest. The taste reminds me of apple picking with my family on a cold drizzly day, holiday pies with that perfect not-too-dry crust, and peeling apple after apple from the tree in my parent’s backyard to make sauce for the winter.
Apples can do it all. Eat them out of hand, roast them, sautée and boil them down. Put them on pizza or inside a quiche. Slow-cook them into soups, jams and compotes. And bake them… into everything!
Apparently the average person in the US eats about 20 pounds of apples each year. Most of year I would find that hard to believe, but biting into the first apple of the season I can see it. Not only are they tasty, versatile, and in everything, they’re high in fiber and provide almost a quarter of our daily recommended vitamin C. An apple a day? Yes please.
It turns out apples are part of the rose family, like pears! These are plants that like to be spoiled. To yield a good crop, a farmer needs to devote quite a lot of maintenance and care to protecting and nurturing the tree. But it’s worth the effort.
We’re just entering apple season now! In California, the first varieties start coming off the trees in late July/early August and continue into the fall. Then we can enjoy apples all the way into the start of spring thanks to cold storage and some late varieties. The majority of varieties ripen in September and October, though. The tart and crisp quality of the early beauties is great for making sauce and then the later season apples make for the best pies.
In addition to growing our own apples, we partner with other organic farms to bring you the best of the apple season. The beautifully red Buckeye Gala from Smit Farms is up first! Our fellow California family-run farm has over four decades of experience and are known throughout Bay Area markets for their apples. Like Frog Hollow, the Smit Farms team goes for quality, not quantity when they grow. And they’re committed to sustainable farming practices that will allow the soils and those tilling them to coexist in the most natural environment possible. These hand-picked apples are always sweet, juicy, & crisp. We like to eat them chilled, letting the mix of sweet and tangy burst to life on the tongue.
You can already order apples through our website! You can get them on their own, or with cheese, honey, caramel, Warren pears, or a combination! And you can sign up to get an alert when Fuji and Pink Lady apples are ready, too. They’ll be delivered from our farm to your table in 48 hours.
Our apple harvest in 2019!
Recipes to try:
- Massaged Kale Salad with Matchstick Apples, Pomegranate, & Toasted Hazelnuts
- Mixed Apple and Savoy Cabbage Salad
- Shaved Apple & Fennel Salad with Swiss
- Apple Slaw with Cilantro Crème Fraiche Dressing Recipe
Order apples to be delivered in 48 hours. Our carbon-neutral shipping extends across the US!