Venus Rising

Food for SoulIssue: Libra 07

Climb Up that Apple Tree!

Watercolor by Philip Galiga

There is no time to waste...it will be too cold soon. Now is the time to peel and core apples for pies, sauces, crisps, and cider − and taste fall in every crunchy bite. Apples are quite similar to the season itself in that they are best enjoyed when fresh, crisp, and in an orchard.

In their prepared renditions, apples give us aromas that warm, comfort, and remind us of family, our youth, and home.  It is quite possible that the apple has the most powerful memory-evoking smell of all fruits. Apple memories are scattered around the base of trees, hand-cranked through an antique cider press, and, of course, baked in pies.   

As impressive as an apple’s power over memory is, it is equally impressive that such seemingly simple fruit can present itself in over 7500 North American varieties. Heirloom is the buzz around markets and foodie columns for very good reason in the apple’s case. Apples that are readily available year-round are bred for long distance travel and long periods of storage. These are fair in quality, sometimes mealy, and unfortunately sometimes bland. Heirloom apples are antique apples: varieties that are or were near extinction and lost favor for marketers and grocers. Therefore those trees were cut and replanted with trees that produced perfect-looking apples in masses. Old varieties are making a comeback, however, and are providing us with more flavor and texture than any picturesque Red Delicious. They are apples with names like Hawkeye (the original Red Delicious), King David, Sheepnose (or Black Gilliflower), Graniwinkle, Rome, and Sweet Banana…just to name a few.  Each type has its own time for ripening, unique color, size, and texture. Most of all, each variety has its own flavors, and they cover the gamut from sweet to sour. There are even those that taste a bit spicy (Gala) and some that taste a touch tropical (Pink Lady).

The wealth of apple variety that exists is no accident. Apples are easily grafted, and have been tinkered with through the ages to bring about particular characteristics. While all evidence suggests that when the settlers arrived in North America, the only apples they found were crab apples, they were quick to bring their beloved fruit to the New World. By either seed or seedling, growing apples was important business. In the beginning, the varieties planted often did not grow as expected, but soon morphed into something else in the new soil and climate. Equally as often, the fruit produced was not suitable for eating and was made into cider or more likely vinegar. Eventually the colonists developed breeds that were edible. By the end of the 17^th century, every land owner planted apple trees, including many notable growers who also happened to keep meticulous records of their plantings, such as George Washington and later, Thomas Jefferson. Then came the legendary Johnny Appleseed, whose real name was John Chapman. Johnny considered it his God-given duty to cover the land in apple trees so that no one would go hungry. To that end, not only did he hand out seeds to every westward traveler he met, he made many journeys himself  tossing seeds along the way and starting nurseries. He traveled some 10,000 square miles from Pennsylvania to Iowa for 40 years of his life in pursuit of his goal.