Food For Thought 10/20
Apple Picking
Apple picking. A fun midwestern all american activity that is a low level commitment. You don't have to break your back bending over to pick tiny berries, or get pricked by plant thorns. Usually the weather is pretty mild and sometimes there's a vat of hot apple cider at the barn where you get to weigh your loot at the end. Fun right? Honestly it’s probably at the top of my favorite fall activities list.
Last weekend I got to visit a real deal organic apple farm. Earth first organic farm in Berrien Center Michigan. They also grow strawberries, blueberries, peaches and melons. They use No pesticides. Nada. Just the trees, the bugs, the wind, and a dedicated family trying their hardest to grow fruit.
Emily and I pulled into the farm with high expectations. We were excited to be out in the fall sun (it happened to be hot that day). We grabbed our buckets in anticipation of picking lots of apples. I grabbed 2 barrels because ya never know….we checked the map to locate the honey crisps and headed down the hill.
Once we got to the trees it was apparent that the apples and the trees were really different looking than the regular apple farms we were used to picking from. The trees were very craggy looking, the branches bending and swirling in different directions, they looked ancient. And the apples! Didn’t look like apples! They were disfigured and twisted in tons of different directions with lots of blotchy and bumpy brown spots all over them. What a shock. I was hesitant to even pick one. As I walked past rows and rows of trees without picking one apple, I decided I needed to taste one. Surprisingly they tasted pretty good. Some not so much.
So I delicately plucked the best looking ones. We decided to call them witch apples. I had a lot of conversations with myself as I slowly walked through the orchard?
“Why am I turned off by these apples?”
“I know they are organic, that's why they look funny, doesn't mean they don't taste good….”
“You should buy more apples because no one else is gonna buy these they look inedible”
“I don’t want these apples they are ugly and they don't photograph well”
“the apples are fine just pick them even if they don’t look awesome”
UGH! So there I was, not wanting to take pictures of the ugly apples. I was so ashamed of my reaction I couldn't deal. Not surprisingly I ended up buying a big box of them and decided to make apple sauce. I also purchased amazing local honey, delicious apple cider and apple cider vinegar made right there on the farm.
You might be asking why is it so important to buy organic? Just go to the regular orchard and get the nice looking apples. Well I DID do that! Ha Ha Ha! I had to grab a couple cute apples on the way out. But I really believe in supporting folks who are certified and dedicated organic growers and who believe strongly in the importance of maintaining a local food system that is founded on organic principles and sustainability.
Sale of organic foods is one of the fastest growing market segments within the global food industry. People often buy organic food because they believe organic farms produce more nutritious and better tasting food from healthy soils.
Why should you support organic?
Better taste
Animal welfare
Care for the environment and nature
Higher nutrient density
Avoiding chemical residues
Soil health
Better quality air and environment for farmers
Moral of the story is, get uncomfortable, ask questions about where and how your food is grown. Get out there and touch the food, stand on the soil, smell the manure, walk up and down the rows of food growing out of the soil and feel the wind and sun on your skin. Confront the uncomfortable. What does an idyllic piece of fruit look like to you? And why?
Homeade chunky Applesauce Recipe
3-4 lbs of apples, cored and chopped
(You can add any spice to this like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger etc)
In a 6 quart dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot place the apples and 1/2 C water and bring to a boil
Reduce to medium and cook covered for 15-20 minutes or until app;es are very soft
Cool for 5 minutes and puree to a desired consistency in the blender or use a potato masher