Good-by and Keep Cold ! October 30, 2023
In the iconic 1955 film, Rebel Without a Cause, Jimmie (James Dean) and Buzz (Corey Allen) race each other in two stolen cars towards the edge of a very high cliff. The first to jump from their car will be the chicken. But if you don’t leap out, you go over the cliff and that’s the end. Natalie Wood—the love interest—signals the start of the “chickie” race, and off they go. Jimmie rolls out inches before the edge and lives to see another day. Buzz gets his cuff caught on the door, and things don’t end so well for him.
But what do stolen cars and teenage angst and romance have to do with the final week of Out on a Limb CSA? A lot has been written over the years about this three-minute film sequence and how it presents a great example of game theory. If A then B or not B etc. But, as far as I know, nothing has been written about James Dean and apple picking. So, remember, you read it here first!
As you know from having tasted more than two dozen varieties over the past couple of months, apples conveniently ripen in a wonderful progression. We get to enjoy each of them, at their prime, over many weeks. As the season goes on, new varieties enter, and others say good-bye. How could anything be more elegant than that? Who would ever consider eating a Duchess of Oldenburg or a Sweet Bough on Halloween? While it would be theoretically possible, it would definitely not be appetizing. In fact, it would be downright macabre. I just pitched the last of our Duchess into the compost heap a few days ago. The Sweet Boughs were long past usability by the end of September. Their time had come and gone. On the other hand, eating a Golden Russet or Black Oxford in August would be equally bizarre. They would be green, hard, maybe the size of ping pong balls and sour as all get out. At the Common Ground Fair apple tasting contest, year after year, the same two varieties consistently duke it out for first and second place. Why? Well, Chestnut and Canadian Strawberry are two excellent dessert apples. But more noteworthy is the fact that they both ripen to perfection on the third weekend after Labor Day. A week earlier or a week later and another variety would certainly take the high honors. It would be interesting to track the winners over a decade or two. The Fair dates do change a few days one way or the other with the calendar. Maybe that explains the occasional break in the string as some other apple sneaks in and wins… but only for one year.
So what does this have to do with James Dean? It has to do with the latest ripening apples: Northern Spy, Black Oxford, Ashmead’s Kernal and Keepsake, not to mention Baldwin, Roxbury Russet and a bunch of others. Unlike the earlier season varieties that can mature on the tree, the late apples never get a chance to ripen fully before they get picked. And the last picking has to be timed perfectly. Apples can handle about 27 degrees F on the tree, but at lower temperatures they freeze and are ruined.
So, here’s where the game of chicken comes in. You want those keepers to be on the trees as long as possible. Although they won’t ripen entirely, the longer they hang on the branch, the higher the quality of fruit as they finish their ripening in storage over the course of the next weeks and months. But guess wrong about when the temperatures are going to drop below 26 degrees F, and the crop is lost. That’s like driving over the apple cliff.
So as those glorious October days drift by, we wait with anticipation. We watch the weather forecast. When is that temperature-plunge going to come? We have an added challenge on our farm since we live in a major frost pocket. Super Chilly Farm is not a misnomer. The local old-timers called our neck of the woods, “The Refrigerator.” We’ve learned over the years that when the weather prediction is 37, we automatically subtract 10 degrees. Guaranteed. So as we’re looking towards the end of the month, we’re squinting the old eyeballs, looking for 34, 33, or heaven forbid, 32. This means the cliff is approaching. Time to hustle—run if necessary—to the barn, get out the ladders, the picking buckets and sometimes even the flash lights. No time to lose. Pick the last of the Spys, the Yellow Bellflowers, the Wicksons, the Roxbury Russets, the Black Oxfords.
Despite that quick splurge of warm air we got this past week, we knew the end was near. The cliff. Tuesday night—Halloween—we have 26 predicted. It will be a whopper. The moon is only a couple days past full. As soon as we can get some oatmeal, applesauce and coffee down the hatch, we’ll be out picking the last of the apples. We harvested the peppers last night in a preemptive strike. The tomatoes are done. The potatoes are in. The garlic is planted. All we need to do now is get the last of keeping apples.
And then we can rest. Sort of. There’s still lots to do on the farm, but we can kick back a bit and let it get cold. The cold is a good thing. The trees need it. We need it. We want it. We love it. As Robert Frost famously said to his apple trees as he bid the orchard farewell exactly one hundred years ago, “Dread fifty above more than fifty below”. Goodbye and Keep Cold. Thanks for a fabulous year.
Picks of the week:
(Click each variety for more info)
The last CSA mix is always a conundrum - so many great apples are ripe now, which ones do we chose? We know the holidays are approaching so we want to supply you with enough to make a few great pies, but we can’t forget those of you who have developed a daily sauce habit this fall or those who are trying to keep the doctor at bay by eating your apples fresh. As we look for the perfect sweet-tart balance in an apple, so we strive to find the perfect dessert-cooking balance in the apples we choose. Hope these hit the spot for you.
Perhaps we should have called this share, “The Russets are Coming”. There are three “oldie, goldies” in your share this week. And we love them all. Those of you who have been shareholders before will recognize Gray Pearmain. This variety probably originated at the Apple Farm in Fairfield or close by in Skowhegan. It is unlike any of the many other varieties with the name Pearmain since no other one tastes like a pear. Close your eyes, and take a bite; you’ll think you’ve just bitten into a pear without all that annoying grittiness. Perfect for fresh eating. It keeps til mid-winter.
Golden Russet or Golden Snitch?
Golden Russet is another perennial CSA favorite. We’ll be the first to admit that we don’t know what this apple is really called. There are a lot of apples out there that claim to be the true Golden Russet, but no one knows for certain. This might be Golden Russet of Western NY or it might be English Russet or a different russet entirely. DNA testing tells us that there are several russets out there that look frustratingly similar but have different genetics. The most important characteristic however, is the great taste. Slightly tart and full of flavor, it makes for excellent fresh eating and good cider. Stores well although it may shrivel a bit.
Last of the Russets is the relatively unknown Windham Russet. John discovered this rare, Massachusetts dessert apple growing on an old farm in Palermo. He topworked seven trees over to this variety. Last year they hardly had an apple on them, but this fall they were so loaded with fruit that the branches were bent to the breaking point. The russet skin is bumpier and more textured than Golden Russet, and some would argue that the flavor is snappier. One year it blew by the competition to win the North-South Taste-Off at Franklin County Cider Days.
The biggest Twenty Ounce we found this year only weighed in at 15.5 ounces.
The final two entries in the 2023 season are tasty fresh, but far more renowned for their sauce and pie capabilities. It’s tempting to say they range from the sublime to the ridiculous, but really they are both sublime. True, rumor has it that Twenty Ounce can grow as large as a baby’s head, but how great to be able to fill a pie plate with only 3-4 apples. When cooked in the pie, the slices soften nicely without turning to sauce which they do conveniently when you put them in a pan with a bit of water. And there is nothing ridiculous about the appearance of this huge apple - the bright red stripes rocketing out of the golden-splashed cavity over the shocking green background scream fireworks display way before the 4th of July.
If the word sublime could be applied to any apple, a strong contender for the title would be Maine’s favorite seedling, Black Oxford. No other apple is as distinctive nor as shocking in appearance - deep, deep purple skin flecked with specks of rusty pink that is drenched in a gauzy web of cloudy bloom. Where did this apple come from? DNA analysis has told us that it is the offspring of two old New England apples, Blue Pearmain and Hunt Russet. Black Oxford is an all-purpose variety that’s good for fresh eating, pies and cider. Leave the skins on for a delightful pink sauce. Best eating is from late December to March, although it keeps well into spring.
Our apples come to you straight from the tree, so, as with all fresh produce, please be sure to wash them thoroughly before eating. Some of the apples are grown using Integrated Pest Management by the orchards we collaborate with throughout Maine, and some are organically grown here on Super Chilly Farm.
Recipe of the Week
A week ago I got a text from a neighbor asking me if we had any pig apples. This got me thinking about the dinner my mother often made - pork chops slathered in applesauce. My parents thought that the tartness of the sauce paired will with the sweetness of the pork, each improving the other; I thought the applesauce was a good way to disguise the meat which I didn’t like much. My trip down memory lane spurred me on to look for other recipes that paired apples with pork. I found a David Tanis recipe that looked promising. I even went so far as to buy some sausage, but with all those apples to pick, I never got a chance to make this. Maybe you’ll find the time.
Sausage with Apples and Onions (serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
A fall jungle of Twenty Ounce apples waiting to be picked
4 TBS unsalted butter
3 large onions, cut in 1/4” half moons (4 cups)
salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
3 allspice berries
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1 thyme sprig
4 - 6 tart apples - cut into 1/2” slices (4 cups) (try it with Golden Russets)
8 bratwurst or other sausages (3-4 oz each)
Directions:
Melt 2 TBS butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper and stir to coat with butter. Add bay leaf, cloves, allspice, caraway and thyme. Lower heat and cook, stirring often till the onions are browned, about 10 minutes. Remove onions from the pan and arrange on a platter.
Add the remaining 2 TBS of butter to the pan and add the apples. Raise the heat to medium-high, and brown the apples on both sides, turning them with a spatula after 2-3 minutes. Place apples on top of the onions, and put the platter in a warm oven.
Keep the pan on medium-high heat ,and add the sausages to the pan. Let the sausages brown on one side for 6-8 minutes. Check them every now and then to make sure they don’t burn or burst. Lower the heat if they are browning too quickly.
Turn the sausages over and add 1/2 cup water to the pan. Let the water evaporate. Then brown the remaining sides of the sausages, about 5 more minutes.
To serve arrange the sausages on top of the apples and onions. Garnish with parsley or a sprinkle of cider vinegar, if desired.