Autumn Apple Expedition

Mt. Hood overlooks fruit country

The spate of late October sunny days lured me and my fellow apple adventurers to drive up the Columbia Gorge to the aptly named Fruit Loop which circumnavigates the orchards above Hood River, Oregon. This is serious apple and pear country. The orchards offer fruit by the bin as well as cider, brandy, wine and other delights for the day tripper. We happened upon a u-pick opportunity at the Kiyakowa Orchard just out of Parkdale. We could pick right in the orchard and select anything that the commercial pickers had left and only pay 35 cents per pound!

Golden Delicious apples

Being bargain hunters we jumped at the chance to save some significant money, have a close-to-nature experience and saunter through a beautifully situated orchard of over 50 varieties of apples. With boxes and wagon we trundled along, orchard map in hand, and spied Golden Delicious, MacIntosh, Rome Beauties, Cameos, Jonagolds and a smattering of other varieties hanging shyly behind the turning leaves. As we reached into the trees, more and more apples revealed themselves and the picking rush was on.

Giant pumpkin on display

The experience of picking your own food is one that every person should endeavor to acquire. You can observe how your food grows, meet the people who cultivate it, learn how much work it takes to bring it to your table via the grocery store and appreciate the cycle of nature that underlies it all. The vast enterprise of this one orchard multiplied by hundreds of others similar to it is but a mere blink on the map of our entire nation's food supply. A trip to the orchard is a great educational opportunity for kids as they see that apples grow on trees, come in a multitude of colors and aren't waxed naturally. The free bites of a freshly picked apple are crisp, sweet and juicy and somehow taste all the better for being eaten in the shadow of a magnificent, snow-capped mountain.

Pears in many colors

Pickers in the glare of October sunshine

Bins of picked apples

Fruit hanging invitingly on row upon row of trees simply overpowers self-control of those who plan to can, freeze, dry and bake apple products. The siren song of "just one more apple" works to fill box after box of luscious apples, dreams of delicious desserts dancing in my head. Before I knew it I had picked 250 pounds of apples and struggled to find room in the car for them all. What was I thinking? Once again my eyes were bigger than my, er, kitchen capacity. But what a joy to share the bounty with others and to store some away for winter eating and cooking as well as line the cupboard shelves with jars of pink-tinged applesauce, fill the freezer shelves with bags of pie-ready filling and smell the distinct aroma of drying apple slices in the food dryer.

Half of our haul

Upon arrival at home I began to quickly peel the first batch of apples for an apple tartin, simmering quartered pieces in a caramelizing pan of butter and sugar until tender, then topping the apples with a rich pie dough to bake in the oven until done. After cooling the pan briefly, it is flipped upside down on a platter, the caramelized apples forming a lovely pattern over the baked shell. This dessert is best eaten warm with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream, although this could be construed as gilding the lily in some circles.

Knowing the treat would be short-lived, I dove into the day's pickings to begin preparing more apple slices for a huge apple pie. This will be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the next few days, growing more tasty with each passing hour, should it last that long. Applesauce is on the schedule for tomorrow, an easy task of washing, quartering and cooking the apples until soft and then pressing them through a colander to remove seeds, skin and stems. A canning process completes the work and preserves the sauce for chilly winter mornings when a cup of fresh coffee and a piece of raisin cinnamon roll bread toast yearn for a fruity companion.

Fresh apple pie

The bounty of our Northwest farms can enrich your life when you reach out to pick of its products. A trip to apple country is available up to Thanksgiving time when the orchard sales offices close. Filberts and walnuts are just coming on the market in the North Plains area orchards. Check out here and here for more information on local availability. You'll never go wrong getting  your food from the source, and you just might learn something new along the way! Plan a trip for yourself and family or friends. It's a great way to impress out-of-towners too. Now excuse me while I get back to my kitchen.