Apple Harvest
O down in the orchard
'Tis harvest time,And up the tall ladders the fruit pickers climb.
Among the green branches
That sway overhead
The apples are hanging
All rosy and red.
Just ripe for the picking,
All juicy and sweet.
So pretty to look at
And lovely to eat.--Helen Leuty
One of the great pleasures of fall here in the Midwest is a trip to the apple orchard. It is our tradition to take the first field trip of the school year to a local orchard and then come back and make delicious from scratch applesauce. This process--literally orchard to snack table--gives the children a real sense of how one of their favorite foods is created.
First stop is a tour of the apple orchard
with a peek at the pie and cider making
and the cold storage room!
this orchard has a donut machine... 
Back at school we get to the applesauce making--
Applesauce
8 apples
¼ t salt
½ cup water
¼ t nutmeg
½ cup sugar
½ t cinnamon
Quarter apples, remove cores and add to water. Stir in sugar, salt, and spices and simmer for one hour. Adjust sugar for sweetness of apple.
Apple Star
It is very beautiful to
take an apple and cut it across the middle because throughout the center you
find the shape of a star. You cut apples into very thin slices this way and
give them to the children and they eat around the center star.
Apple Facts
What you don’t know about
apples will seldom hurt you a bit. Sure, there are experts who know and use
certain varieties for certain dishes, and you will too. But all apples are good
to eat out of hand depending on your taste for sweet or tart, soft or firm. And
there are many varieties good for all purposes. A few of these are:
McIntosh Jonathan
Ida Cortland
For pies and baking:
Northern Spy Wine sap
Wealthy Rome Beauty
Baldwin Spartan
For lunchboxes and
salads:
Red & Golden
Delicious Honey crisp
3 medium apples=1 pound
3 medium apples (peeled
& sliced)=2 ¾ cups
1 average apple=80
calories
