Apples up to my eye

The apple picking season is over, but my favorite orchard still has a whole harvest for sale out of their storage. I can't stop buying Northern Spy, Wealthy and Empire apples. Northern Spy and Wealthy are amazing to cook with. Pies, apple butter, crisps and crumbles keep marching out of my kitchen and the flavor of these apples really shines.

Northern Spy is an accidental seedling discovered in the early 1800's in either New York State or Connecticut, and one of its parents is Wagener. Wherever it came from, it is an excellent culinary apple and not too shabby to eat out of hand! The trees can take up to ten years to bear, so I am grateful for my local orchard for their foresight and love of pies.

I planted a Wealthy apple tree on our property two years ago, and we will probably be getting fruit in two years. Bred in Minnesota in the 1800's from a crab apple, it is cold hardy, disease resistant, and yummy. They keep all winter and are sweet, tart and addictive. The texture is like a firm McIntosh, good for pies, eating and even cider.

The Empire apple is a cross between red delicious and McIntosh apples. I don't really care for either of its parents, but I can't stop eating Empire apples. They are crisp and flavorful and are so dark red they almost look black. Snow White would have taken a bigger bite of this apple. Eve would have eaten the whole thing and gone back for another. Atalanta would have thrown a dozen races. I love these apples and eat about three a day.