copyright 2005 Wellesley Weston Magazine, Elm Bank Media
Apples have their own mythology, think Adam and Eve, Isaac Newton, William Tell, or Paris (no—not that Paris) and Aphrodite with her golden apple. New England’s mythology is also inextricably linked to this hardy, historical fruit. In 1623, Mr. William Blackstone arrived in Massachusetts from Europe toting a precious bag of apple seeds (also called "pips"). His top priority: to plant an orchard on Beacon Hill in Boston.
Two hundred years later, John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, left Leominster to develop orchards along the pioneer trail. But scratch that image of apple pies, applesauce, and crunchy apple-eating children. In the new world, apples were all about drink. The Pilgrims made hard cider as soon as they could harvest their Mayflower-imported apple seeds. The pioneers used apples to make applejack—a kind of brandy, as well as hard cider. These libations were safe to drink and easy to store. Their lightly alcoholic content no doubt made subsistence living a little easier to swallow.
All around Massachusetts, you can still find heirloom varieties unique to the family-owned farms that have been growing for generations. Every fall they open their orchards to the public for do-it-yourself harvesting. When looking for apple-picking opportunities, consider the incredible variety of types, colors, flavors, and names of this fruit. The Pippin, perhaps named after the original “pips”, is green with yellow highlights and has a tangy sweet flavor. This variety dates back to 1700, and was the first apple exported from America to Europe in 1768, to Benjamin Franklin in London. The Massachusetts-bred Baldwin has a pale greenish-yellow flushed with purplish-brown. It is juicy, with a trace of sweetness, and was developed here in 1740. As you pick your fruit, consider the honeybee, another European import brought over to improve the American apple harvest.
Apples have a natural tendency to reinvent themselves. A seed of one variety, once planted, will grow to bear something different. "They won't come true to themselves," it is said of apples. So as times change, so change the varieties. Throughout history, growers have genetically modified the apple, grafting for desired and accidental flavors, using the new types in enterprising ways. The ubiquitous McIntosh is a relative newcomer, discovered as a chance seedling in 1870. The "Mac" accounts for nearly two-thirds of a total New England apple harvest of six million bushels.
For a sophisticated experience this fall, rediscover a New England tradition: “draft” cider is the up and coming artisan’s craft. In northern Massachusetts, right before I-91 crosses into Vermont the restaurants, orchards, presses, and inns in this area celebrate Cider Day in early November. Here convene hard cider brewers and connoisseurs, apple-curious families, growers and basement mixologists. Be sure to seek out West County Winery, based in the Berkshires, founded by former Northern California vintners, which offers ten ciders ranging from a champagne-like bubbly to a crispy apple wine.
However you encounter the apple this autumn, you will be celebrating one of America’s earliest traditions—enjoying the only fruit tough enough to survive shallow, rocky soil, harsh winters, late frosts, and Prohibition.
