The Bruce Peninsula in Ontario used to be an apple growing area. You can still see old, long-abandoned orchards and, on each side of secondary roads, many volunteer apple trees. These have been planted by the numerous wild animals who feed on the apples, mostly the raccoons and the bears. These "wild" apples have self hybridized and produce fruits that often are not tasty or are woody. However, among the lot, are some delicious ones.
The vast majority of apples you can buy in grocery stores are "eating" apples, that is to say they are good eaten raw, even if you can also cook them. Most of the apples you find along the roads around here are "cooking" apples. They tend to be sour when eaten fresh, but are a great deal tastier than eating apples when cooked with sugar.
In the autumn, I check the various apples that grow along neighbouring roads and pick some of the best ones. Some are cooked to make pies, but most are peeled and made into apple sauce. They make a very tasty sauce that has no comparison with the bland stuff you find in stores. The best ones for sauce are the nearly white ones of the "Yellow Transparent" or "Harvest" type. When they are used in cooking, for instance to make pies, I don't bother peeling them, but only wash them. These trees have never been sprayed, but since they grow along gravel roads, the apples tend to be dusty.
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| Yellow Transparent type of apple |
Despite the fact that they are not sprayed, these apples have relatively few blemishes. I don't know why that is. A possible answer might be good air circulation. When we lived in Kitchener, in southern Ontario, we had a couple of apple trees, but the fruits were so full of worms and covered with spots that they were not worth picking. The ones along the roads here are much healthier but tend to be rather small. They would have to be thinned in the early summer to produce large apples.
There are also a few wild pear trees. However the fruits of these are very small and woody and so are not worth picking, even if they have even fewer blemishes than the apples.
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| "Wild Pears" |
There is a long abandoned orchard near here which would be the best place to pick. However it is very popular with Ruthie, our local bear, and so I prefer to keep to the roads and let her get fat for the winter, undisturbed.
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| Apple Sauce |
Maria made a bunch of apple sauce a few weeks ago, but were able to pick them from a friends orchard. No bears in the orchards around here.
ReplyDeleteWe picked apples from local trees left on old farms, and our mom made apple sauce from them.
ReplyDeleteMother had six grandchildren, and when they were young we got together often to do baking or canning for all the families. You reminded me of little boys and girls trading off on the handle of the food mill, working through a bushel of apples.
Note to self: can some applesauce!
ReplyDeleteAm flummoxed, however, as to why our local grocery store is currently carrying apples from the States, Chile, and New Zealand, but none from Atlantic Canada!
That is a complete mystery. Have you noticed where fresh peas, except in June, usually come from? CHINA!
DeleteApple trees are a sort of 'trail of the pioneers', marking places where someone tried farming on marginal land. The farmers are gone but the trees live on.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first produce I noticed in our local wee supermarket from China...snow peas. I was amazed.
I like the idea of making your own apple sauce and putting fresh apples into your own pies etc. Nothing better than having good tasty food without all those added chemicals/preservatives etc.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the last time I ate a fresh apple, so many different varieties these days. It seems that you also have a good choice growing freely near you too. And I could do with one of those pears right now. I love pears.
I have no knowledge of your area, but am thrilled to see your post! I've never seen such yellow transparent type of apples in my area, which look beautiful. And the bear story made me smile:) You are so kind!
ReplyDeleteHow lucky you are to have wild apples growing by the side of the road! Quite amazing. But why doesn't your resident bear like these apples? Does she get her fill from the abandoned orchard?
ReplyDeleteShe keeps out of people's way as much as she can. The old orchard is in a remote place so she goes there first. But in years when apples are scarce, you will sometimes catch a glimpse of her by the roadside while driving in the evening. She often damage the trees as she simply whacks branches off and eat the apples off the ground. With binoculars, I have seen her grab the trunk of a large tree with her front paws and shake it hard, knocking down all the apples for her cub waiting at the bottom!
DeleteI love it gardening bears! I guess Ruthie deserves here share of the harvest as she maybe is responsible for some of the trees or her ancestors are!
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