Fall is just around the corner, and you know what that means: apple season! Get a jumpstart on your annual apple indulgence at Weaver’s Orchard, which is currently picking Star Gala and Ginger Gold apples. Honey Crisp, our personal favorite, in addition to Gold Supreme, Macintosh and Smokehouse, will be available starting Friday, August 28.
You could say that Weaver’s, with its 18,000 apple trees boasting 30+ varieties, is the local apple authority, so we tapped the fine folks at the orchard for the real deal on how to make the most of fall’s favorite fruit as well as the story on a variety of apple that was discovered right on the grounds of the orchard. Take a bite out of the details below:
A Star Is Born
How ’bout them apples? In 1995, orchard president Ed Weaver discovered a brand-new apple: the Star Gala, a variety of the Fulford Gala. Boasting a juicy, crisp flesh and a wonderfully sweet taste, this previously unknown apple variety has all of the delicious qualities of a Fulfold Gala but is nearly an inch bigger than its parent fruit, ranging from 3–3½ inches in diameter. Star Gala trees are also smaller than other Gala trees, allowing for closer spacing between plantings. Best of all for apple-lovers, Star Galas ripen before any of the other Galas, as early as August 20.
Enjoy Your Apples Now
Sure we love to eat our apples right from the tree—is there honestly any better hand-held snack? But you can also use apples as the basis for a host of both sweet and savory recipes, including this one for Lost Love Apple Salad from the Weaver’s website, featuring the versatile Cameo apple:
Ingredients
2 Cameo apples (sour types are a must for best flavor success)
A good throw of gorgonzola cheese
Honey balsamic vinaigrette
A few dried cranberries
A quick toss of pecans or walnuts
Instructions
Slice the 2 apples into tiny bites.
Mix together the apple bites with the rest of it all, using as much of each ingredient as you like.
Shake up in a Tupperware container with a lid on it, or join the ingredients in whatever way you prefer before final plate-views.
Enjoy swimmingly, with fork in hand.
Find many more delicious ways to use your apples—including Apple-Stuffed Maple-Pecan Chicken, Braised Cured Pork Belly & Apple Kimchi, Apple Carrot Muffins, Apple Nut Cake and Campfire Apple Crisp—on the recipe section of the Weaver’s Orchard website. You can also pick up or order a copy of the 2nd edition of Savoring the Season’s at Weaver’s Orchard, a cookbook jam-packed with Weaver’s favorite in-season recipes, including two chapters about apples (“Breakfast and Savory” and “Desserts”) as well as a chapter with apple cider recipes.
Or Save Them for Later
Savor that great apple taste all year-long with the healthy, sugar-free Homemade Applesauce recipe below, courtesy of Weaver’s Rebecca Talbot. You won’t believe how easy it is to make (be sure to look for the canning applesauce/apple pie filling at the same link):
Ingredients
- 6 pounds sweet apples such as Gala, Sansa or Honeycrisp
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Wash apples well. Peel them if you are canning, and chop them into 1-inch pieces.
Combine apples and water and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20–30 minutes, until apples are soft and mashable.
Uncover and simmer about 12 minutes until liquid evaporates. Mash the apples well with a fork.
Stir in cinnamon.
Cool before serving. If canning, keep hot.
You can also find applesauce made with Weaver’s family recipe available for purchase in the orchard market. Crafted from crops picked right at the orchard, the five-apple, sugar-free sauce is blended to be sweet without using added sugar. The whole family will love it!
Find Weaver’s Orchard at 40 Fruit Ln., Morgantown; phone: (610) 856-7300.
- Photography: Weaver's Orchard
