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 AN
AUTUMN WINDFALL OF APPLES, PEARS AND SOUR CHERRIES
By Niki Hayden
A windfall is associated with sudden, unexpected bounty--the image of
ripe fruit blown from trees. In September when there’s
a chill at night, apples, pears and sour cherries show up in the farmers markets
as if a cool gust, an autumn windfall, has swept them in from the Western Slope.
Thin-skinned apples arrive first, the beginning of a parade that with late bloomers like
Winesap or Fuji that keep throughout winter. "We begin with the Gingergold and all the other early apples that don’t
keep well but make great applesauce," Eddy White says.
Despite her manly name, Eddy is a
woman. Petite, soft-spoken and energetic, she stands behind the counter of the
Lucky 7 fruit stand in Lyons, half the team of Bob and Eddy White, who farm in
Hotchkiss.
 Along with her granddaughter,
Heather, she packs bags of fruit for her customers. The
summer has been exhausting, she says, selling peaches, apricots and sweet
cherries from neighboring Palisade farms. Finally her crops of apples, pears and
sour cherries are beginning to pour in.
Bob is back home in Hotchkiss packing boxes of apples and pears to bring to
the Front Range. Despite their geographical proximity, Hotchkiss and Palisade
grow different crops. Palisade is perfect for peaches, Eddy says. "It’s
in a rock valley for warmth. In Hotchkiss, we’re nearly 1200 feet higher. Of course, it’s
colder and that’s why we think it makes for better apple growing."
Eddy and Bob once owned 150 acres, but they’ve whittled down to 60.
"We’re getting too old; the work is so hard," Eddy says. And, like
much of Colorado, the
weather is unpredictable. In the last two years they lost 70 percent of their crop
to a late frost. This year the flowering was abundant but the honeybees sluggish. Too many cloudy and cool days meant the bees were not their usual busy
selves, so pollination was spotty. Bees have to visit flowers many times to
achieve excellent pollination. The flowers may be profuse, but without
pollination, they’ll not turn into fruit.
THE ALL-AMERICAN FRUIT HAS A LONG LEGACY
 "American as apple pie" may be a cliché, but like many clichés, a
truth is revealed. Most of the apples we’re familiar with were accidentally
discovered on American farms in the 19th century. The old varieties
from England, France or even Russia cross-pollinated in America’s heartland
and produced an abundance that we take for granted. A poster on the wall of the
Lucky 7 details the origins of each variety: Red Delicious was discovered in an
Iowa orchard in 1870. Rome Beauty isn’t from Italy, but is traced to an Ohio
farm in 1840. Jonathan dates to Woodstock, New York, in the 1820s. The Golden
Delicious was an oddball seedling that sprouted in West Virginia in 1914.
Granny Smith was introduced into Australia as early as 1868, although it’s
new to us. Some crops are considerably older: Bartlett pears date to the 1600s
in England and Lady apples, small and decorative, can be traced to 1628 in
France.
Just one generation ago, most fruit trees were called standards. "Trees
that lived 50 years or more," Eddy says. Some, like the Elberta peach tree
hold a charm for her. "Many people remember the taste of that peach. And we
have people who ask for the transparent apple. You’ll never see that very
often anymore."
The transparent apple called Lodi, as tough a tree as you’ll find, once
grew plentifully along the Front Range. The apples were small and thin-skinned,
but many believe they made the best applesauce. Those old standard trees were large
and picking fruit took time. Today the fruit trees are dwarfed, which allows for
faster picking. Sometimes that’s worthwhile; sometimes it’s not. "We
pay our workers more money to go slower with the Golden Delicious," Eddy
says. "They bruise so easily."
THE GOOD OLD DAYS REALLY WERE GOOD
At one time, Colorado promoted their Golden Delicious apples only to
discover that they wouldn’t pack well. "We had ideal conditions and it’s
a beautiful pink blush when ripe," Eddy says. But her favorite is the
Jonagold. It also presents shipping problems. "It’s susceptible to
sunburn," Eddy says, "and doesn’t have a long shelf life. It’s
picked for the market on the green side and the flavor isn’t there."
Eddy worries about what she sees happening in the marketplace today. One pie
baker wants to buy green cherries from her. We’ll provide the artificial
flavor, they tell her. "You just can’t do that to cherry trees," she
says, "they don’t give their fruit until they are ripe and then you
shake the tree."
The sour pie cherry, known as the Montmorency, ripens on the tree. The fruit is shaken off and either cooked or frozen immediately. "The cherries
break down almost overnight," Bob says. These days he sells cherry cider,
which is recommended for arthritis patients. The cherries contain properties
that relieve some symptoms of gout, he is told. The winemakers on the Western
Slope buy up his cherry juice, too.
Eddy's apples are allowed to ripen before she’ll sell them
to customers. But that rarely happens anymore in big supermarkets, she says. "Our
kids will never know what ripe fruit is supposed to taste like. No wonder they
don’t like it."
LEAVE PEARS OUT; REFRIGERATE APPLES
 While apples and cherries should be allowed to ripen on the trees, pears must
be picked unripe. They’ll ripen on their own just sitting out. Placed in a brown
bag, ethylene gas that ripening fruit gives off
will hasten the
process. Once ripe, they'll last only one or two days.
Unlike pears, apples are one of the few fruits that should be refrigerated.
Leave them out as a table display and they will turn to mush. Traditionally,
apples were harvested and kept in a root cellar throughout the winter. If kept
cool, nature provided a preservative coating.
Eddy reaches for a Jonathan. "Apples have a natural wax that will
shine," she says, and with a slight rub, the apple turns a lustrous red.
"Perhaps it is the tree’s way to prevent sunscald. Whatever the reason,
you don’t have to wax the fruit like you find in supermarkets. It has already
been waxed by nature."
Here’s a list of the apples that arrive from the Western Slope:
The Very Early Apples
The thin-skinned Gingergolds are noted for excellent applesauce, as are most
of the early apples. They generally do not keep well.
Apples that will keep through the winter come from the last varieties to be
harvested.
Early Apples
Thin-skinned apples are followed by the mild Gala and the stronger flavored
red Jonathan. The Gala is favored by people who look for low-acid fruits. The
Jonathan is a tart apple, full of flavor that complements cheese well.
Mid-season apples:
The Golden Delicious is not a traditional pie apple, but it will bake
beautifully in tarts and has a smooth sweetness. For a sharper flavor,
mix the Golden Delicious with other apples when baking.
Jonagold is Eddy’s favorite. It may not keep well, nonetheless, she says the flavor
is outstanding.
Red Delicious is a beautifully shaped eating apple and provides a crunch, but
sometimes has a bland flavor.
Late Season apples
Granny Smith, Cameo, Honeycrisp, Rome Beauty (the best baking apple because
it will hold its shape), Winesap (a very old apple that does have a fermented
aroma when fully ripe, excellent for eating and baking), and lastly, the Fuji.
"The Fuji is rapidly becoming a favorite because it’s a good keeper. The
longer it keeps on the tree, the sweeter it gets. We wait until a bad freeze and
then hop out there in the orchard," Eddy says.
Future apples
A few acres are under new cultivation. Expect to see Braeburn and Black
Jonathans in about three years.
RECIPES:
 FRESH
PEARS WITH FRESH RASPBERRIES AND RASPBERRY LIQUEUR
- 1 pear, peeled, cut in half and cored
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
- 4 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
Arrange one pear half in a bowl, sprinkle with raspberries and liqueur. Serve
immediately. Serves two.
POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE-FILLED CENTERS
- 1 underripe pear, peeled, cut in half and cored but leaving the end
intact
- 1 cup peach nectar
- 4 tablespoons high quality melting chocolate
- cinnamon for sifting
Only unripe pears will poach well. Add the pear halves to nectar in a
saucepan and poach until
the pear is easily pierced but still firm. It should take only about 8 minutes.
Cool pears to lukewarm. Melt chocolate over a double boiler
or in the microwave. Fill cored centers with chocolate. Sift cinnamon sparingly around the
pear on the plate. Serves two.
PEAR SALAD WITH SPINACH, BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUTS
- 1 pear, peeled and cut in half with the core removed
- 1 handful of fresh, washed spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon roasted, chopped walnuts
Place pear on bed of fresh spinach. Combine blue cheese and heavy cream, and
fill the center of the pear. Sprinkle with roasted nuts. Serves one.
ROASTED WINTER PEARS
- 2 pears, peeled and cut in half with core removed
- 4 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon sherry or port wine
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place each pear on a tablespoon of brown sugar,
flat side of the pear down. Roast for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and
pour in the sherry or port wine. Turn pears over so that they are bathed in the
liquid. Serve immediately.
APPLE SALAD WITH WALNUTS, CHEESE AND HONEY
This can be a salad or dessert
- 1 apple cored and sliced
- 2 ounces salad ricotta cheese, crumbled
- 2 ounces walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey
Toast walnuts in a heavy skillet over medium heat on the stove or place in a
350-degree oven for 8 minutes. Arrange apple slices on a plate. Sprinkle cheese and walnuts over.
Drizzle honey. Serve immediately. Serves one.
APPLES BAKED IN KABOCHA SQUASH
Kabocha squash, a dark green winter squash, arrives in the farmers markets at
the same time as do apples. It has a rich, buttery interior with dense flesh.
- 1/2 kabocha squash, medium-sized, with seeds removed
- 1 tart apple peeled, cored and sliced
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- salt and pepper to taste
Pre-heat over to 350-degrees. Fill the squash interior hollow with apple
layers, then sugar, cinnamon and dot with butter; place in a shallow baking
dish. Cover baking dish with foil
and bake for one hour or until the squash pierces easily. Serves four.
APPLE AND PEAR CRISP
- 3-4 cups Golden Delicious and Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and
sliced--about two apples and two pears. Golden Delicious cooks into a sweet,
silky texture, the perfect accompaniment to mild, tender pears.
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar, white or brown
- 4 tablespoons butter
- pinch cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pears and apples together in a 6-cup
casserole. Mix remaining ingredients together with your fingers so that it
resembles a coarse meal. Sprinkle on top of fruit and cook for 30 minutes, or
until bubbling and cooked through. Serves four.
APPLES AND PEARS WITH CINNAMON, GINGER AND NUTMEG ICE CREAM
- 4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 4 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
- 8 dried sweet cherries, soaked in kirsch or brandy until plumped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and on low heat allow the fruits to
soften. Serve with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg ice cream--as follows.
CINNAMON, GINGER AND NUTMEG ICE CREAM
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Heat the half-and-half and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. When the
sugar has dissolved, add all the spices. Let cool to lukewarm and place into an
ice cream maker. This will make about one pint, which fits most freezer designed
makers. Serves four.
 SOUR
CHERRY COMPOTE
- 1 cup sour cherries
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream
Combine cherries, sugar and cinnamon stick in a saucepan on medium heat until the sugar melts into the
cherries. Serve over vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream. Serves two.
SOUR CHERRY GRANITA
- 2 cups cherry juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
Melt sugar into juice in a saucepan on medium heat. Pour mixture into a
baking dish and place in the freezer. Within two hour you may begin to scrape
the freezing juice into long shavings of granita, an ice sorbet. You also can use a freezer ice
cream maker. Serves four.
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