I love this time of year. Fall is just around the corner, and these shoulder seasons at the farmer's market are always a great time to buy a variety of fruits and vegetables. Nothing says fall to me like apples. Yes, I also love the falling leaves and pumpkins and the excitement in the neighborhood as Halloween approaches, but apples will always be the first signal of fall's approach for me. Well, apples and my birthday (which is on the fall equinox).
While a couple of my tomato plants and my strawberries are still producing, my baby apple tree (only planted a couple years ago) has already given me some tasty apples. At the farmer's markets you can get anything from watermelon and peppers to brussels sprouts (did you know the proper spelling is, in fact, "brussels sprouts," not "brussel sprouts," as the tiny cabbages are named after the city Brussels? You can learn a bit more on that topic here) to yes, you guessed it, apples.
In the United States around 2,500 varieties of apples can be grown, but only 100 of those varieties are produced commercially - so keep an eye out for some new varieties at your local farmer's markets. If 2,500 seems like a lot of types of apples you should know that throughout the world over 7,500 varieties of apples are grown! If you are interested in some more facts about apples, check out this website from the University of Illinois Extension.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to be on the East Coast during fall, and was taken by some friends to an apple orchard in Pennsylvania where we got to do our own picking. Needless to say our suitcases came home full of as many apples as we could fit. We also indulged in amazing apple cider, and apple cider donuts! If you ever get the chance to pick your own apples, I highly recommend it. Just be careful how crazy you go out in the orchard, because most orchards have a "you pick it, you bought it" rule!
