Labor Day has come and gone. The kids are back to school, and families are busy. This may not seem like the time to take a long weekend, but think again. It’s autumn and harvest season in the fruit orchards of New Hampshire. At the Bray Hill House, we offer something that few vacation rentals can match an apple orchard across town!
Tellman Hill Farm in Whitefield, NH is a newly established small family-run orchard with 1,400 trees and over 50 varieties of apples and pears. They specialize in fresh apples, fresh cider, cider donuts, local honey, local maple syrup, ornamental gourds, pumpkins and a variety of locally produced and unique products.
Apple pickers are welcome! Apple picking is a time-honored family tradition of harvesting and preparing for winter. It’s a chance for bonding with each other and developing an appreciation for nature’s abundance. The crisp, cool mountain air, filling your apple bag, lifting children on your shoulders to reach that perfect apple, and fresh mulled cider are memories to cherish and a ritual to hand down to the next generation.
Early harvest usually starts by the first weekend in September. Early season apples include favorites like William’s Pride, Ginger Gold, Sansa, and Zestar. These are wonderful eating apples fresh off the tree. Others like the Kerry Pippen are used for cider.
As the season progresses, more eating varieties start ripening like Liberty, Cortland, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Macoun, and Honeycrisp. Other varieties such as Michelin, Dabinett, Kingston Black, and numerous crab apples are used to make the best cider around.
The end of the season includes an amazing apple, Cox Orange Pippin. Developed in England in the 19th century, this little gem remains unsurpassed for its richness and complexity of flavor. The season usually finishes up between Columbus day and Halloween.
Even if you have not heard of an apple variety, try it. The flavors may surprise and delight your palette. Small local orchards bring you varieties you will never find in the grocery store but are well worth exploring. Many are developed at universities like Cornell and University of Minnesota specifically for eating fresh but also to withstand Northern winters and to be resistant to pests and other maladies affecting apples specific to our region.
Happy Apple Picking!
Easy Baked Apples
Preheat oven to 375 °F.
Scoop out the core of 4 large good baking apples, such as Cortland, Liberty, Honeycrisp, or Cox Orange and place on their bottoms in a baking dish.
Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 4 Tbsp softened butter and then fill each apple with the mixture.
Pour 3/4 cup boiling water into the dish and bake for 1 hour.
Cool and serve with ice cream!
This post originally appeared on brayhillhouse.com.
