This month is October, the month that autumn officially starts. I have many happy memories of fall in Ohio. I grew up there in rural Portage County. Our road was lined by lovely sugar maple trees. In the fall they were the first of the trees to change color. How I loved to shuffle my feet through them and hear them rustle. My brothers and I raked huge piles of them to jump in. There were deep ditches along the road and it was fun to fill them with leaves and then jump off the bank into the fragrant depths.
Hiram township, where we grew up, was surrounded by rolling hills and pastoral farmland. We were blessed to live only a few miles from Monroe’s Orchard. It is still in operation at the top of Pioneer Trail. There is a panoramic view of the surrounding farmland behind it. I admired this farm and the orchard in every season as we drove by it in our long yellow bus #3 on our way to school.
I particularly loved to go there in the fall. Our family did not always have fresh fruit, but in the fall the bulk price of apples was lower. There were eight people in my family and all of us loved apples. Our mother would sometimes buy a 100 pound bag! The big lumpy brown bag sat in the corner of the kitchen. We were not restricted and ate as many as we wanted.
The apples in this picture are Empire. They are delicious for eating. The kind we most often had are McIntosh. These apples had pale green skin with a blush of red on the cheeks. Their skin was kind of thin and they bruised easily. I remember the sound of my teeth breaking through the skin and the juice I tried to slurp before it would escape down my chin. They were sweet, but not too sweet. They were large apples, but I definitely could eat more than one.
Mom liked McIntosh apples for making applesauce and pies. They have a beautiful round shape that looks very pleasing. I have a round tea cup from Portmeirion Pottery in Wales that is shaped like a McIntosh apple. It feels wonderful in my hand! The apple painted on it is a hoary red apple- such a name!
Homemade applesauce is a treat that my family still enjoys. I make it for holiday meals. I thought you might like to try it, so I have included directions. Now is the perfect time when apples are at their freshest.
This orchard is still in business, but run by the next generation. I’d like to give a shout out to the Monroe family. https://monroesorchard.com/ A very happy memory of Monroe’s is the treats they gave out to our tribe of beggars when we came to their door without fail on trick or treat night. They gave us wonderful caramel apples! Yum! I remember how the caramel stuck in my teeth! It used to worry me that I wouldn’t get it out, but of course I did.
Grammy's Homemade Applesauce
5-6 large McIntosh or Granny Smith apples
1 Cup of water
1/2 Cup of sugar
Peel and slice apples into a large saucepan. Add water and bring to a rolling boil. When apples are very soft stir in the sugar. Break up the apples into small pieces with your spoon. They may already be fairly mushy. Adjust sugar to taste.