We get so many questions about apples – nature’s original fast food!

We’ll be posting more Q & A here (and expanded answers) soon… in the meantime, feel free to hit us up with your questons!

Can dogs eat apples? (this is one of the most asked questions on Google!)
Yes!  Dogs can eat apples without any issue, just be mindful not to feed your dog the apple seeds. Apples are high in essential vitamins for dogs and people alike!
(our expert source: Joseph D’Abbraccio, DVM, Catskill Veterinary Services)

Are apples good for weight loss?
the short answer: yes! and they are so good for you overall!  

How apples are grown?
the short answer: it’s complicated! lol
We grow apples on trees that range in age from 3 to 100! Trees require year-round care.
If you plant an apple seed you’ll get a wild apple – so we graft trees, as well as order 2-year old saplings from nurseries. Apple harvest in NY runs late July to early November.

What apples are best for apple pie?
Many apples can be cooked in pies; every baker seems to have their own favorite. Depending on the time of year we’ll have different suggestions for you. Classics are Mac (be remember it will cook down a lot!), Jonamac (Scotty’s County Kitchen’s fave), Empire, Idared, Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Northern Spy.
Many expert pie makers use a mix of apples! 

Why do apples turn brown? 


This is simply oxidation happening… the apple is still perfectly fine to eat, just not as pretty. Some varieties stay whiter than others, making them great for salads. You can also use a bit of lemon juice or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or fruit fresh to keep apples white longer.

What apples are best for applesauce?
Definitely a mix of apples is best. Plus our apple cider rather than water! 
You can also just skip the pot, and get some of our homemade applesauce – we make it year-round and every batch is unique!

What’s one of the best snacks ever?
Apples with peanut butter!
We have lots of apples and lots of peanut butter (we make it right here!) to choose from to create the perfect mix of crunch, protein, carbs and fiber.

What’s up with apples with wax?
Typically apples found in a supermarket have gotten some sort of treatment to help them retain their moisture. (Many came from the other side of the country or the globe!) Apples are mostly water, so when they dehydrate they soften, which most people don’t like.
Since we are picking and selling apples right to you, we don’t do anything except wash them.
Some varieties though will over time create their own protective barrier – stayman winesap and northern spy are examples. Rest assured, that was not our doing and it’s perfectly safe/won’t affect their flavor.

Should I refrigerate apples or not?
Always! Always keep your apples cold and ideally in the crisper alone, inside a vented bag (like the liners we use in our baskets). Keeping your apples cold (in high humidity) will help them stay crunchy and fresh longer.

How do we keep our apples so good so long?
We keep our apples at 33 degrees with 95% humidity. That’s hard to do with a regular refrigerator! Plus we are SUPER picky about when we pick - when you pick too soon or too late the apples won't store as well.

​

How do you treat/protect/spray the apples? 

We use IPM - integrated pest management - combining the best organic and conventional methods to control pests; and we use experts at Cornell to advise us daily (sometimes 2x a day!) during the growing season. We treat only when needed and as little as possible as it's time consuming and very expensive.
Organic growers (which are very few on the east coast due to our wet weather and pernicious fungus diseases that attack trees and apples) have a limited menu of options - so sometimes they end up spraying MORE than we would, as we have more choices to control whatever the problem is.