An active cider mill and orchard is an amazing place to spend a fall afternoon. I spent many youthful hours deep in the countryside at a mill lovingly named Old McDonald’s Apple Orchard and Cider Mill.
There’s nothing more satisfying than apple picking on a crisp fall morning. You grab a long-handled apple picker to capture the succulent and juicy fruit fresh from the tree. Up on your tippy toes, carefully aiming, you work the picker directly under the crimson orb so you can gently jostle its branch. The sun-kissed apple finally surrenders to the cage of the picker and you lower it, your mouth watering as you think about that first refreshing bite.
At Old McDonald’s Mill, no part of the apple is discarded. The picked apples are first dumped in droves on a conveyor, which compresses them flat and extracts their juice.
The pulp of the apple or “apple pomace,” packed with beneficial fibers, carbohydrates, and minerals, is good for smoothies, sprucing up pancakes, making flavored ice cubes, fruit leathers, popsicles, granola, or baked goods. Some food aficionados even suggest adding apple pomace to burgers and hummus!
Even the apple core is useful. The core of the apple is a significant source of pectin, a key ingredient for making jams, jellies, and vinegar. Homemade pectin can be made by simmering the apple cores and peels for several hours and then straining through fine muslin or a jelly bag overnight.
A trip to a cider mill always takes me back to my childhood neighborhood in the fall. The unpicked apples have fallen to the ground, and birds have pecked the fallen fruit to the core.
“Apple core!” Someone yells.
“Baltimore!” Someone shouts.
“Who’s your best friend?”, the holder of the core shouts.
You quickly pick someone to be your “best friend” to avoid getting an apple core in the face.
I found a California blogger who posted about this rhyme, believing it to be unique to her state. Having lived in one of the original 13 colonies, I was clearly proof that this nonsensical rhyme had also been heard on the opposite coast during prime apple picking (and apple throwing!) season.
I make the most of apple picking, baking, jamming, and jelly time. Apples in the fall are incomparable to apples in the other ten months of the year. I keep my apple romance lively all year round with a fragrance diffuser and an apple scent to complement the memories. That fresh, crisp, slightly sweet scent wafting throughout my home takes me back to those gloriously juicy days at the mill…and the frantic neighborhood fun of “Apple Core, Baltimore!”
Jean Greco for The Gift of Scent