Apples in the orchard at Altapass, off the Blue Ridge Parkway. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

This time of year always has me longing for a trip to the apple orchard. Saturday afternoon apple-picking outings were a big part of my New England childhood. Our local orchard on a hillside in Middlefield, Conn., had an aging red barn adapted as a retail store for the fall harvest. We’d climb the hillsides in search of Macintoshes, Cortlands, Idareds, Romes and other old varieties – varieties nothing like the grocery store apples whose chief attribute is the ability to last months in a refrigerator.

Last weekend, we drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of a bit of color and a trunkload of apples from the Orchard at Altapass. The orchard – near Spruce Pine, north of Marion – had its origins about a century ago. It was in decline until 1994, when new owners, the Carson family, revived and preserved it. Now, every May through early November, it’s a top-notch destination right on the parkway. On autumn weekends, you’ll find craftspeople, storytellers and musicians – as well as carloads of apple-loving tourists. Besides the apples, you’ll also want to taste the fudge and ciders.

Orchard at Altapass, view from the Blue Ridge Parkway. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

For our visit, it was peak weekend for the orchard’s specialties, including crisp Stayman-Winesaps and lopsided but tasty York Imperials. And we succeeded in our quest to bring home a good supply. The trees were so full of the red and purple fruit that we picked a peck in 10 minutes, then sat down between the rows for a picnic of bread, cheese and apples.

Our haul of Staymans is destined for lunch boxes, afternoon snacks, pies and crisps. At our house, we also like a mountain meal of apples, sausage and biscuits – something I learned from my wife and her family, who have roots in the Appalachians near Blacksburg, Va.

The orchard website suggests something called a “stack cake.” ^[1] Once upon a time it was a North Carolina mountain wedding cake, with layers of white cake delivered by wedding guests, stacked and spread with apple butter between the tiers. Find more about the tradition and a recipe at the link above.

Meanwhile, DavidsonNews.net’s Around Davidson columnist Brenda Barger offered her own idea this week of what to do with all those apples. Below is her recipe for Apple Crisp, reprinted from .

FROM BRENDA BARGER

Fall is made for pumpkins, harvest decorations, witches, goblins and … apples! Growing up in New England, there was only one kind of apples worth mentioning: Macintosh! Nothing else would be worthy of eating or cooking. This family recipe was never made without using the New England apple of choice but over the years, Southern living has made me appreciate Rome, Stayman, Winesap, Fuji and many other apples which seem to stand up pretty well in comparison testing.

Here’s an easy recipe. Try it a time or two, and bet you will tuck it into a favorite cookbook for those crisp fall evenings when the family begins their post dinner chant: “What’s for dessert?”

APPLE CRISP

4 cups peeled, sliced tart apples

½ cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

¾ cup flour

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

½ cup butter (one stick)

Mound apples in a buttered 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle with orange juice. Combine remaining ingredients and scatter over apples. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with cream or ice cream. Serves 6.