We ventured downtown on Saturday for the last farmers' market of the season. Several of Clara's farmer fans were on hand to bid her farewell, although our favorite cherry farmer was sadly a no-show. But despite any small disappointments, I managed to score the best find of the year: a local apple farmer selling the world's best apple: the Empire.
My good friends in Syracuse (holla!) will back me on this (with the possible exception of Jana), but the empire apple is honestly the most delicious apple I have ever tasted. I'm no food writer, so I can't describe the exact bouquet of the fruit, but perhaps this will help you to understand: when we found out we'd be leaving Syracuse, I ate an empire nearly everyday for a month as I prepared to bid them farewell. Or so I thought. I've eaten all but one of the empires we bought on Saturday, and now I'm planning a little trip into eastern Washington to get some more. My most profound gratitude goes out to the enterprising local apple growers who had the foresight--and the sheer horse sense--to bring the empire west.
15 comments:
is this a genetic hybrid?
Okay, okay I'll have to admit the Emprie is pretty good and can make a good applesauce. Which is the only thing I can get Bryan to eat. It is sad to be back west again and have my choices for apples so limited again. I will have to say that I do miss a good Emprie every once in a while!
The empire is a cross between a McIntosh and a Red Delicious, developed through a process of open pollination from 1945 to 1966. I don't know much about open pollination, but it sounds like the old fashioned way of creating hybrid fruit, rather than doing gene splicing. Regardless, it's a great old apple.
Have you ever tasted a Gravenstein? I've heard they are the best tasting apple, but I've never personally tried any apples besides the boring old grocery store varieties.
Hmmm... I've never even heard of a gravenstein! Sounds perfect for this time of year, though. I'll have to look for it when I'm at the farm tomorrow.
id like to hear how one of those gravensteins are? keep me posted. oh my goodness the boys and i miss those empires. weirdly tyler and jana are more a like then i thought in that he didnt like them either. those weirdos. sigh.....i miss those apples.
Very nice food photo Rachel.I have a whole box of Honey Crisp apples in the garage refrigerator which I bought before our trip to Coeur D'Alene. I keep forgetting about them and need to decide what to do with them. Hmmm.... By the way, an apple a day is my daily fruit of choice almost all year long. You just have to love them.
I noticed you read the Memory Keeper's Daughter...did you not find it incredibly depressing? I kept waiting for it to get happy, or for things to change and go in a different direction, but I found that it just got more and more depressing.......not a very uplifting book I must say!
I did think Memory Keeper's Daughter was depressing--kind of a tragic story. I kept wanting the main character (what's his name? I have a pretty poor memory for books, believe it or not) to have a chance for redemption, but it never really came.
Nice! Sounds delicious!
Phooey on Gravenstein - the Empire RULES!!! And you KNOW it Rachel...
interesting...i have heard wonderful things about the honeycrisp. i'm glad the red delicious got a bit of a face lift in the empire.
Rachel... I am with you. I love Empire apples. We can't get a good nice juicy lucious apple like we could in the 'Cuse. I really miss that. We have now gone to eating grapes and peaches, canned peaches that is. Fruit isn't that great in the winter.
OK - so how does the Empire compare to the Honeycrisp or the Pink Lady? You're making me want to seek out this wonderful apple!
I don't even know you, but I'm from Washington and passionate about apples so I just have to ask, have you had the Pacific Rose? I just can't imagine that any apple could ever top the Pacific Rose for me!
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