Pick-Your-Own Fruit at our Orchard!

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Apple Quick Tips:

Pick firm fruit; large apples are fine. Over-ripe, soft apples, will not store or peel well, but can be used immediately for applesauce. Fresh-picked, solid apples can be stored in the refrigerator at 33 degrees for 3-12 weeks or longer, depending on the variety. Early season apples have a shorter life than late season apples.

Our apples are multi-purpose varieties, except for Red Delicious, which are better suited for fresh eating or fruit salads.

• Three medium-sized apples weigh approximately one pound.
• One pound of apples, cored and sliced, measures about 4 1/2 cups.
• Purchase 2-3 pounds of whole apples for a 9-inch pie.
• Two pounds of apples yield one-quart of applesauce

Apple Varieties at Apple Annie’s 

Golden Delicious
Harvest late August through September.   This is a terrific all-purpose apple, great for fresh eating, pies and sauce.  For a sweet and tasty sugar-free applesauce, harvest these in mid-late September when the sugar is at its peak.  Farmer John’s favorite! Will keep 2-4 weeks refrigerated.

Red Delicious
Harvest late August through September.  The most common apple in the grocery stores, and a staple in lunch boxes! This very sweet, fresh eating apple is also good in fruit salad, but not good for baking.  Will keep 2-3 weeks refrigerated.

Braeburn
These apples are useful in cooking in that they hold their shape and do not release a great deal of liquid making them ideal for tarts.

Rome Beauty
Harvest early September to mid-September.  Considered an “antique” apple variety,  this is a good baking apple.  The thick skin helps the apple retain its shape while baking whole.  The skin has a very waxy surface, polish to discover its beauty! Will keep approx. 2 weeks refrigerated.

Fuji
Harvest mid-September through October.  Fuji is a cross between a Red Delicious and a Ralls Janet, resulting in a fine late-season apple.  Fuji’s are excellent for eating fresh & salads; Good for pies & sauce.  Will keep several months refrigerated.

Granny Smith
Harvest mid-September through October.  Granny Smith apples originated in Granny Smith’s back yard in Australia, and are now heavily grown in the US.  It is a very tart apple with a crisp texture, excellent for fresh eating and pies.  Our Granny Smith’s have very high acid and very high sugar, actually more sugar than a Red Delicious!  Apples with sunburn (yellow blush) or a pink blush are extra sweet! Will keep several months refrigerated.

Pink Lady
Harvest mid to late October.  Another apple from “Down Under”, Pink Ladies have a tart flavor with a high sugar content and very crisp texture, making them a delicious all-purpose apple. This green apple has a beautiful pink blush.  Annie’s favorite! Will keep several months refrigerated.

	Harvest Start Date	Taste Profile	Fresh	Sauce	Pie	Salads	Baking	Freezing	Notes and Storage Tips
Ambrosia	Early September	Sweet, low acid, crisp
Braeburn	Mid August	Sweet, tart							Ideal for tarts
Red Cameo	Early September	Sweet, crunchy		X					Does not brown when sliced
Fuji	Early Septmeber	Super-sweet and crisp							Great Keepers; Stores well in garage or basement
Gala	Mid August	Sweet, fragrant and crisp							Must refrigerate;  only keeps for a few weeks. Does not brown when sliced
Golden Delicious	Late August	Sweet mellow and crisp		X					Should refrigerate
Granny Smith	Mid September	Tart			X				Firm and Tart; tend to have thick skin
Jonathon	Mid August	Tart and keeps flavor when baked
Pink Lady	Mid October	Crisp, tangy, tart and sweet							Also good in salads
Red Delicious	Late August	Sweet and crisp							soft apple; NOT good for baking
Rome Beauty	Mid September	Sweet							good for baking but don't work well in pies

 

Pear Quick Tips:

Asian pears are ripe and ready to eat when picked. They have a crunchy texture and are incredibly sweet and juicy. Enjoy fresh or substitute for Bartlett’s in recipes. Bartlett pears ripen off the tree. Let them sit at room temperature or wrap in newspaper and store in a cool, dry place. They will soften to eat in one to two weeks.

Pear Varieties at Apple Annie’s

• Yoinashi
• 20th Century
• Olympic
• Hosui
• Niitaka
• Shinko
• Shinseiki
• Bartlett
• Rosy Bartlett

Peach Quick Tips:

All of our peaches are freestone varieties, and are great for fresh eating, freezing or canning.

Peaches that are dripping juice right off the tree are wonderful, but impossible to transport. Select peaches that have a yellow undertone instead of green. The ridge on the peach should just give when pressed gently with your thumb.

Peaches will finish softening within one to seven days off of the tree. Spread them out at room temperature, in a single layer, on newspaper. Do not let them touch each other. Check morning and evening and refrigerate or use as they ripen. Do not transport or store your peaches in plastic; the heat and humidity will cause them to mold.

Peach Varieties at Apple Annie’s

• SUNSHINE - Yellow flesh freestone, 1st peach of the year
  
• RED HAVEN - Yellow flesh freestone. Long considered the “standard” to which other peaches are compared.
  
• NEW HAVEN - Similar to Red Haven, with a hint of citrus flavor. Annie’s favorite!
  
• STAR FIRE - Yellow flesh freestone with a little zip to it’s flavor
  
• GLO HAVEN - Similar to Red Haven; ripens 10-14 days after Red Haven
  
• JULY SUN - Similar to Glo Haven; often large size
  
• RED GLOBE - Yellow flesh freestone with excellent flavor
  
• BERENDA SUN - Bright red peach, yellow flesh freestone, with a slight twang to the flavor
  
• SUNCREST - Large yellow flesh freestone, excellent flavor
  
• ALLSTAR - Large yellow flesh peach; great for fresh eating
  
• BLUSHING STAR - White flesh peach, very sweet with excellent flavor. It even smells great! This is our only white peach.
  
• CREST HAVEN - High quality, large yellow flesh freestone. Farmer John’s favorite!
  
• J.H. HALE - Large yellow skinned peach with a slight blush and yellow “melting” flesh. A favorite for canning.
  
• O’HENRY - Firm-fleshed, high quality peach. Tends to get very sweet when mature.
  
• RYAN SUN - Similar to O’Henry; matures 7-10 days later.
  
• RED SUN - Late season firm flesh peach
  
• SEPTEMBER SUN - Firm flesh, very sweet
  
• FAIRTIME - An excellent freezer variety as well as fresh eating, is a very large peach with a balanced flavor.
  
• SWEET SEPTEMBER - A low-acid, firm-flesh peach with a very large size. The latest peach of the season.