Rosh Hashanah Apple Picking at Eckerts Farms

Tractor ride to the orchards

Our local St. Louis Eckerts Farm has just opened up their apple harveting season this past weekend -  the perfect time to hand pick the freshest, crunchiest apples for Rosh Hashanah.   The "Honey Crisp" variety of apples are the first to ripen on Eckerts's orchards, but the Jonathan, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and others are just about ready to pick as well.

The perfect "honey crisp apple".  The lady bug also agrees

After our short tractor ride to the orchard site, our children each grabbed a small Eckerts's draw string bag and we chose a row of trees to start our apple hunt.   My husband briefly instructed the children and how to find the "perfect apple" - one that feels firm, has a fair amount of red around it's whole body, and of course has no obvious blemishes, worm holes, or other imperfections.   Those instructions were easy enough to follow and my children were able to easily access hundreds of blossoming honey crisps.   Walking through the rows of orchards and seeing the trees filled with round, ripe apples was an incredible vision.   There was a palpable sense of Hashem's bountiful kindness and generosity in every direction.   It was a reminder of G-d's constant love and chesed. 

Apple picking at any age.

After weighing and purchasing our bags of apples, we decided how many we would keep for our own family and which we were giving out as gifts.    Then, we all chose one of the many perfect apples we picked, cleaned it off with our bottled water and took a giant bite.  K'runch.   Unbelievably delicious!  I might even suggest that these apples were so sweet, that honey may be overkill this holiday season!

Freshly picked apples will stay great for many weeks if they are refrigerated in their own space without any other types of fruits and vegetables mixed in the same container.   Make sure to remove the "bad apples" first, because they can easily contaminate the other good ones.    I don't expect any of these apples to outdate the Rosh Hashanah holiday since these guys have big plans.   In addition to slicing and sprinkling them with honey, I also plan on making unsweetened apple sauce as well as a few cranberry apple tortes, a family favorite.   I enclosed the recipes below for others to prepare and enjoy for Rosh Hashanah or any other time of the year.  

Eckerts Millstadt Farm

I hope everyone has the opportunity to go apple picking if not this year, but in the near future.   To find out more about your local harvesting farms, click here to find out more.   Also, if you are a local St. Louis native, find out more about Eckerts ripening schedule for harvesting dates and times.   The short trip outside the city is well worth your visit.  

Shanah Tova!   May you and your family be written and sealed in the Book of Life.

Cranberry-Apple Torte (Adapted from Susie Fishbein's "Kosher by Design")

Ingredients:

1 cup of white whole wheat flour
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of oatmeal
1/4 cup of brown sugar or agave
1 1/2 sticks of parve butter
2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Filling:
4 Cortland apples, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 (16-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Heavily coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray; set aside.  In a large bowl, mix the 2 cups of flour, brown sugar, oats, parve butter and cinnamon.   Reserve 1 1/2 cups of this mixture.   Press the remainder into the prepared pan and halfway up the sides with the palm of your hand.

In a medium bowl, combine the apples, cranberry sauce, and 2 tablespoons flour.  Mix with a spoon.   Pour the apple mixture into crust.   Sprinkle the reserved oat mixture over the top.   Use the back of a spoon to gently press the oats so that they evenly cover the top and meet the crust that is coming up the sides, this is what will enclose the filling.  Bake for 40 minutes until brown on top.


Directions:

Home-made applesauce:  (A recipe passed down from the Hermelin cookbook - thank you Safta Linda)

Ingredients:


3 lbs of Jonathan apples, or other variety (about 9-10 apples) - quartered, cored and thinly slice with peel
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
Optional - 1/4 cup of brown sugar, agave, or pure honey


Directions:

Quarter, core, and thinly slice three pounds of Jonathan apples into the bottom of a large pot with about 3 tablespoons of water added, just to coat the bottom of the pot.

After a few of the apples have been sliced, squeeze some lemon juice on them to prevent any browning.  Repeat after all the apples have been sliced.

(If you want apple sauce sweetened, sprinkle about 1/4 cup of brown sugar, agave, or raw honey on the apples and mix.)

Simmer the apples, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft, about 40 minutes.   Periodically check to replenish water if necessary.

Grind the cooked apples in a food mill over a bowl.

Chill and serve.