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From orchards and cider donuts to delicious recipes, here's a guide to everything apple in CT

Connecticut Public Radio | By Staff Report

Published October 30, 2024 at 9:52 AM EDT

Apple grower Jim Wargo holds apples grown on his Hidden Gem Orchard in Southbury, Connecticut. Clockwise from top left are featured a Cox Orange Pippin, a Firecracker, and two Wickson apples, October 3, 2024.

Apple season isn’t over just yet and there are plenty of places across Connecticut where you can pick-your-own or mix-and-match a bushel of apples for your own personal apple fest. You can also head to one of the state’s farm bakeries to grab sweet treats from apple fritters and cider donuts to holiday pies.

Apples have been a fall staple in Connecticut, and beyond, for hundreds of years. The history of the apple in New England dates back to 1623, three years after the landing of the Mayflower, according to the New England Apple Association.

Today, there are thousands of apple varieties worldwide, of which only a fraction are grown in Connecticut.

Apple varieties abound, expert says

Jim Wargo, a horticulturist and apple farmer who owns Hidden Gem Orchard in Southbury, recently spoke with “Where We Live” host Catherine Shen about the depth of apple varieties.

“There's all kinds of different apples out there. The skin color is different from green, yellow, red,” Wargo said. “We even have russet varieties that look like a pear. And, like a Basque pear, they differ in texture and flavors.”

Some apples are very aromatic, others are very sweet, and some are very tart and even inedible because of the high tannin content in the apple, he said.

“So there's a very broad array of types of apples and what they bring to the palate,” Wargo said.

While consumers have their favorites, when it comes to apple varieties, there’s so much to choose from compared to how we think about – and shop for – other fruits, he said.

“There's 7,500 named apple varieties existing in the world today. At one time that was closer to 17,000 or 18,000, but apples are one of the few produce items where you buy by variety. You know, when you buy strawberries, you buy strawberries. Or blueberries, blueberries – bananas, the same thing. You don't buy it by the particular variety, but apples, you do,” Wargo said.

Breeding the beloved honeycrisp

Over 30 years ago the honeycrisp, which has since been dubbed the “Moneycrisp” by some growers, was created by David Bedford, a senior research fellow at the University of Minnesota's Department of Horticultural Science and his team.

Bedford shared a little bit about how they breed Honeycrisps with “Where We Live.”

“We're very particular about which pollen goes on which trees, so we have a little better control of the outcome. We've continued to use Honeycrisp or Honeycrisp children now in our breeding,” he said.

“So this is sort of like when you have your children, and they leave home, and you hope they find a place in the world. Well, that's kind of how our apples are. We release them, and then the market either accepts them or forgets them. And so far, we've had good success with the Honeycrisp.”

Whether you’re searching for a favorite or new apple variety to try, a new recipe for Thanksgiving, or still hoping to go apple picking before the first frost — we have recommendations for you.

Want to go apple picking?

Apple-infused recipes

Blue ribbon deep dish apple pie

When it comes to apple pie, the more fruit the merrier. Only, the more apples you pile into the dish, the more likely you are to end up with a big gap between the crust, which sets early in the baking, and the filling, which softens and shrinks by the time the pie is done. The answer, in a technique adapted from Cook’s Illustrated magazine, is to pre-cook the apples just a bit to “set” their shape. The result is a pie that’s good enough for a bake-off: tall, beautifully domed, and filled to the very top with juicy apples.

(Reprinted with permission from The Apple Lover's Cookbook: The Classic Guide to Cooking and Eating Apples by Amy Traverso. Copyright © 2020, 2011, by Amy Traverso. Photos Copyright © 2011 by Squire Fox. Published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)

Vermont cider donuts

It’s a cider-maker’s tradition to use some of the freshly pressed juice to make lightly tangy, apple-scented donuts like these. The cider adds more than flavor, though; its acidity makes donuts more tender.

Apple and chestnut stuffed pork loin with cider sauce

A simple stuffing, sweetened with apples and chestnuts and lightly accented with cinnamon and sage, is rolled up inside a butterflied pork loin in this centerpiece dish. When you slice the loin, you see the swirl of stuffing. Served with a very simple cider pan sauce, it’s impressive enough for company, but quite easy to do.

French apple cake

This simple dessert is less cake than sautéed apples set in a thick, buttery custard encased in a golden crust. We liked using two varieties of apples here, one tart and one sweet — the variation in the apples’ sweetness gave the cake a full, complex flavor. The cake is delicious served unadorned, but it’s equally wonderful accompanied with crème fraîche or ice cream.

Apple-inspired audio to delight your ears, too

Where We Live: “Apple of our eye: The history and future of a beloved fruit”

Seasoned: “Apple Season: Favorite Local Orchards, Cider Donuts + More”

Seasoned: “A visit to Hogan’s Cider Mill and a lesson in apple cider history from the authors of ‘American Cider’”

Connecticut Public's Megan Fitzgerald, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catherine Shen and Tess Terrible contributed to this post.