We recently made a little escape to the mountains and visited Sky Top Orchard for fresh apples. We opted not to pick our own {this time}, instead wandering through the pre-picked options in the apple barn/farmstand. With so many delicious looking varieties, we decided to take advantage of the “fill-your-own bag” option and selected an assortment of apples to bring home. We also got cider slushies {my first, definitely not my last}, which were beyond amazing.
We had an official apple taste testing, and after careful consideration, we ended up with two different favorites. But, spoiler alert, they were all delicious. I’m including the Orchard’s official description of each apple’s flavor and uses, as well as our thoughts.
Mutsu/Crispin: Sweet and firm. Maintains shape and flavor when cooked. Great for baking.
**This was my favorite, and was juicy and crisp.
Cortland: Derived from the McIntosh. Juicy and slightly sweet. Browns slowly after cutting, making it great for salads. Great for pies and sauce, breaks down when cooked.
**This was the perfect mix of tart and sweet, and we actually bought a large bag of these because they looked so beautiful.
Ginger Gold: Sweet, tangy, and juicy. Hold shape well when cooked and are recommended for baking. Brown slowly when cut, making them an excellent choice for salads or cheese plates.
**Our least favorite, it felt more mealy/softer to bite, but still a decent flavor.
McIntosh: Great flavor when cooked! It breaks down easily, making it great for applesauce. Can also be used in pies paired with a tart apple that keeps its shape.
**These taste like a cooking apple, very yummy.
Honeycrisp: Very juicy crisp refreshing apple. Best for eating and salads. Stores well and retains flavor well when refrigerated.
**This was Mr’s favorite, and we both thought it tasted like cider.
It was so fun getting a selection of apple varieties to sample, and we’re already planning another apple run in October {that’s when Pink Lady apples are supposed to come in}, so chances are there will be another apple taste test in the nearish future.
Have you ever gone to an apple orchard? Have you picked your own apples?
What about apple cider slushies? Or apple cider donuts {I still need to try those!}?
What is your favorite kind and/or variety of apple?
Apple cider donuts are one of my favorite things about fall! My sister has her own little “orchard” that I pick from. Just three trees but they are usually prolific! Granny Smith, Mcintosh and Fuji 🙂 A nice blend of tastes for whatever you could want to make. And now I am on a mission to find an apple cider slushie!
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Oh that sounds so lovely! And such a great blend of varieties too 🙂 My parents have several trees, but they’re very sporadic in production. I need me another apple cider slushie … especially as warm as it is this week!
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Ditto. Apple cider donuts are sooooooooo delicious!!!
My favourite apple is Sweet Tango. Then probably a fresh-from-the-tree gala, and then Honeycrisp. I live in orchard country so fresh apples are very easy to come across. And we have apple cider slushies locally, but I’ve never tried one. Maybe tomorrow with Birchie????
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Okay, I’m officially going to have to try apple cider donuts! 😀
Orchard country is a good, good place to be 🙂 And yes! You and Birchie must try apple cider slushies! It’d be a perfect Saturday adventure!
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Cider slushies?! 😍Wow I need to find me one of those one day haha! I love going to an apple orchard this time of year and making cider but it’s quite far away and it’s a whole journey to get there so we sadly don’t go every year. An apple tasting sounds like so much fun! I have to say I also don’t love the apples that have that sandy texture as much. Pink Ladies are the ones that my family buys the most but my personal fav is the Granny Smith (paired with peanut butter, ‘its ‘one of my fav snacks)!
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Granny Smiths are probably my absolute favorite apple ever 😀 I love a crisp tangy apple, and enjoy my Granny Smiths sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar.
I had never had the slushie before, but Mr used to get them whenever they’d go apple picking “back in the day” … he said we had to get them, and oh my goodness: life changing. So. Good.
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Ah yes we have the same taste in apples, yeah! Oh cinnamon sugar… that sounds yummy I’ll have to taste it! What a great discovery I’m glad he made you taste it then!
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Going to the orchard is one of our favorite fall activities! I look forward to it every year. We used to pick our own but now I just buy them from the orchard pre-picked. Lol. We have a favorite orchard we go to every year too, and they make their own hard cider so we always have a glass of that while we are there too. Well, not Wyatt.
This looks like it was fun!!
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It was fun 😀 One day I’d like to pick my own, but the pre-picked makes it so easy, lol 🙂 Farm fresh hard cider sounds like a nice seasonal treat as well!
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Appealing
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So my husband wanted to go apple picking for my daughter’s birthday but she doesn’t want to. I don’t think she remembers how much fun it is because it’s been so long since we’ve done it. We always picked Jonathan apples because that is our son’s name (ooops— usually don’t share that! Ha!). I have never had an apple cider slushee but now I totally want one!
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Maybe you’ll have to slant the apple picking outing as part of a fall bucket list, so she doesn’t know it’s her birthday and it’ll be an adventure 😉 Love the apple selection process 😀 And yesssss, I am now a firm believer that everyone needs a cider slushie!!!
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I think that might be a plan!
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This sounds like a wonderful thing to do! I would love to taste test a bunch of apples. As of now, my favorite apples are Honeycrisp. We don’t get a big variety to choose from in our stores. We have an apple tree that produced an unknown variety of amazing apples, but it hasn’t made any apples for 2 years, which is such a bummer.
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Oh that is a bummer that your tree stopped bearing. Hopefully it’ll pick up again next year!
The stores definitely don’t have a lot of variety – I knew there were a lot more kinds than we’ve got on the supermarket shelves, but walking into that apple barn was amazing. And it wasn’t even peak season! I can’t wait to go back and see how many more varieties/flavors there are! 🙂
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[…] Apple Taste Testing by The Farm Wife Reads […]
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I dont think I’ve heard of a cider slushy before but it sounds lovely. Im glad the cortlands tasted as good as they looked because I’ve got apples before that looked really juicy and crisp only to have them all soft and mealy inside 😔 I dont think I’ve had one that tasted like cider before though and I’ve never heard of the donuts either.
I’ve never tried any at an apple orchard but when it comes to supermarket ones pink ladys are my favourite fof sude.
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I hate when I bite into a soft/mealy apple 😔 A good Pink Lady apple is pretty hard to beat 🙂
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[…] me, and I hope they help you find books of interest as well. We looked back at the flowers and we taste-tested apples, getting in the mood for Fall and Winter […]
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