9.13.2009

First Apple Orchard Trip of the Season

We wanted to get out and enjoy the nice weather yesterday afternoon, so we headed over to the Pine Tree Apple Orchard in White Bear Lake. It's still early in the apple harvesting season (the famous Honeycrisp apples that are native to MN have not brought out the crowds in full force yet) so the orchard was relatively quiet. We got to sample a few ripe varieties and ended up choosing Paulared apples that were sweet and labeled good for pie making. We also snuck out with some sugar coated apple doughnuts and a few caramel apples to snack on!

One kind of apple that were able to sample is a new variety of apple developed by the University of Minnesota called the SweeTango. It is a hybrid between the Honeycrisp and Zestar apples and according to their website it is "juicy and sweet with hints of fall spice. SweeTango's flavor, balanced by vibrant acidity, dances to a long and satisfying finish on the palate. It also features the satisfying "crunch" of a Honeycrisp. In our words, it was awesome! There are only a few trees harvested for sampling this year, but it is sure to make a big bang when it is mass produced next season.

I'm sure we will be making a few more orchard visits before the season is over but here are some pictures of the kids enjoying their caramel apples.




2 comments:

Lizzy said...

That's so weird, we almost called you guys yesterday to see if you wanted to go to the orchard with us! We decided not to go, because we wanted to pick our own and Pine Tree doesn't let you actually pick apples. Thanks for the SweeTango recommendation, it sounds yummy and I'll keep an eye out for it!

The Gabel Family said...

I remember when Honeycrisp were new! We were at a local orchard by Rochester when they came out and instantly feel in love with them. I wish we could sample the SweeTango. Another reason to love Minnesota! Looks like you guys had fun.