Black Oxford apple

Apples Good As Gold

MOST PEOPLE think “red” when they think apple. The vast majority of apples feature the color, after all, and popular cultural…

Heirloom Apples: A Bite of History

HISTORIANS, WRITERS, FILMMAKERS have tried in countless ways to imagine, preserve, and understand the past. Our connection to our ancestors informs…

10 Overlooked Apples for Apple Lemon Cake

PART OF THE BEAUTY of New England’s orchards is their diversity, in size, location, crops, and, especially, their apple varieties. More…

An Apple By Any Other Name

EMPIRE AND JONAGOLD, two of the best later-season apples, are now ready at New England orchards, farm stands, and grocery stores….

Hot on the Orchard Trail (Macouns are in!)

THIS WEEKEND many orchards will begin harvesting Macoun, one of the most highly anticipated apples of the New England harvest. …

The Most Prolific Apple

ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING things about the apple is how it connects us to our past.  A history book, a…

Suncrisp apples, Tougas Family Farm, Northborough, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Good Now, Better Later: Idared and Suncrisp

SOME APPLES, like fine wines, improve with age. Two relatively new varieties, Suncrisp and Idared — are examples. Their flavor…

Mother apples (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Why the Iconic Apple?

CHANCES ARE you would not be reading this if I were writing about spinach or carrots. Healthy and delicious as…

My Favorite Apple

NEXT TO “What is the best pie apple?” the question I am asked the most — and which I frequently…

New England Apples on New England Apple Day

IT SEEMS ONLY FITTING to celebrate native New England apples on New England Apple Day Wednesday, September 3. The New England…