This week at La Domestique is dedicated to apples, the quintessential fruit of fall. Recently, I paid a visit to a local apple orchard and it was such a pleasure to walk amongst the trees, eating cider doughnuts. Each autumn, the owners of Ya Ya Farm and Orchard open up their property to the public on weekends because they believe it’s important to share the beautiful scenery and literal fruits of their labor so people will help them support sustainable food. I had a lovely time wandering the apple orchard and the best part was bringing home plenty of apples and apple cider. It’s important to  visit “pick your own” orchards and farmers markets to support farmers who are stewards of the land, cultivating heirloom apples and avoiding hazardous pesticides.

In The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, Rachel Saunders writes

Perhaps more than any other fruit, apples have come perilously close to being ruined by large-scale commercial production. One hundred years ago, there were countless different cultivated apple varieties, and certain states and regions were renowned for their delicious heirlooms. Industrial production and the internationalization of the apple trade all but erased that; but now, a small group of dedicated farmers is struggling to preserve the precious varieties of the past. Heirloom varieties, such as the Gravenstein and Pink Pearl, are better known today than they were twenty years ago, and delicious apples have again become easier to find.

Cook in the moment with me this week as I explore different apple varieties in both sweet and savory dishes. Tomorrow is 10 Ways Tuesday and I’ve got creative ideas for using apples in fall dishes. Look to LaDomestique.com for recipes and flavor pairings. Let’s enjoy autumn before sunny days and falling leaves turn into snowy nights. It’s time for apple pie and hot cider and crisp, juicy apples.