an apple-sized bit(e) of history

 On a recent trip to the library, Brianna picked out a few picture books; among them was "Golden Delicious, A Cinderella Apple Story" by Anna Egan Smucker.* 

Judging the book by the cover (and title), I thought this was going to be a twist on the classic Cinderella story, but somehow featuring an apple. Turns out, it was. Sort of.

We discovered this story is steeped in reality and chronicles how the "Golden Delicious" apples came to be and it turns out the companies which brought these apples to market still exists today. (You can check out the Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co. here.)

Before reading this story, I stayed away from eating the red "delicious" brand of apples, as I didn't find they lived up to their name. I'm more inclined to enjoy the sour notes of a Mac, Empire or Granny Smith. So I was a little skeptical about whether I would like the Golden Delicious. But after reading this appley tale, it was hard to resist placing them at the top of our shopping list. In fact, the very next day I purchased a few and am happy to day they lived up to their fame. Perhaps their flavor was partly enhanced by knowing the generation of apples we bit into were direct descendants of the first Golden Delicious tree in West Virgina (the book explains more about the ins and outs of apple cultivation).

Last year, I took the kids apple picking for the very first time and hope to repeat the experience again this year. If you've never picked your own fruit and want to find a place near you that allows this very locavore experience, check out pickyourown.org.

(*see Disclosure page on the right side bar)