March 23, 2025

In this last week of the Winter CSA, I want to thank you (thank you, thank you, thank you!) for participating as something of a guinea pig in my first go-round with a winter version of what I do in the fall. It went well for me — I definitely learned some things about packing fresh-pressed cider, box sizes, and making more crisps and pies than I’ve ever made before. And, of course, I really enjoyed continuing to give apples a home beyond the traditional fall timeframe and giving apples a useful life other than fresh or pressed, as in chips and pie. What did you think? What did you like best? What could you live without? How was the delivery interval, the quantities of what you received, and your perception of value? Let me know — I value your feedback.

In this week’s box:

• Just a bit of Haralson — that’s all that’s left!

• A newly bottled version of Perennial that’s extra bubbly — this’ll be excellent on the first hot day or with brunch. Perennial always tastes great in the spring and it’s my choice for the Easter meal or brunch.

• Half-gallon fresh-pressed cider from the last pressing of the year (frozen, thawed, and then pasteurized)

• Strawberry rhubarb jam. You can see how moved into a spring-anticipatory mode this week, can’t you.

• Apple chips, extra big bag

• Two bags SweeTango applesauce (no added sugar! just apples!)

• Apple pie or crisp (gf) made with Haralson and Connell Reds

March 2, 2025

In this week’s box:

• Honeycrisp and Haralson; and then some combination of Newtown Pippin, GoldRush, Black Oxford, Arkansas Black and — to one lucky person — CrimsonCrisp. More on the apples below.

• Golden Russet Imperial cider, which is a high ABV cider (around 11%) that’s made from Golden Russet apples. It’s uncarbonated because high ABV ciders don’t seem like they should be carbonated. This one feels like a wine and drinks like a wine, although it definitely tastes like a cider. I included it in the box because it’s still winter (though did you know the 10-day forecast is calling for highs in the mid-60’s?!?) and high-gravity cider seem much more winter appropriate than spring appropriate.

• Half-gallon fresh-pressed cider from the last pressing of the year (frozen, thawed, and then pasteurized)

• Honeyberry jam. Honeyberries are also known as haskaps and I think they make a superb jam. They are deep and jammy as fruit and when turned into jam are supremely flavorful. Honestly, there may not be a fruit better suited to jam than honeyberries.

• Apple chips — and they were an extra-large bag this week — purely because my freezer is so jam-packed with apple chips and pork and pies and crisps that I couldn’t get back far enough to grab the right-size bags. Your gain!

• Apple pie or crisp (gf) made with Haralson and Connell Reds. I tell ya — every time I go into the cidery to make pie or crisp, I’m so happy to be doing it. I’ve always been a home cook and baker and taken a lot of pride in feeding good food to my family and the pie-making is just an extension of that, so thanks for the opportunity to feed you!

The apple supply is running precipitously low, which I expected it to be now in the third week of the winter CSA. Black Oxford and Newton Pippin went out three weeks ago and so for this week, GoldRush, Arkansas Black, and CrimsonCrisp were new. The condition of the GoldRush was not stellar and I was really disappointed by that. In years past, the GoldRush were in excellent shape through the summer and this year their skins started to dry out. Their interiors should still be in good shape but man, they were supposed to be my ace-in-the-hole for keepers.

On the flip side, I was very impressed by the condition of the Arkansas Black apples. Their skin was smooth and taut and they looked just as good now as the day I picked them. The CrimsonCrisp that went out to one person looked to be good too, but my supply of good ones with an acceptable threshold of insect stings and pokes was limited.

February 10, 2025

In this week’s box:

• Honeycrisp (3), Newtown Pippin (1), Black Oxford (1), Connell Red (1), Keepsake (the rest)

• Vina (for those who opted in for hard cider), a cider fermented on spent grape must from the closest winery and then blended with homemade grape juice from friends’ grapes

• Half-gallon fresh-pressed cider from the last pressing of the year (frozen, thawed, and then pasteurized)

• Apple butter as a make-up for forgetting about it last month

• Strawberry jam, which makes my heart sing in the dead of winter

• Apple chips, an incredibly delicious snack

• Apple pie or apple crisp (gf) made with Haralson, Connell Red, Empire, and Honeygolds

Reminder: keep your apples in the plastic bag in the crisper drawer for best quality. If you don’t, they’ll lose moisture quickly.

The Keepsake apples are going strong and are still one of my favorite varieties to eat with peanut butter — there’s something about that low-acid apple along with peanut butter that just tastes great to me.

Newtown Pippin is an heirloom variety that was a prized export to Great Britain during Victorian age that is also excellent in hard cider.

Honeycrisp, you know. But did you know that Honeycrisp can actually keep until June?!?

Connell Red: there’s just one of these in the bag. It’s the fraternal (nearly identical) twin of the U of M-released Fireside apple variety.

Black Oxford: there’s also just one of these in the bag. This is an heirloom variety from Maine that I’ve been holding on to for winter distribution. Although I love it when I pick it in the fall, it is purportedly at its best right about now. We’ll see about that . . .

Enjoy that strawberry jam! The strawberries are from Lorence’s Berry Farm, which isn’t too far from me.

Apple chips are made from SweeTango and Keepsake apples.

And lastly, Vina: I included Vina because it goes so well with cheese and what with Superbowl preparations on Sunday, cheese was on my mind. But Vina is also a lovely cider for Valentine’s Day — it’s beautiful in the glass and with its higher-acid content, will pair beautifully with whatever you serve on Valentine’s Day, even a heart-shaped pizza.

January 22, 2025

Welcome to winter and our first-ever Winter CSA.

Apples are an excellent storage crop and the delicious things you can make from apples are practically unlimited so for three months — January, February, and March — we will be putting together an apple-based winter CSA.

What can you expect from a Sweetland Orchard winter CSA?

• Four Sunday deliveries total, spaced three weeks apart (January 19, February 9, March 2, March 23)

• Apples — one half-peck, as long as they’re still in good condition

• Fresh-pressed cider — one half-gallon

• An apple pie or gluten-free crisp (frozen, you bake at home)

• Apple chips (2 packages)

• Jam, jelly, apple butter, or some other jarred, preserved deliciousness

• When the apples are no longer in good condition, then we’ll round out the box with sauce and chips

• You can also order hard cider with your box

Choose Dogwood Coffee St. Paul, Dogwood Coffee East Lake, Dogwood Coffee NE, France 44, or Sweetland Orchard for your pick-up location.