Apples
It is the co-op’s vision to support and strengthen community connections with our local producers. Co+op Produce Manager, Becky, shares what’s local and in season in our produce aisles!
Check out our selection of local apples at our Lawrence location from South Baldwin Farms and Beisecker Farms!
Local
Autumn crisp - my new favorite apple, next to the Honeycrisp. I can snack on this apple all day. The autumn crisp apple is a mix between golden delicious and Monroe. It is the most crisp apple I have ever had that has any golden delicious ancestry. It is often used for salads, as it tends to be slower to brown/oxidize after being cut.
Braeburn - Braeburn apples are a great duel-purpose apple - great raw for snacking, salads, or cheese boards; and a great cooking/baking apple. The sweet-tart flavor of the Braeburn apple mellows just slightly when cooked and will compliment both sweet and savory preparations.
Honeycrisp - tried and true favorite apple of many smart people - this is an all-around great apple. TheHoneycrisp apples from South Baldwin this year may be the best I have ever tasted. They're incredibly sweet and have a great, crisp texture.
Gala - what a timeless apple. Sweet, yet mild, crisp, yet soft. If you haven't tried the Royal Gala apples from Beisecker, you should do yourself a favor and get one to snack.
Jonathan - a great apple for eating fresh, freezing, or baking. They are nice and sweet, with a slight tang to them.
Jonagold - a cross between a Jonathan and a golden delicious. They are currently one of the largest local apples we carry, and have a sweet/tangy flavor with notes of honey. Not the most crisp apple, but the texture has a nice creamy delicious taste without being very mealy.
Rome - not super sweet, they are my top choice for cooking apples - whether you are baking, roasting, or frying - this is a choice apple.
Golden Delicious - the Golden Delicious apple gets a bad rap. I didn't think that I liked any "delicious" apples until I tried them fresh from Beisecker's farm. This isn't your mealy golden delicious apple that you may remember from childhood - fresh they are crisp, tart, and sweet. Great fresh or baked.
New this week:
Suncrisp - the Suncrisp is a cross between a Cortland and Cox's Orange Pippin, crossed again with a Golden Delicious. It is very sweet with a pleasant soft texture.
Coming soon!
Red Delicious - Same as the Golden Delicious, the Red Delicious apple doesn't have a great reputation. These local, fresh, Red Delicious apples aren't your Holiday Inn Express mealy apples, they're actually quite good.
Fun National Organic Apple Varieties:
Cox's Orange Pippin - considered a classic English apple, The Cox’s Orange Pippin is regarded as one of the best dessert apples with a complex flavor and fine texture. Cox's Orange Pippin apples are yellow with red blush and occasional brownish-red striping. The red over the yellow gives the apple an orange hue. The firm flesh is very juicy with an intensely aromatic flavor reminiscent of mango with a hint of spice. The flavor of this English apple improves as it ripens off the tree.
Ribston Pippin - the likely parent apple of the Cox's Orange Pippin - this apple has a great firm texture with a complex tart/sweet taste.
Zestar! - one of the parents to the "Sweetango" apple, Zestar! is an early season apple with a crisp tangy/sweet taste. The yellow-green skin is smooth, shiny, and firm with contrasting orange and red striations, giving the fruit a rosy blush over the majority of the skin. Zestar! is an all-purpose apple, great for snacking and baking.
Fall Apple Recipe Inspiration 🍂
