Apples of my eye

If you visited the Mabee Farm Facebook page or talked to John Ackner, SCHS Facilities Manager, in the last few weeks, you know it is harvest time at Mabee Farm! The apples and pears in the orchard are abundant this year. John and our volunteers started picking the Wolf River apples and Bartlett pears this week. Wolf River apples are a heritage variety usually used in cooking (rather than eaten raw or processed into cider). These apples are large, often weighing about a pound, with a lovely red and yellow speckled skin. They are mildly sweet and hold their shape when cooked.Wolf River apples are perfect for apple butter.

A gorgeous Wolf River apple picked at Mabee Farm this week, thanks to John and our volunteers!

While most of our produce will be used in the upcoming Mabee Farm to Fork dinner, you can find Wolf River apples and other heritage fruits at farms and markets around the county. Visit the Grems-Doolittle Library for recipe inspiration from the historical cookbooks in our collection. Below are two recipes that I'd love to try, written and collected by women in Schenectady.

Pages 76 and 77 from the 1903 First Reformed Church Cook Book by Ladies' Aid Society

DELICATE APPLES: Fill the place where the core has been removed from apples to be baked, with a raisin, a bit of lemon, cinnamon and as much sugar as possible. When baked, add a spoonful of sherry to each apple (from the 1903 First Reformed Church Cook Book by Ladies' Aid Society)

Page 103 from the 1890 Schenectady Cook Book by Ladies of the First Reformed (Dutch) Church

FROSTED APPLE PIE: Peel and slice tart apples enough for a pie, steam until tender, stir into this the yolks of two eggs well beaten, sugar to taste, one tablespoonful of butter, flavor with lemon and bake; take the whites and frost the top the same as for lemon pie (written by Mrs. H.J. Clute in the 1890 Schenectady Cook Book by Ladies of the First Reformed (Dutch) Church)

Bartlett pear picked (and eaten) at Mabee Farm

Happy cooking and eating!

  

Best,

Marietta