It's almost an afterthought when we say something is as American as apple pie. But which apple is in the pie?
Jennifer Meyers / The Citizen
Lou Lego, co-owner of Elderberry Pond, places a sheet of sliced apples into a dryer Sunday afternoon. Lego is conducting research to determine the best apple for baking.
Lou Lego, co-owner of Elderberry Pond, places a sheet of sliced apples into a dryer Sunday afternoon. Lego is conducting research to determine the best apple for baking.
Elderberry Pond in Sennett is seeking the apple that bakes best. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the farm with a $9,800 grant to assess the baking, drying, browning and growing attributes of 40 apple varieties.
“Then the idea is to tell new organic farmers which trees they can plant,” said Lou Lego, who co-owns the Elderberry Pond farm and restaurant with his wife, Merby.
“I wish someone had done this when I started,” he added.
The research began in early August with the first few apples of the season - such as Lodi, Red Astrachan and Duchess apples - and will continue through the fall as the Northern Spy and Smokehouse apples ripen. Lego estimates more than 3,000 apples will be juiced, dried, bitten or baked by the end of the project, and all apples will have been grown on one of the farm's 1,000 trees.
The farm's evaluation of each apple begins at their growing stage. The maintenance required by each tree is a concern that farmers must consider.
“Some grow spastically and others require no pruning,” he said. “Sometimes the apples drop before they even ripen, and that's a crime.”
Lego is also evaluating the taste properties of apples that do not require pesticide spraying. Within the past 10 years, several apple trees have popped up that are immune to diseases. But some experts claim that the taste of those apples does not compare to that of apples from trees that need chemical care. Lego would like to test this claim.
“If we can get commercial orchards to plant these, it'd be really good for the environment,” he said.
Along with pesticide use, color tampering is another common industry practice Lego would prefer to see curbed once he releases the results of his study. When farmers breed out the undesirable colors of certain apple varieties, Lego believes their taste is often sacrificed.
Once their growing conditions are assessed, each apple in Lego's study is then evaluated for firmness, acidity, brix (soluble sugar content) and size. Some apples of each variety remain unrefrigerated for two weeks before being run through a spiral cutter and dried for a day. Their drying capabilities are one category of the research.
“Some taste good, and some taste like cardboard,” Lego said. “But some people like them crispy, and some people like them leathery.”
Many other apples are squeezed and their juice content is measured. Lego then tallies the taste, color and quantity of juice from three pounds of each apple type.
Other apples are sliced, and both their taste and the quickness with which they brown is observed. Lego feels this aspect of the research will assist chefs who prepare salads that include apples. If they know which types won't brown before the bowl reaches the table, they can stock their kitchen with them.
Elderberry Pond's visitors are assisting Lego with assessing the raw taste of each apple. Baskets are arranged all around one of the farmhouses and scorecards are given to tasters to gauge the fruits' sweetness. All 40 apples are divided into smaller groups of similar taste so as not to skew the palates of the people scoring them. Visitors who sample each apple and hand over a completed scorecard are awarded a discount.
Lego has already learned that sweetness is not solely determined by the brix value of an apple. The acidity interacts with the amount of sugar to produce the sweetness of each apple.
The remaining batch of apples are baked in the Elderberry Ponds restaurant. Lego, his wife and three chefs from the restaurant serve as the tasting panel. They established a list of defining characteristics of the ideal apple pie - such as a “firm but not hard” consistency - after considering that good apple pie means different things to different people.
“Some people love the sauces, some people love the firm apples in there,” Lego said.
Chef Pam Reeve has been baking pies from three pounds of each apple since the research began in August.
“Some are harder to peel; I've noticed the smaller apples don't give as much volume even though they weigh the same,” she said.
So far Reeve has been impressed by Pink Pearl apple pie, where the apple's blush color brightens the filling between the crust. She is anticipating the Smokehouse pies, and Lego is eager to taste the pastries made with Northern Spy apples, which ripen in late October.
Once Elderberry Pond has finished the research, Lego will submit the findings to farming journals. He will also present his research to local agricultural groups, such as the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the Northeast Organic Farming Association.
“We want to get the results out,” he said. “The most important part of this is outreach.”
After letting fellow apple growers know which variety requires the least maintenance and which is best for baking, Lego will look elsewhere on his farm for his next research project.
“I'd like to do this with potatoes,” Lego said. “It's neat when you have professional chefs and all this stuff growing.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
“Then the idea is to tell new organic farmers which trees they can plant,” said Lou Lego, who co-owns the Elderberry Pond farm and restaurant with his wife, Merby.
“I wish someone had done this when I started,” he added.
The research began in early August with the first few apples of the season - such as Lodi, Red Astrachan and Duchess apples - and will continue through the fall as the Northern Spy and Smokehouse apples ripen. Lego estimates more than 3,000 apples will be juiced, dried, bitten or baked by the end of the project, and all apples will have been grown on one of the farm's 1,000 trees.
The farm's evaluation of each apple begins at their growing stage. The maintenance required by each tree is a concern that farmers must consider.
“Some grow spastically and others require no pruning,” he said. “Sometimes the apples drop before they even ripen, and that's a crime.”
Lego is also evaluating the taste properties of apples that do not require pesticide spraying. Within the past 10 years, several apple trees have popped up that are immune to diseases. But some experts claim that the taste of those apples does not compare to that of apples from trees that need chemical care. Lego would like to test this claim.
“If we can get commercial orchards to plant these, it'd be really good for the environment,” he said.
Along with pesticide use, color tampering is another common industry practice Lego would prefer to see curbed once he releases the results of his study. When farmers breed out the undesirable colors of certain apple varieties, Lego believes their taste is often sacrificed.
Once their growing conditions are assessed, each apple in Lego's study is then evaluated for firmness, acidity, brix (soluble sugar content) and size. Some apples of each variety remain unrefrigerated for two weeks before being run through a spiral cutter and dried for a day. Their drying capabilities are one category of the research.
“Some taste good, and some taste like cardboard,” Lego said. “But some people like them crispy, and some people like them leathery.”
Many other apples are squeezed and their juice content is measured. Lego then tallies the taste, color and quantity of juice from three pounds of each apple type.
Other apples are sliced, and both their taste and the quickness with which they brown is observed. Lego feels this aspect of the research will assist chefs who prepare salads that include apples. If they know which types won't brown before the bowl reaches the table, they can stock their kitchen with them.
Elderberry Pond's visitors are assisting Lego with assessing the raw taste of each apple. Baskets are arranged all around one of the farmhouses and scorecards are given to tasters to gauge the fruits' sweetness. All 40 apples are divided into smaller groups of similar taste so as not to skew the palates of the people scoring them. Visitors who sample each apple and hand over a completed scorecard are awarded a discount.
Lego has already learned that sweetness is not solely determined by the brix value of an apple. The acidity interacts with the amount of sugar to produce the sweetness of each apple.
The remaining batch of apples are baked in the Elderberry Ponds restaurant. Lego, his wife and three chefs from the restaurant serve as the tasting panel. They established a list of defining characteristics of the ideal apple pie - such as a “firm but not hard” consistency - after considering that good apple pie means different things to different people.
“Some people love the sauces, some people love the firm apples in there,” Lego said.
Chef Pam Reeve has been baking pies from three pounds of each apple since the research began in August.
“Some are harder to peel; I've noticed the smaller apples don't give as much volume even though they weigh the same,” she said.
So far Reeve has been impressed by Pink Pearl apple pie, where the apple's blush color brightens the filling between the crust. She is anticipating the Smokehouse pies, and Lego is eager to taste the pastries made with Northern Spy apples, which ripen in late October.
Once Elderberry Pond has finished the research, Lego will submit the findings to farming journals. He will also present his research to local agricultural groups, such as the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the Northeast Organic Farming Association.
“We want to get the results out,” he said. “The most important part of this is outreach.”
After letting fellow apple growers know which variety requires the least maintenance and which is best for baking, Lego will look elsewhere on his farm for his next research project.
“I'd like to do this with potatoes,” Lego said. “It's neat when you have professional chefs and all this stuff growing.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
