The Fruitbelt

     Adams County, Pennsylvania is known as "The Fruitbelt" with over 20,000 acres of orchards bearing a variety of fruits.  During the first two weekends each October they host a National Apple Harvest Festival at the South Mountain Fairgrounds to celebrate.  This year is their 49th seasonal event.  I attended it on Saturday and was amazed.

     There's a lot more to apples than just applesauce.  Think about it.  Of course there is apple juice and apple cider.  But there's also apple butter, and apple jelly.  And there's also apple pancakes, apple sausage, apple fritters, apple pie...the list goes on and on.

     But let's get back to Adams County. In the literature it is billed as " one of the most intense fruit regions in the country."  I'm not sure what that really means.  But putting it into a national perspective, Pennsylvania is 4th in apple production, behind Washington, New York and Michigan.  And Adams County is #1 in Pennsylvania harvesting over 5 million bushels of apples annually.  One bushel equals 42 pounds of apples.  You do the math.  That's a lot of apple picking.

     And speaking of picking apples, right in Biglerville in Adams County is the Knouse Corporation, a co-op that processes apples and other fruits from nearby orchards.  They are the county's largest employer.  Never heard of them?  Well, they sell their products under more familiar shelf brands such as Musselman's, Lucky Leaf, and Lincoln.

    While you're in Biglerville, stop in at the National Apple Museum, then go to the apple harvest festival.