Antiquing along the Hudson

     Fall is a magnificent time to visit the scenic Hudson River Valley.  The air is delightfully crisp and dry with cool mornings and sunny afternoons.  Life is good in the little towns that hug the river, towns like Rhinebeck, Hyde Park, and Kingston.

     And while many people enjoy strolling along the streets and peeking in the antique shops for rare finds, I was doing some antiquing of another sort.  Fall is also the best time to savor the many varieties of apples that are grown there by generations of farm families.  The state of New York produces 28 million bushels of apples annually.  And of that amount 22 million are grown in the Hudson River Valley.  There are the familiar varieties like McIntosh, Empire, Gala and Honeycrisp that do well in the warmest growing region in the state.  But there are also some antique varieties that are lovingly nurtured in the acres of orchards:  heirloom apples like the Chenango Strawberry, Ashmead's Kernel, Cox's Orange Pippin and the Calville Blanc d'Hiver.  But by far the most famous heirloom apple is the Esopus Spitzenburg first cultivated by Dutch settlers back in the 1700s.  It's red and yellow skin is delicately striped and dotted with a golden flesh beneath.



     The uses of the Esopus apple are many.  It is an excellent baking apple, and is used for making cider but is also enjoyed right from the tree and can be eaten out of hand.  It's flavor actually improves with a few weeks of cold storage.

     The Hudson River Valley can claim apples as their contribution to Autumn.  But it is so much more! The story of my visit there continues.....