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The
Crunch Is On! Apples from Milburn Orchards  In September and October, apples
are at their peak. Especially at Milburn Orchards in Elkton, Maryland. Find out what's new and different in the wonderful
world of apples, why they do it better, and what to do with all your fab purchases. Original apple recipes are courtesy of Rachel Rappaport of Coconut & Lime and MarylandsBest.net Hey, It's Cold in Here
This is the old “cold storage” at Millburn Orchards, just north of Elkton. It’s a busy Saturday afternoon at the peak of the apple season in September. Outside, there’s a hopping market with people picking up cider and donuts and pies and fall decorations. But you’d never know it in here. There’s just us, and Nathan and Evan Milburn, and the apples.
“Let’s see, we have Orange Honey, Honey Crisp, Jonathan, Macintosh, Winesap…”
Milburn Orchards just won the distinction of national “Apple Grower of the Year” from American Fruit Grower magazine. It was the 20th anniversary of the award, and the first time they’ve
picked a family to win. Evan’s been a long-standing force in the industry. Nathan and his cousins, Jay, David and Melinda
are taking the farm into the next (fourth) generation.
The Experience. The Apples. The Donuts. Milburn Orchards has been growing apples now for 100 years and tracing the development of their farm is like a window
into American culture. From a self-sustaining farm that grew apples, they became a 500-acre farm that sold 90% wholesale,
then a 300-acre farm with an onsite market and the occasional hayride, to what they refer to as ‘agritainment.’
“People don’t visit here for the apples as much as the experience,” says Evan. “They come for the farm and the pets and the picking, the cider, getting out in the countryside. They especially come for the apple cider donuts.” But apples are, of course, the core of the business. (One bad pun is forgiveable.)
“We have 30-plus varieties of apples, 20-plus varieties of peaches, Even more strains within a variety. Berries, table
grapes, cherries.” Even though Milburn Orchards is now more correctly, a fruit grower. They are also ruthlessly practical about the economics behind the varieties they grow. If a semi-dwarf
of the Apple of the Moment, Honey Crisp, can begin to yield in three years, and absolutely no one is buying Granny Smiths…well,
then…Au revoir, Granny. The Milburns essentially see very little market in cooking apples. Yes, they grow them, but
by far, the varieties grown today are all-purpose versatile types that can be eaten out of hand and hold up to cooking, too.
But that’s the approach that’s has helped Milburn Orchards go beyond survival to a successful
business that can support generations. They embrace advancements. The growing and treatment of the trees, for example, is
computer-tracked based on temperature and rain events. Little of this is
evident to the public’s eye. What they — and we — see are fields of trees, ready to pick. A busy market,
ice cream stand, petting zoos, hayrides, picking, apple cider and best of all, apple cider doughnuts. In high season, the
Milburns sell 600 to 700 dozen donuts a day. Yes, that’s 700 dozen.
But what about the apples? New
tastes. Many of these apple varieties are difficult or even impossible to find at the local supermarkets. Early
Fuji, Mutsu, Pink Lady, Orange Honey (their own development). Not all varieties are available every week, of course. Check
the Milburn Orchards website.
Better taste, seasonally perfect. Milburn Orchard apples are allowed to ripen
fully on the trees. The Milburns carefully check each variety as it’s coming on, to wait until just the right moment
to pick, or to open the block to picking.
Apples left on the tree as long as possible, receive the right amount of sunlight to turn the starch to sugar. Result: crisp, sweet apples. A Red Delicious apple here tastes very, very different from the red mushy types you can encounter in stores.
Locavore friendly. Interested in a smaller food footprint? You can’t get much
more local than this. These aren’t apples that have been on a railroad car or truck, or held in storage and shipped
across the country. They are, say the Milburns, “3,000 milles fresher.” The cider is fresh-pressed too. We asked
which apples are used for cider. The answer? It depends. As the apples come on, the varieties are blended, mixing sweet, tart,
and aroma. Galas and Jonathans, for example.
We load up on apples anyway, convinced that we will cook up tons of great food with them. And as we move
through the market, and the fields, we’re urged to sample, sample, sample.
"Here, try the cider. Here’s, taste the difference in these red delicious. Here, here’s an Orange Honey, and a Honey Crisp. You should really taste them both. Did you try our table grapes? These are Concords, and these are Neptune and Jupiter."
Even as we pull away, Evan stops the car and literally tosses some large pink-green apples at us. “Early
Fuji’s,” he says. Wow, Fuji’s get this big? we ask. He gives us a big face-cracking smile. “At
Milburn, they do.” He hops in his truck and drives back to the barn.
Milburn Orchards Farm Market, Events and Pick-Your-Own 410-398-1349 * 800-684-3000 www.MilburnOrchards.com
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