The Autumn months are prime apple picking season. My family has an annual tradition where we venture to a local orchard on a brisk Fall morning to pick apples. Somehow, we manage to pick over twenty pounds of apples, not counting the apples that my father picks and eats before paying. Upon arriving home, we wash the apples and place them into a gigantic glass bowl on the kitchen counter so that every time we walk into the kitchen, they whisper, “eat me, eat me, and if you do, you’ll only have 99 apples left!” I guess it’s the thrill of being able to pick our own apples that causes us to load up our buckets until they are too heavy to carry. It isn’t like going to the supermarket and picking an apple from the neatly stacked display; there are actual trees on an actual orchard, and we are actually permitted to pick the produce that calls to us from the tree branches. While in the rows and rows of orchard trees, we can sneak a bite of apple (although this is not orchard-recommended policy) and decide whether the Granny Smiths from one tree are better than those of the adjacent tree. It truly is an experience.
After lugging our bags of apples back from the orchard entrance for weighing, my father would typically glare at my mother and ask, “How did I just spend $30 on apples?” To justify the expenditure, my mother would instantly start rattling off a series of things that she could make with the apples: apple pie, apple crisp, escalloped apples, apple sauce, apple fritters, caramel apples, candy apples, apple turnovers, apple cake, apple cider, apple dumplings—the list went on forever. Usually, she would make two or three items from the list and call it a day. But that was okay, because it was the thrill of biting into a ripe, juicy, hand-picked apple while spending time with family that made the apples shine.
This year, my family intends to continue the annual apple picking tradition, but being away, I will unfortunately not be a part of it. While I am disappointed that I won’t be able to pick apples, I will get to feel the Fall air in Newark and experience some fun alternatives to the traditional apple picking. A few weeks ago, my roommate went on a club trip to Millburn Orchards—a typical Fall venture for University of Delaware students. Seeing her leave in a typical fall outfit of jeans, boots, a sweater, and a scarf, I could not help being envious of her trip. She quelled this jealousy when she returned with a huge bag of apples to share among the dorm and a present for me in a tiny white bag. I peeked through one flap of the bag, and there it was: my very own apple cider doughnut. I have to say that I have a pretty great roommate. Since I had already had my fair share of dessert at the dining hall—UDairy ice cream and chocolate chip cookies—I decided to save my doughnut for the next morning as a breakfast treat to entice me to get out of bed. As soon as I woke up the next morning, the doughnut instantly called my name, and I did what any college student would do; I sat at my desk, watched Netflix (currently binge-watching Friends for the third time), and ate my apple cider doughnut. It brought back memories of the orchard and apple picking. I could feel the crisp air hitting my nose, hear the tractors buzzing in the distance, and smell the manure—okay, admittedly not so great a smell when trying to savor delicious food. The doughnut had a thick coating of sugar on the outside which led way to soft, crumbly cake on the inside. It was pure bliss.
Although I am bummed that I will not get to take part in the Patent family apple-picking tradition, eating that apple cider doughnut was the next best thing. It instantly launched me right into Fall. In fact, my dorm room can speak to this; we have mini pumpkins scattered about the room, orange candles adorning the dresser, and a Fall-colored garland on the door. After parents’ weekend, I also now have all of my sweaters and boots tightly jammed into my wardrobe. And hopefully—with my not-so-subtle hints—my mother will send me one of her latest and greatest apple creations. With the coming ventures of apple-picking, it is official: Fall has most definitely fallen!
