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Apple Scrumping Midwestern Style

According to my Oxford Concise English dictionary, to scrump, is "to steal fruit from an orchard or garden."

I was lucky enough to live in the lush green hills of Herefordshire England for a while. It is an idyllic patchwork of sheep pasture and apple orchard, dotted with crooked storybook cottages and tumble-down barns. The ancient, gnarled trees make hard little apples that make hard strong cider, popular in the pubs over there.  Tales of autumn apple scrumping are common like those of outhouse-tipping in the States, in fact there's a brand of cider called Scrumpy Jack. Real hardcore scrumping goes on in groups under the cover of darkness, fueled by the very brew.

In the spirit of the new blogging disclosure laws I will go on record as having gathered a few windfall apples in my time. And I truly scrumped some pears from a neighbor's tree once when mine was having a bad year. I knew they didn't use theirs and they were out of town and I did confess later and send them my delicious Gingered Pear Pie recipe.

But there's a different kind of scrumping going on in the Upper Midwest. Over there in Wisconsin and down there in Iowa, people are trying to take credit for the heavenly Honeycrisp apple!  Some say it's from the U at Madison, others claim an obscure town in Iowa. Make no mistake, Minnesota breeds and grows the greatest apples. In winter when I am so cold I want to cry, I think about Minnesota apples. Even my mother-in-law, sweet little lady who wouldn't speak out of turn, has been single-handedly and staunchly having to defend the Honeycrisp heritage at bridge group way down in Illinois.

For definitive proof of the Honeycrisp origin...try this link from the University of Minnesota...

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/5877_01.html

With all the tasty varieties available, I love to experiment with different combinations in pies and desserts. So far, Haralson and Honey Gold together make for a fabulous pie. Ginger Gold makes an awesome applesauce. And Sweet Chestnut Crabs are just incredibly cute.Tell me about your favorite apple, even if it's from another state. I promise to be open-minded.

(Pie by Rose and Rhonda)