Yes, Texas grows Apples!
I’ll bet you thought apples only grew in the northern states, like Washington. The fact is……there are Apple Orchards right here in Texas! And you can even grow your own apples in your backyard.
Since we moved just outside of San Antonio, we have found all kinds of wonderful and interesting things to do. In my last post, I shared with you Peaches from Fredericksburg. Now I want to share with you Apples from Medina.
David and I met with Bryan Hutzler the Owner of Love Creek Orhards, and learned all about Texas Apples.
I asked, ‘How in the world did Apples make it to Texas?‘ It’s an interesting story starting in 1980 when Baxter and Carol Adams moved from Houston and purchased a 2,000 acre ranch in Bandera County. Their first choice was not Apples; it was Cattle. After they figured out that many of the ranches were over grazed, they looked at what their other options might be available as an agriculture commodity.
Baxter met with Dr. Loy Shreve from Texas A&M and he suggested growing apples on dwarf root stock. Dr. Shreve had found these trees in Romania while on a visit. The climate was similar to Texas Hill Country, and he’d been experimenting with apples for some time.
So they gave it a try with 100 trees! They invited friends to come and pick the apples, and this is how ‘You Pick Them’ started. It’s now a tradition at Love Creek Orchard at Medina. Take the kids and enjoy an educational adventure of picking your own apples right off the trees.
The Texas Department of Agriculture has named Medina the Apple Capital of Texas. Over 300,000 trees were planted within a 50 mile radius of Medina. Baxter and Carol Adams became pioneers of a new Texas Apple Industry.
Bryan & Stacie Hutzler in 2007 were interviewed by the Adams, and were found worthy to purchase The Apple Store and then the Apple Orchards. I have to say the passion for apples exhibited by Bryan is contagious.
Bryan grows several different varieties of Apples. The delicious eating kind: like Red Delicious, Fuji, Goldina, Pink Lady, Dorsett Golden, Anna, and they even have a Texas Lone Star Little Sugar-Gala Apple.
For baking they offer: Jonathan, Crispin, Jonagold and Granny Smith apples. Just seeing the apple orchard was educational and the good news is….you can see it too!
I asked how he knew when to pick the apples and there are a couple of ways they can tell. One is they know about when the apples should be ripe. Next they cut the apple open and look at the seeds. If the seeds are white, then they are not ready, but if they are dark brown, the apple is ripe. And the final way is to bite into it and taste!
We talked about the difference between a delicious eating apple and the tart apples that are for baking. A good apple for baking is a hard cultivar so it will hold up to the heat and stay firm. The tart flavor balances with the spices and sugar that is added to make the juice, yet maintains it’s apple flavor after it’s cooked.
When you are picking your own apples you need to look for an apple with good skin texture. Sometimes there will be a little blemish and that’s ok too. Every once in a while there will be a group of apples with some fungus on them, so they will use a fungicide. Most of the time, they watch the tree and pick off the bad apples so the fungus won’t spread. Bryan stated that they are not organic and they do use some chemical fertilizers, but they do not use insecticides. The apples are safe to pick from the tree, dust off some of the dust and take a bite out of it! And we did just that!
If you pick some apples that aren’t quite ripe you can leave them on the counter until they get just a little softer and then put them in the refrigerator. This will extend their life by several days. I like to leave them on the counter and when they are ready, peel them right away and make my delicious recipe. But on occasion, if I can’t get to them in a timely manner, I will place in the refrigerator. I don’t wash or peel them until I’m ready to use them so they won’t turn brown.
You can purchase little dwarf apple trees from The Apple Store right there in Medina. Bryan suggests that you purchase 2 trees of different varieties. The tree will start producing apples the first year, but will have a better crop in year 3 and will continue to produce until they are 18 – 20 years old. We purchased our 2 trees, a Texas Lone Star Little Sugar Gala and a Jonathan (which had 1 apple on it!)
Take a look at the actual interview and then we’ll take you to The Apple Store!
We drove just a mile or two to Medina and we went into The Apple Store (no computers sold here, just apples!) Store manager Carolyn told us all about their famous Apple Pie. It starts off at 5 pounds with the crust weighing 1 pound. After it’s baked, it’s still a solid 4 pounds! The aroma of the pies is out of this world. Carolyn also invited us to taste their Cinnamon Apple Ice Cream with some Apple juice drizzled on it….
They also have other Apple Products, including all kinds of jarred
Apples preserves, Apple Butter, Apple Syrup and everything Apple.
There is an enclosed area with picnic tables where you can enjoy a piece of Apple Pie, Ice Cream and a cup of Coffee.
Bryan also cultivates and sells Big Tooth Maple Trees. Did I mention the story of the BigTooth Maple Tree?
Back in the ice glacier time, when Texas was a lot colder, Maple Trees covered Texas like they did much of the Northern states. When the glaciers receded, the Maples died off in the plains, but remained in the canyons of the Hill Country. Over time they have adapted to the drought and heat of Texas. You can purchase the BigTooth Maple Tree also known as the Lost Maple Tree, at The Apple Store too.
Time for a delicious recipe! You know it’s going to be of course, Apple Pie!
Apple Pie
Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached All-Purpose Flour, plus more for work surface
- 1 teaspoon Table Salt
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold Unsalted Butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup cold Vegetable Shortening, cut into 4 pieces
- 1/4 cup Tequila, cold
- 1/4 cup cold Water
No, I don’t drink it, but Tequila is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute extra water. The alcohol is key to our recipe; if you don’t have Tequila on hand, you can use another 80 proof liquor. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie dough and will require more flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup).
FOR THE PIE DOUGH: Process 1½ cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening; process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle tequila and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 equal balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Cover each with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
Remove 1 disk dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with 1 hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 40 minutes.
Apple Filling
- 1/2 cup granulated Sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
- 1/4 cup packed light Brown Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Table Salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh Lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon grated Lemon Zest
- 1/8 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 2 1/2 pounds tart Apples (firm), about 5 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 2 1/2 pounds sweet Apples (firm), about 5 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 Egg white, beaten lightly
Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, zest, and cinnamon in large bowl; add apples and toss to combine. Transfer apples to Dutch oven (do not wash bowl) and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until apples are tender when poked with fork but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. (Apples and juices should gently simmer during cooking.) Transfer apples and juices to rimmed baking sheet and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. While apples cool, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place empty rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees.
Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. (If dough becomes soft and/or sticky, return to refrigerator until firm.) Remove parchment from one side of dough and flip onto 9-inch pie plate; peel off second layer of parchment. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, roll second disk of dough between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate, leaving dough between parchment sheets, until firm, about 30 minutes.
Set large colander over now-empty bowl; transfer cooled apples to colander. Shake colander to drain off as much juice as possible (cooked apples should measure about 8 cups); discard juice. Transfer apples to dough-lined pie plate; sprinkle with lemon juice.
Remove parchment from one side of remaining dough and flip dough onto apples; peel off second piece of parchment. Pinch edges of top and bottom dough rounds firmly together. Following illustrations 1 through 4, trim and seal edges of dough, then cut four 2-inch slits in top of dough. Brush surface with beaten egg white and sprinkle evenly with remaining teaspoon sugar.
Set pie on preheated baking sheet; bake until crust is dark golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool at least 1 1/2 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Used to be apple orchards around Fort Davis when I was growing up in West Texas. And there were great apples, too.
I bet there are still some good apple trees out there in the Fort Davis area. Seems like it would be prime apple growing country…..
Not many folks know it but various varities of apples will grow all over Texas. My sister and husband had a huge tree in their backyard in the Dallas area 50 years ago. It produced a lot of apples each and every year.
The apple trees we saw in Medina were grafted dwarf trees. They still produced regular size apples and were heavily loaded for such smaller trees.
I have a little 15 acre ranch in a box canyon out off highway 473
not too far from sisterdale.
6 years ago I planted 28 apple trees 6 varieties.
I’m just now starting to get results. Several trees are loaded .
All my trees are espailer.
I’m interested in getting to know local horticulturists to come see what I’m doing and share their advice and knowledge.
Lloyd Walton- TEXT ONLY 2109540087
I am a welder . (retired) everything I’m doing here was self taught on line . Trial and error (I still don’t know what I’m doing)
But, This year promises to bear fruit. I’don’t know. But I may have the only apple orchard in Kendall county !
Apples on four trees this year. Thank You LW
Thank you for your comment and we are so excited that you have an apple orchard so close to us.
During apple season, we’d love to come out and interview you for our blog.
And if you would like to share a few apples, I’d love to create a recipe and post to our interview too.
Let me know if you are interested and we’ll help put Kendall County on the Apple map!