The New England Orchard Cookbook Harvesting Dishes &

Desserts from the Region's Bounty

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 THE
a
a

New England
Orchard Cookbook
HARVESTING DISHES & DESSERTS
FROM THE REGION’S BOUNTY

L I N DA B E AU L I E U
with photography by Karen Peltier Riggert

GUILFORD, CONNECTICUT
 iii
 This beautiful book is dedicated to Mike and Karen.

ab

An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright © 2016 Linda Beaulieu

Photos taken at the orchards in New England by Karen Peltier Riggert
All others images © Thinkstock

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who
may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

ISBN 978-1-4930-2540-4
ISBN (e-book) 978-1-4930-2541-1

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of

American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Contents
Introduction, vii

Massachusetts, 1

Rhode Island, 73

Connecticut, 111

Vermont, 165

New Hampshire, 225

Maine, 263

Appendix A: Directory of Orchards, 296

Appendix B: Pick Your Own Cherries

in New England, 300

Index, 301

About the Author, 305

About the Photographer, 305

vi The New England Orchard Cookbook
 Introduction
I keep trying to retire, but then I get wonderful writing opportunities—like this one, The New
England Orchard Cookbook. Once again I jumped (as well as I can at my age) at the chance
to write about something I love.
“Orchard” is defined as an area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit trees or a
place where people grow fruit trees. Many farms have orchards on their land, and this book
is devoted to the fruits of those orchards, not farm crops in general. So we are talking
apples, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, and quince. Here and there we’ve
included a blueberry recipe or a zucchini dish that could not be ignored. We also included
an amazing pumpkin recipe from Rhode Island, but for the most part this book is a celebra-
tion of tree fruit.
For six months I immersed myself in the research needed to write this book. With my
husband Brian as navigator and our dog, Beau, along for the ride, we hit the highway that
led us to country byways, on to the sometimes hidden, always beautiful land of orchards.
We watched the summer sun set in Connecticut and watched the fall foliage turn to red
and gold in Massachusetts. We felt the chill of winter in the northern states of Vermont,
New Hampshire, and Maine. I realized during these travel experiences that I love each one
of these states for all kinds of different reasons.

 vii
 APPLES
Whenever I embark on a new book project, I always
learn so much and meet the nicest people. For instance,
I had no idea that there were so many New England
apples—more than 120 varieties according to the New
England Apple Association, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to educating consumers (some experts claim
it’s more like 200). Of that total, about forty variet-
ies are grown commercially with McIntosh making up
about two-thirds of the New England crop. Heirloom or
antique apples as well as new varieties are increasingly
available at mom-and-pop orchards.
Apples come in four colors: red, green, yellow, and
russet, with variations. And the names! From Akane to Zestar! (that exclamation point is
part of the name). There are so many more than the Cortland and Empire apples we see
year-round in our favorite supermarket.
Apples ripen at different times during the harvest season, from August through
November. Aficionados will visit a spectrum of orchards seeking out the more obscure vari-
eties, and they will return monthly to see what is now ripe. Many of us make only an annual
trip to a nearby orchard on a perfect fall day. I now realize they are deserving of much more
of my time.
The New England apple has a rich history. There were no apples, as we know them today,
only wild crab apples in the New World when the first settlers arrived. The Pilgrims landed
at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts in 1620. Three years later the first cultivated apples
appeared, thanks to the seeds brought over by the French, Dutch, German, and English.
(For a wonderful read, check out the online version of “Wild Apples” by Henry David
Thoreau (1817-1862), one of America’s foremost writers. His essay laments the destruction
of the wild apple species.)
Today the six-state region of New England produces between 3.5 million and 4 million
(forty-two-pound) boxes of fresh apples every year. By acreage, here are the state-by-state
statistics:
Massachusetts 3,100 acres
Maine 2,700 acres
Connecticut 1,800 acres
Vermont 1,700 acres
New Hampshire 1,300 acres
Rhode Island 230 acres

As for statistics on New England orchards, I was unable to find answers to my ques-
tions. There are plenty of statistics on the farms of New England, and many but not all of
those farms do have orchards. Based on my experiences during the past year, I feel confi-
dent in saying there are at least one thousand orchards, large and small, in this northeast
corner of America. And there’s more than apples in those many orchards.
Apples tend to be the main crop at New England orchards, with cherries, peaches, nec-
tarines, pears, quince, and plums as the supporting crops.

viii The New England Orchard Cookbook

CHERRIES
The cherry trees in a mixed orchard are the first to bear
fruit. Cherry blossoms cheer us in the spring with their
color and beauty. The cherry has a very short growing
season, and the peak season is brief as well, only about
three weeks from late June to mid-July. Sweet cherry
cultivars include Black Gold and Lapins that you can eat
right off the tree. Sour or tart cherry cultivars, which are
meant more for cooking, include Dwarf Northstar, which
is considered the best, and Montmorcency, great for
baking pies.
Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, has nine
varieties in a two-acre cherry grove with 1,400 trees.
This is a precious fruit, and New England’s winter weather can ruin the following summer’s
crop. After having below-zero temperatures in February 2015, most of the cherry crop was
lost, and there was no cherry picking at Parlee Farms that summer. So, as they say at Parlee
Farms, enjoy this wonderful fruit when you can.

PEACHES AND NECTARINES

Kissing cousins—that’s how orchard owners describe
peaches and nectarines. The only difference between
these two juicy fruits is fuzz. A peach has fuzz. A nec-
tarine is a peach without the fuzz. They are so closely
related that a peach tree will occasionally bear nectar-
ines, and vice versa. Some experts also claim a slight
difference in flavor with peaches being musky and nec-
tarines lighter and almost lemony. Look for fruits that
have an orange-gold background color, for they are the
sweetest. There are hundreds of peach and nectarine
cultivars, classified as either freestones or clingstones.
The flesh of freestones separates easily from the pit.
The flesh of clingstones clings tightly to the pit.
Like cherries, peach trees have a brief but juicy season. Red Haven and Canadian
Harmony peach trees are popular in Massachusetts. Other New England peaches include
Ernie’s Choice, Madison, Cresthaven, and Garnet Beauty. Reliance peaches can be found in
many orchards beginning in July. The Fantasia nectarine is another favorite. Parlee Farms
has 15 varieties of freestone peaches and three varieties of nectarines.

PEARS AND QUINCE

Pears and quince belong to the same family. We’re all familiar with pears, while quince is a
new fruit to many of us. As for pears in New England, orchards grow Bartlett, Bosc, D’An-
jou, and Kieffer. The small but very sweet Seckel pear is very popular. Asian pears are new
to New England and tend to be grown in Boston-area orchards with Shinko considered the

Introduction ix
x The New England Orchard Cookbook
 best for flavor. Other
names you may see at
farm stands are Lus-
cious, Parker, Patten,
and Summercrisp.
Bright golden yel-
low when ripe, a quince
looks like a pear. It’s usu-
ally cooked, although in
warmer climates quince
can ripen more and be
eaten raw. Quince trees
are rarely grown in large amounts with usually only one or
two trees in a mixed orchard.

PLUMS
There are more than 100
species of plums with
about thirty of them
indigenous to North
America. Commonly
found in New England,
especially the southern
half, are the wild red
plum, Prunus americana,
and the beach plum,
which is good for pre-
serves. Small and usually
purple, European plums such as Green Gage and Damson
are the top choice for the colder regions of New England.
Green Gage has green skin and flesh even when ripe. With
purple or black skin and green flesh, Damson plums are
rather tart and used mostly for preserves or cooking. The
other European plums are good for canning and sweet
enough to be dried for prunes. Many are excellent for sim-
ply eating fresh out of hand.
Parlee Farms has eight varieties of plums that are
harvested from early August into mid-September. Some
of the varieties grown in New England include Santa Rosa,
Empress, Polly, President, Seneca, Stanley, Blue Damson,
and the Italian Plum. Only one inch in diameter, the Ameri-
can plum—red, yellow, and orange—is grown in all six New
England states.

Introduction xi
 The Orchard Cycle

For years I have visited local orchards and stopped at rustic farm stands only on beauti-
ful summer and fall days. It’s one of the ways I enjoy life, and it makes me feel good. But
having learned so much of what it takes to be an orchard owner, I now realize the orchards
have a yearlong cycle.
As I write this introduction in February 2016, fruit trees throughout New England
are resting amidst a blanket of pure white snow. The trees are dormant, and it’s time for
pruning. Every fruit tree is pruned every year. This not only removes dead branches, it also
encourages more fruitful growth.
The folks at North Chester Orchards in Maine informed me that blossom time is around
the third week of May for their apple trees. This is when the honeybees kept at the orchard
and wild bees do their job of pollination. The pollen from the flowers of one variety of
apple must be moved to another for the apples to grow. Every apple begins as a beautiful
blossom.
When summer comes around, orchard owners use fertilizers and sprays to ensure a
good, healthy crop. Many orchards now use Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which per-
mits the use of less spray. Insect traps are set, and pest monitoring lets farmers know when
certain insects and pests are present.
The cherries are the first to ripen, followed by the peaches, nectarines, apples, pears,
and quince, from early summer into the autumn months. That’s the busiest time in the
orchard cycle. Orchard owners and their staff must pick what’s ripe, and they must deal
with the public. If it’s a pick-your-own orchard, customers must be taught how to pick
fruit correctly. An apple, for instance, is picked by holding the apple in the palm of your
hand and lifting up with a twist. You should never pull down on an apple. Doing so breaks
off the twigs that should bear next year’s fruit. It’s very important that the children in an
apple-picking group learn how to do this.
Many orchards are open only for the picking season, but just as many stay open until
Thanksgiving or even Christmas. Fruit that isn’t sold can be kept in cold storage, and some
winterized farm stores remain open all winter long—when it’s time for the orchard cycle to
start again with that all-important pruning.

xii The New England Orchard Cookbook

Orchard Etiquette

There are the dos and don’ts of how to behave when visiting an orchard, especially pick-
your-own places. Some orchards post their specific rules on their websites, while others go
a step further and have signage (often humorous) on the property. Here is a compilation of
the Ten Commandments at various orchards:

1. Remember you are a guest, and respect the orchard the same way you
would want visitors to respect your property.

2. Supervise children at all times for two reasons—they must be kept safe,
and they must not do any harm to the orchard any farm animals on
the property.

3. If there is a petting zoo, you can pet and feed them, but never chase a farm
animal.

4. No vehicles are allowed in the orchard without special permission.

5. Do not climb on the trees or shake branches. This causes damage.

6. Sampling the fruit while picking your own is expected, within reason.

7. Do not throw the fruit around. Do not waste fruit.

8. Thou shalt not steal fruit by hiding it. Remember this is someone’s livelihood.

9. Watch out for moving cars and farm equipment.

10. Do not litter. Use the trash receptacles on the property.

Dogs are another matter. Many orchards do not allow dogs on the property, while some
are happy to have dogs visit as long as they are on a leash. If dogs are allowed, it’s asked
that you keep them away from the petting zoo. You must clean up after your dog. And do
not let your dog do his business on the pumpkins or bales of hay. Be considerate of other
people in the orchard. Not everyone loves dogs as much as you do. Of course, guide dogs
and service dogs are always welcome.
With all that said, I hope you like the recipes in this book as much as I do, and I hope you
are inspired to go exploring. Visit orchards near and far. I promise it will make you feel good.

Linda Beaulieu
Lincoln, Rhode Island
February 14, 2016

Introduction xiii