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Vegetables and fruit: apples, arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, carrots, collards, corn, cucumbers, edamame, eggplant, field peas, figs, garlic, ginger, herbs, kale, lamb’s quarters, lettuce, Malabar spinach, melons, mizuna, muscadines, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, peanuts, pears, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, roselle, shallots, sorrel, spaghetti squash, spinach, summer squash, sweet potato greens, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnip greens, winter squash
From local reports
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, as the saying goes. Or maybe it’s two apples.
So says Brian Heatherington of Beech Creek Farms. “Most people don’t realize there are numerous studies showing people who eat two or three apples a day have tremendous decreases in diseases like cancer and asthma. The ancient Greeks prescribed apples for dementia, and apples have been used for centuries as a treatment for stomach problems and breathing problems of all types.”
It doesn’t hurt that apples are delicious.
Heatherington grows more than 100 varieties of apples and peaches on his 500-acre farm in Tallapoosa, just west of Atlanta, off I-20. This is land that’s been farmed since 1828, and where his dad started a small dairy farm back in 1956. When Heatherington took over management in the late 1990s, he moved from dairy production to growing fruit trees. He started with about 100 apple trees and now has 8 acres of apples and 3 acres of peaches.
His specialty is dessert apples, and the large variety allows him to offer fresh apples from early July into early November. Temperature- and humidity-controlled coolers extend the season, assuming he still has apples to sell, until April or May.
Beech Creek is primarily a wholesaler of apples, supplying community-supported agriculture programs such as Moore Farms and Friends and Farmers Fresh CSA. Moore Farms and Friends brings its fruit to the Saturday morning Freedom Farmers Market at the Carter Center.
In the future, Heatherington may get into producing value-added products like cider, and he has plans to work with nearby school systems to get local apples into school lunch programs.
He says six varieties are the work horses of the apples he grows: Gala, Ginger Gold, Crimson Crisp, Gold Rush, Fuji and Pink Lady. “They all do well in a climate like ours which is warm and humid. The Honeycrisp apple is great, but it grows well in Minnesota and Canada. Not here.”
Growing apples organically in this area is also a challenge. “It’s really difficult in the eastern United States but especially in the Southeast where we get so much rain. Most organic apples come from very dry regions of Washington state and California.”
Heatherington grows what are referred to as “low spray” apples by using effective products early in the season to try to eliminate problems before they get out of control.
All of these are the reasons Heatherington refers to apple growing as “the rocket science of agriculture. It’s not like growing a tomato plant, which is so much simpler.”
He says it was the taste of fresh apples that got him hooked on growing them. “Most of the apples we get in the grocery store here in the Southeast are a year old or more, stored in a controlled atmosphere until they come to market. When I first started fooling around with growing apples, I found they tasted 100 times better than what I got in the supermarket.”
Heatherington gets his share of those healthy apples during the season, eating one or two a day. He’s especially fond of steel-cut oats cooked with apples, or of apples sauteed in butter and apple pie spice, then topped off with a little cream or milk. “That’s great for breakfast.”
And he reminds people buying apples grown in Georgia or North Carolina that they may not be as pretty as those that came from Washington state, but they usually taste much better.
The Ritz Carlton Atlanta’s Pomme d’Or
The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta celebrates fall’s bounty of apples with this seasonal cocktail. Make apple balls to garnish this drink by using a melon baller to cut out small balls of apple flesh. Sommelier Brian White, creator of this recipe, likes to use both Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples. Make sure a bit of apple skin is included in the ball to provide color. Arrange two apple balls on each skewer.
Ice
2 ounces Apple Syrup (see recipe)
3/4 ounce Van Gogh Wild Appel Vodka
3/4 ounce Calvados
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
Apple balls (see note)
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add apple syrup, vodka, Calvados and lemon juice. Shake until chilled and foamy. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with apple balls. Serve immediately. Serves: 1
Per serving: 224 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), trace protein, 25 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 2 milligrams sodium.
Apple Syrup
Extra apple syrup would be delicious used in the same way you’d use maple syrup.
1/2 cup apple butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 small cinnamon stick
In a small saucepan, combine apple butter, brown sugar, water and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Allow to cool and remove cinnamon stick. May be made ahead and refrigerated up to 1 month. Makes: 1 1/2 cups
Per 2-tablespoon serving: 95 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), trace protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.
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