Kauffman's Fruit Farm and Market

Variety	Description	Available
Yellow Transparent	The earliest variety of them all, one of the oldest, and still a favorite of home applesauce makers who prefer a tarter apple (just ask Grandma Kauffman).	Jul 3-31
Pristine	A newer variety, you'll find Pristine to be a winner both for baking purposes and for applesauce. This is a disease resistant variety–good for you, good for us!	Jul 14-mid Aug
Earligold	This is a new and improved Lodi-type variety that has "caught on" fast. We (including our orchard manager's wife who considers Earligold her favorite) think you'll enjoy the light-textured and light-colored applesauce produced by this cultivar.	Jul 21-Aug 31
Summer Rambo	A Lancaster County folks' applesauce and apple pie favorite "from way back" (Rambo was first grown in France in the mid 1500's). They may not be the most handsome apples of all, but the flavor of Summer Rambo apple products will surely win you over!	Aug 2-mid Sept
Ginger Gold	Our top-selling applesauce variety. Ginger Gold's crunch and flavor are sure to please when eaten "out-of-hand" too. This apple is almost as sweet and tasty as Golden Delicious but ripens six weeks earlier! It maintains its white flesh well when sliced. Ginger Gold was discovered by a fruit grower in Virginia during the 1970's and named after his wife.	Aug 10-Sept 30
Sansa	First "real" eating apple of the season. An "offspring" of Gala originating in Japan, Sansa is well positioned for success with its tremendous flavor, juice and crunch.	Aug 11-31
Golden Supreme	Here is the improvement to Golden Delicious that you've been looking for! Golden Supreme features a flavor and texture as impressive as its perennially popular Golden Delicious parent. Perfect for out-of-hand snacking.	Aug 24-mid Sept
Gala	This variety is well on its way to becoming the most popular eating apple in the United States and there are plenty of reasons why! Gala has a glowing red-orange appearance, sweet and wonderful taste, and an excellent "crunch quotient." This variety originated in New Zealand and has both Red Delicious and Golden Delicious in its ancestry.	Aug 24-Christmas
Honeycrisp	Introduced in 1991 at the University of Minnesota, Honeycrisp is an "explosively crisp" and "WOW" generating apple! You'll love the light, crunchy texture and excellent sweet flavor! Honeycrisp is also a fine baking apple.	Sep 1-30
Smokehouse	This variety originated as a chance seedling behind the smokehouse of a Bird-in-Hand farm in the 1800's and has been a Lancaster County specialty ever since. Its green skin color and tart flavor invites comparison with Granny Smith but Smokehouse ripens eight weeks earlier. Any local old-timer can vouch that this apple is ideal for all cooking, baking, sauce, or salad purposes.	Sep 4-30
McIntosh	This is a mildly tart and quite aromatic apple that's great for snacking, drying, most cooking purposes, and applesauce. Mattie Kauffman and her family think a Mcintosh and Summer Rambo blend is the way to go! McIntosh has, for many years, been the premier apple grown in New England and New York.	Sep 7-Christmas
Jonathan	One of Grandpa Kauffman's favorite eating varieties–he likes them tart and spicy! Jonathan is one of those old favorites that just doesn't go away and we're not surprised. They're one of the best all-around apples we grow. This variety is especially valuable as a source of "stay firm when baked" flesh for pies and dumplings.	Sep 12-Oct 31
Red Delicious	The best known apple on the planet, Red Delicious' primary usage is fresh-eating. The original tree was discovered in Iowa in the 1870's.	Sep 14-May
Cortland	An excellent all-around apple prized for its mellow texture, "stay-white-longer" flesh, and red colored applesauce. Cortland originated in New York state as a cross between McIntosh and Ben Davis.	Sep 19-Christmas
Grimes Golden	An old-time variety, Grimes Golden is most often used for applesauce and in pies. It is, in fact, Grandma Kauffman's favorite baking variety. This apple is believed to be a parent of Golden Delicious.	Sep 19-Oct 31
Golden Delicious	This variety is, year in and year out, our best selling one. We've never heard of anyone who's gone wrong in using Golden Delicious for any purpose in which apples are needed.	Sep 20-May
Empire	Red Delicious and McIntosh are the parents of this variety and Empire combines the best traits of each. This apple has been a taste test winner in our market so it will surely be a winner in your snacks, desserts, or salads and will perform equally well as the main ingredient in your apple pies!	Sep 20-Spring
Jonagold	This typically large apple features a mellow texture and a great taste–just what one would expect from a Golden Delicious and Jonathan cross! Try blending Jonagold apples with Golden Delicious or Crispin for a great no-sugar-added applesauce combination.	Sep 21-Spring
Idared	Not a well known apple, perhaps, but Idared will be well regarded after you try it! This cultivar was developed in Idaho and is especially well suited for baking (it holds its shape very well), cooking, and drying uses.	Sep 22-Jan
Crispin	Here's a sweet and juicy, firm textured and crispy white fleshed variety that was developed in Japan and called Mutsu there. There are Lancaster County folks who think applesauce from Crispin apples is the very best! You'll enjoy trying these in your salads and cooked apple dishes, too.	Sep 27-Spring
Stayman	Discovered around 1866 by J. Stayman of Leavenworth, Kansas, this seedling of Winesap has long been one of the most popular cultivars we grow. "Rich," "snappy," "distinctive," and "closest thing to bullets we grow" are terms that describe Stayman's taste and texture attributes very well.	Oct 4-May
Rome	One of the better keeping varieties, Rome is a firm apple with a mild flavor and is especially good for baking and cooking purposes. It is the variety we use most when peeling and coring apples for bakeries and restaurants.	Available all year. New crop mid Oct
Fuji	Unusually sweet and extra crunchy, Fuji was developed in Japan and claims Red Delicious as a parent. This is one of the best new varieties to come along in quite a long while! Fuji is a classic apple for fresh eating and salads and is an outstanding keeper.	Oct 11-Spring
Cameo	Pleasingly sweet and crunchy when eating out-of-hand. Ellen Kauffman, wife of our orchard manager, touts this variety for baking uses, too. Cameo is a new variety which orginated in Washington state a few years ago. We're transitioning all of our Cameo acreage (along with a few other varieties) to organic and are hoping that the 2008 crop of these will be certified so.	Oct 18-Spring
Braeburn	A newer variety in the U.S., Braeburn was introduced in New Zealand in 1952. It has been described as having a shelf life "a few days less than a rock." You'll find that sweet-tart flavor this apple possesses to be pleasant for both fresh eating–it's one of our orchard manager's favorites (!) –and cooking.	Oct 18-Jan
Granny Smith	Here's the famous green baking apple that was discovered by Margaret Smith in Australia before 1900. The finished product of this variety is always hard, juicy, and tart–maybe the world's best cooking apple!	Oct 18-Jan
Goldrush	Another new variety and one we have high hopes for. Goldrush is a disease-resistant apple, therefore needing fewer sprays and chemicals. With its firm texture and spicy taste, Goldrush is a great apple to rush to Kauffman's for.	Oct 26-Jan
Pink Lady	That beautiful pink blush is just a start! Pink Lady's crunchy texture and superb flavor makes for great, healthy "out-of-hand" snacking. In a taste test (conducted here in our market) featuring seven fine eating apples, Pink Lady came out on top.	Oct 31-Spring

Ripening Schedules and availability vary – please call ahead for accurate harvest details! Most apple varieties are available well beyond the harvest time depending on crop size and demand.

	What is the best variety for fresh eating? We are constantly looking for the "perfect" apple. We haven't found it yet, however, we think some of the varieties we grow get really close! Although everyone has their own preferences, there are some apples that seem to "have it all" when it comes to fresh eating. See the chart for a description of each variety.

1. I want a sweet, crunchy apple.
Try Sansa, Golden Supreme, Honeycrisp, Gala, Golden Delicious, Crispin, Cameo, or Fuji.

2. I want a mildly tart and crisp apple.
Try Honeycrisp, Empire, Jonagold, Braeburn, or Pink Lady.

3. I want a tart and crunchy apple.
Try Smokehouse, Jonathan, Stayman, Granny Smith, or Goldrush.

4. I want an apple that is flavorful with a more mellow texture.
Try McIntosh, Cortland, Idared, or Jonagold.

How many quarts of applesauce can I expect from a half bushel basket of apples? 10-11 quarts

What is the best variety for applesauce? Our most popular applesauce apple is Ginger Gold; however, personal preference comes into play quite a bit on this question. The opinions we hear generally fall into one of these categories:

1. I want a thin, smooth sauce.
The early varieties – Transparent, Earligold, & Summer Rambo – supply this texture.

2. I want a mildly tart and crisp apple.
Try Honeycrisp, Empire, Jonagold, Braeburn, or Pink Lady.

3. I want a naturally sweet sauce that doesn't need a lot of sugar added.
This category is continually increasing in popularity. Use Jonagold, Fuji, Cameo, Gala, Golden Delicious, Golden Supreme, Ginger Gold and Crispin. Wanda Kauffman recommends using apple cider (for extra sweetness) instead of water.

	4. I like a tart applesauce and don't mind adding sugar. Varieties listed in category #1 are good options. You may also want to try Smokehouse, Cortland, McIntosh, Stayman, Goldrush, or Granny Smith.
	Is it a good idea to blend varieties when making applesauce? We recommend it! Just as the flavor, body, smoothness, and sweetness of apple cider are enhanced by using a mix of varieties, so it works for applesauce. We suggest using at least one tart and one sweet apple.

Which is the best variety for baking? Again, this depends heavily on your preference. Most people use a tart or slightly tart apple for optimum flavor. Our top-selling baking apples are

Jonathan, McIntosh, Idared, Rome, Stayman, and Granny Smith. See the chart above for more details. New varieties that are baking favorites of our employees are Ginger Gold, Empire, Jonagold, Cameo, and Goldrush. Give these a try; you'll love 'em!

What is the life expectancy of an apple tree? Our orchards are replaced every 20-30 years. This is necessary not so much because of the trees' health, but rather to stay abreast of trends in varieties, orchard training systems, and customer preferences.