An apple a day keeps the doctor away?

I honestly do not know much about apples and do not eat them very often either.  So, I do not have much to say about the forbidden fruit, other than there are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples.  Until I researched, I had no idea that there were that many varieties.    I know red, green and yellow.  I like the green, sour, apples purcjased at fruit stands in the mountains.  Apple pie?  Not one of my favorites, but it does smell good.

apples

Momma’s Apple Cake

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup soft butter
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 6 North Carolina Apples-peeled, cored and medium diced
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Combine the sugar in cinnamon-set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until blended-do not over beat.

Add walnuts and apples by hand.

Pour batter into greased 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over top of cake.

Bake 350-degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

Production Facts:

• North Carolina consistently ranks in the top apple producing states, usually 7th to 9th.
• North Carolina produces 1 to 2 percent of the total domestic crop.
• North Carolina typically produces 115 to 170 million pounds with a farm gate value of more than $18.5 million.
• There are approximately 10,000 acres of apples in North Carolina.
• Annual production costs range widely; the average cost for a well-maintained orchard is approximately $1,800 per acre.
• The majority (60 to 70 percent) of North Carolina apples over the past 10 to 20 years have been sold through processing and juice markets; the remainder is sold through fresh markets. However, with increasing retail markets for tourism in North Carolina and diminishing prices and markets for processing apples, growers are striving to sell more apples through fresh-market channels.

Production Regions:

North Carolina has four primary apple production regions, all in the western part of the state and each with a different geography and climate. The major production region is in Henderson County where 70 to 80 percent of the crop is produced (Figure 1). The second largest production region is in the Wilkes/Alexander County area followed by the Cleveland/Lincoln County area, which includes the lowest elevation orchards in North Carolina. Orchards in the Haywood County area have the highest elevation, the shortest growing season, and the coolest temperatures.

(Source – ipmcenters.org, ncagr.gov)

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