The green cortlands

One of the similar things between this pregnancy and my last one with David is that I’ve craved Cortland apples in a strong, strong way!

Here’s the thing though: we (my family) like them a little bit green/under-ripened. They are starchy, tart, and crisp before they are fully ripe and once they are fully ripe their sweet nectar doesn’t even come close to how good it is when they are a bit green.

So, we usually call apple orchards in Illinois and Wisconsin and ask if we can pick them a bit green. Usually it’s only about 2 weeks prior to when they’d be “ready”, and typically the orchard owners let us go with a firm warning that “the Cortlands aren’t ripe yet”.

We tried a new orchard near DeKalb Illinois yesterday and it was great! It’s called Jonamac and prior to my arriving in Illinois this week, my mom had called to ask if we can pick Cortlands.

“Well, they aren’t ready yet. They are still pretty green. . .”

“Oh I know! We like them green!” My mom was trying to convince the owner that we weren’t complete idiots.

“Well, I mean, sure if you want to pick them early you can, but they aren’t ripe. Just find me when you get here.”

So we pulled up the orchard and I scouted out about 6 photo op’s for David as soon as we arrived. My family has picked apples for years and I was happy to finally bring him along for the fun. We practically documented our every move.

Once inside, we found the owner, who my mom had spoken with, and she gave us the “okay” to pick the Cortlands. The other orchard employee’s were practically shaking their heads in disbelief that we were opting to pick the apples a few weeks early! It was pretty funny. We, too, were in disbelief that no one at the orchard also loves a green Cortland!

We found the row of Cortlands, and immediately pulled an apple off the tree and took a bite.

It was perfect.

Just the right amount of green.

We had purchased 2 bags to fill and after we each tried an apple, we purchased 2 more bags to fill up!

David tried a couple apple pieces and he loved them too. He also tried a bit of the house made doughnut and he practically inhaled it. He’s his mother’s son.

We, of course, grabbed a bunch of caramel apples on the way out too.

It was a beautiful day and a fun thing to do with my mom* and sister.

*how on EARTH we managed to not get a photo with her is beyond me.

We usually head up to Apple Holler orchard but they wouldn’t allow us to pick the Cortlands yet. That’s still a great orchard to look into if you are in the area! I’d also recommend Jonamac, the one we went to yesterday. It’s small, clean, organized and the people were very nice!