The Must-Know Tip For Apple Picking At An Orchard

During the fall, the call to do traditional autumn activities grows strong. Pumpkin vendors pop up in parking lots, and orchards prepare for visitors eager to pick their own fruit. There's nothing better than walking through the apple trees, hot spiced apple cider in hand, looking for delicious honey crisps, galas, and pink ladies. If you want to look like you know what you're doing when you pick an apple, we have an essential tip.

The proper way to pick an apple may seem counterintuitive. It's easy to think you just grab it and pull it off the tree. However, doing this may remove the stem, causing apple to not last as long as it would if the stem remained in place. The trick is to gently lift the apple with your palm and twist. If the fruit is ripe, this motion will snap the branch above the fruit, giving you that classic "apple-with-a-stem" look. Now that you know this trick, take it out for a spin. Look at our list of the top 20 apple orchards in the U.S. and find the closest to you. Don't be afraid to show off!

It may seem tempting to shake the tree or branch, letting the fruit fall to the ground for easy harvesting. However, this will bruise the apple, giving it an unappetizing, mushy texture. If there are other apples on the ground already those are best avoided, as they may have developed a mold that could make you sick.

The ripest apples will usually be found on the outside of the tree. This is because they get the most sunlight, speeding up the ripening process. Of course, if like-minded pickers have already visited the tree, you may have to dig a little closer to the trunk for ripe apples.

One of the top mistakes people make when picking their own fruit is not having a recipe ready for their bushels of freshly picked goodies. Dig into our list of recipes for every kind of apple, including everything from apple butter to Hungarian apple soup, before your next trip to the orchard.