The other day, someone in our warehouse got a brainstorm to do an informal taste test of a Washington-state grown Pink Lady (the stickered, shiny waxed type) versus one of our homegrown, organic Pink Lady apples (grown in our “schoolhouse” apple orchard block). He cut up each apple and handed slices to our employees who were in the area at the time. And mind you, this was neither scientific nor formal, but we think the employee’s reactions are instructive:

Comments for the Pink Lady from Washington state: “tastes flat”; “tastes like cold storage”; “missing flavor”.

Comments for our homegrown Pink Lady: “way more flavorful”; “although it has been in cold storage about as long, it doesn’t taste like it”; “blows the other one away”.

So there you have our (admittedly a bit biased) opinion. Keep this in mind the next time you’re at a major supermarket where the apples are waxed and shiny…. looks do not equal taste.

It’s pretty obvious around here that something is brewing… and that’s the harvest! How can you tell? Because employees are often asking the orchard managers how the crop looks; the orchard managers wish they would have taken more blossoms off the peach trees (yes, you read that right: blossoms off); and our market is selling local fresh strawberries!

Of course, we need to give credit where credit is due: since Kauffman’s grows tree fruit, some farmers have beat us to the punch with local, new crop strawberries, lettuce, radishes, and other good stuff. So in reality, from a consumer perspective, the harvest is started, and we enthusiastically join in with that chorus. Regarding Kauffman’s, though, here is what Ken and Clair, our orchard managers, are observing in our orchards:

• Cherries – some varieties took a hit during the cold snaps earlier this spring; others did not and are full or nearly full. Outlook: 60% crop.
• Plums – not as rosy a picture here; many varieties were frozen out in the cold snaps. Outlook: 30% crop.
• Peaches – quite the opposite; most varieties are doing just fine; as mentioned before, too few blossoms were taken off by our orchard crews earlier, resulting in too many little peaches on the trees, which our crews are working on reducing as I am writing this. Outlook: 95% crop.
• Pears – sad story here for Bartletts (there aren’t many); however, Asian pears look good. Outlook: 40% crop.
• Apples – most varieties are in good shape. Won’t be a bumper crop, but, barring severe weather like hail, will be a crop to be pleased with. Outlook: 90% crop.

• Red Delicious – For most people, our mental image of an apple is a Red Delicious
• Cortland – Really mild and soft texture, good for young children to bite into
• Crispin – cousin to Golden Delicious, but bigger in size and usually a harder flesh
• Empire – twangy taste, good for a quick, healthy snack
• Fuji – hard flesh and mild sweetness, keeps well
• Gala – summertime favorite, pretty red blush
• Golden Delicious – probably the favorite of most Americans, familiar sweet taste
• Idared – has the whitest flesh of almost all the apple varieties we grow
• Jonagold – really popular for sauce, as it has white flesh and doesn’t need much sugar
• Pink Lady – pink blush, hard, crisp, snap – an apple our staff highly recommends for snacking

Kauffman’s offers all these apples in a ship-able apple box that is sure to please your friends and family.

Our produce department is nearly ready to start delivering CSA shares in mid-May… they have drop-off points already arranged at our market and in Gap, New Holland, and Bridgeport and are telling me that they can still accept applications for shares from people who live in those three towns. To discuss this more, call 717-768-7112 and ask for CSA staff.

And for those readers who haven’t heard about CSA – CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and describes a program that benefits the consumer and the farmer. Essentially, the consumer pays once at the beginning of the harvest season, and the farmer provides the food during the harvest season at no additional cost to the consumer. You can read more on our website’s CSA page.

While Kauffman’s is a local fixture for fresh fruits and bulk foods and delicious deli foods, we have many, many other items that appeal to our local customers. One of the (literally) prettier items are hanging flower baskets, which can be just the ticket you need for a beautiful gift for Mom this weekend.

Stop in at our market along Rt. 340, east of Bird-in-Hand, and buy today! Our wide selection of hanging baskets feature different colors to suit your color preference, and, with a starting price of about $7, are reasonably priced as well. We expect to have these flowers for a while, possibly into July. But back to Mother’s Day… don’t forget one for Mom this weekend!

Yes, it’s that time of year, and yes, they are very tasty! The “they” is Lancaster County-grown vegetables, such as spring onions, radishes, field-grown tomatoes, rhubarb, asparagus, and local strawberries.

Note that supply is inconsistent because of the early season; we suggest you call our Produce Department before your trip, 717-768-7112. Other than that small disclaimer, these yummy, fresh, healthy items are what we’ve all been waiting for! No need to wait longer for fresh ingredients for your supper table – the 2012 harvest is on!

Based on sales data for 2011 at our market and wholesale department in Bird-in-Hand, Golden Delicious is the best selling apple, which matches what most of our customers would tell us if asked (Gala was the runner-up). Sometimes called Yellow Delicious, Golden Delicious is used for eating, salads, sauce, pies, baking, freezing, and apple cider.

Cousins of Golden Delicious include Crispin, Golden Supreme, and Ginger Gold. Still, because of its color, natural sweetness, versatility, and ease and cost-effectiveness of growing, Golden Delicious has the potential to be the king of the apple mountain for a long time.

Orchard work and preparation for the harvest at Kauffman’s Fruit Farm is in full swing… Apple trees are in full bloom, the orchard crew is preparing the trees, and hives of bees are busy buzzing around in the orchard, spreading pollen as they seek the nectar from the blossoms, and pollinating our fruit trees as they do so.

Spring is the time of year that fruit trees are trimmed, and one of Kauffman’s employees – Phil Beiler – is a handyman at this task. Phil has worked for Kauffman’s for many years, and much of that time has been in the orchard. If you need a quality trim job for your fruit trees, call Phil at 435-0564.

Kauffman’s 2012 CSA program is accepting enrollments. Enroll today! From LocalHarvest.org:

Spring is CSA sign-up season, and all across the country people are looking for the right farm for them. Many months hence, most will look back and have been satisfied with their choice, but a few will have had a less than fulfilling experience. This month, we are devoting this space to increasing the odds that our readers find themselves happily part of the first group come fall.

The single most important element of a satisfactory CSA experience hinges on realistic expectations. Though right expectation is essential in all parts of the CSA contract, the area where we hear most complaints is in overall quantity of produce. If you, the CSA member, sign up anticipating that 100% of your family’s vegetable and fruit needs will be met by the CSA, you are likely going to be disappointed. Few CSAs produce as much fruit as most families are used to eating, and few of us eat entirely seasonally. Expect to supplement your CSA box with a few things from the grocery store. Also, make sure you understand the vacation and early drop-out policies before you sign up. The best time to ask questions is before you join!… We also on LocalHarvest have a list of questions to ask before signing up for a CSA.

The second most important thing is trust. You need to trust that the farmer is doing his or her level best. Obviously farmers need to honor that trust and try hard to grow a series of high quality crops, with not too much of anything, and, barring storms or pestilence, not too little of anything either.

Trust applied more broadly includes transparency around where the food comes from. Many CSA farms make arrangements with other local farms to produce a portion of the food for them because, for example, a neighbor’s soil may be more suitable for root crops than theirs. All of that is well and good, but we believe that CSA members have the right to assume that everything in their box was produced at their CSA farm unless they are told otherwise. Transparency isn’t optional, because it too quickly becomes a slippery slope. Most of us wouldn’t mind if someone else grew the potatoes, but if in fact most of the food is being trucked in from sources unknown it isn’t a CSA anymore. This is rare, but it happens. And if members aren’t told about the food’s origins, conditions are ripe for a breakdown in trust, which hurts CSA’s good name.

What defines a CSA is open to discussion: it’s an evolving model and people are creative. We say CSAs have one or a small group of farmers at the center. There are plenty of other models for distribution of local and/or organic food. We call the ones that are run by non-farmers “third party CSAs” or “aggregators.” They sometimes call themselves subscription services, or home-delivery services, or “farm boxes” or something else, but occasionally they call themselves CSAs. Again, there is nothing wrong with this kind of model – some farmers prefer to outsources the distribution end of things! It’s the transparency that is important so that everyone has the same expectations, and trust can be preserved. So… ask questions! Ask lots of questions.

And as always, take good care and eat well.

Announcing that our retail market along Rt. 340 has homegrown bibb lettuce for sale right now – this quality lettuce is grown right here in Lancaster County. Consider it a forerunner of more good things to come: the 2012 harvest!