In case anyone out there is running short of applesauce, that oh-so-popular Pennsylvania Dutch dinnertime favorite, Kauffman’s has oodles of seconds of popular sauce apples – Golden Delicious, Crispin, Granny Smith, Stayman, and more.

What are “seconds” of apples? Apples of 2nd-rate quality. There are 3 classes of apples, regardless of variety:

• Tree-run, which describes apples straight from the orchard that have not yet been sorted and graded by size or quality or color;
• Grade A, which are apples ready for fresh market sale. They are premium in quality, are washed, and are usually sorted further by size;
• Seconds, which are apples that have insect bites, bruises, odd shape, off color, holes poked by stems of other apples, etc. Any blemish on a “seconds” apple can easily be cut out; seconds are washed and are fine for eating and especially suited well for processing (like for applesauce).

Attention bargain hunters, and attention local residents in eastern Lancaster County – here are some coupons for the newly reset Kauffman’s Fruit Farm & Market that will make your winter shopping a pleasure!

Click the link to download a PDF document and print it using your printer. Cut out a coupon, bring it in to our market… and enjoy:

• More-customer-friendly travel throughout the market
• Many more products
• Better, more logical product grouping
• Easier checkout

We think you’ll like it! See you soon. Don’t forget, the coupons are only good in February and March, 2012.

We are happy to announce that our farm market along Rt. 340 in Bird-in-Hand has undergone quite a drastic renovation and product reset. In order to get additional product displays, a more customer friendly layout, and faster checkout time, we’ve added better doors, moved the checkout counters, moved some shelving, and added refrigerator space and quite a bit additional shelving.

We have been open through the entire process, and thank our friendly customers for their patronage during the renovation. Our store is better and bigger than ever, and we look forward to your comments and to serving you in our greater capacity!

Many Lancaster County families enjoy a cold drink at mealtimes… during the summer, anyway. But since it’s soooo coooold in Lancaster, I thought I’d highlight a product that is savored either hot or cold: apple cider. Kauffman’s makes the best, so our customers say.

Buy it here – it’s frozen for shipping, and you can thaw it before enjoying. That same link has the tea bags with hot mulled cider spices – really good stuff during the arctic chills of wintertime.

Kauffman’s Fruit Farm finished 2011 with a good deal of good feeling and gratitude -

• Gratitude to God for fruitful seasons and healthful fruit…
• Gratitude to our employees who work, innovate, and envision a better future for the business and consumers…
• Gratitude to the consumers, our customers, who give us many compliments and support local businesses like us.

Thank-you! Happy New Year!

Gator Boys’ Camp in Florida, a camp that rehabilitates troubled boys in an outdoor setting, is selling “fresh from Florida” citrus as a fundraiser. Kauffman’s makes a practice of supporting organizations such as Gator Boys’ Camp – see our links page for places where our employees and family members have worked – and is happy to sell this quality Florida citrus.

Our produce department has navels, grapefruit, tangerines, and juice oranges, in a range of sizes including 2/5 bushel, 4/5 bushel, 1/2 peck, and by the pound. Come get yours, enjoy the seasonal taste of fresh Florida citrus during the northern winter, and support the boys’ camp as you do so.

Our fruit tree sale is once again a hot item, with buyers snapping up lots of apple, peach, and other fruit trees. In anticipation of having homegrown fruit, these buyers are planting the trees in their backyard, at their cabin, or along a field line.

Trees are going fast, so order soon! You can get literally hundreds of different varieties of apple, peach, pear, cherry, and plum trees. Kauffman’s collects orders and then submits those orders to our suppliers, mainly Adams County Nursery. The fruit trees arrive in early April, ready for your muscle and shovel work to get them into the ground. Stanley Kauffman is the point man for the fruit trees – contact him at our market, 717-768-7112.

Have you ever heard of Fuji apples? Or Golden Supreme? Braeburn, anyone? Maybe you’ve been confused by the difference between Golden Delicious and Ginger Gold?

Fear no more – if you have an iPhone, that is. Google “iphone them apples” to find a link to an app called Them Apples. It should solve all your curiousity about different apple varieties and how to use them.

Happy New Year!

Today is the eve of Christmas eve, called “little eve” according to a quick Google search. BBC News says that Visa predicts today will be the busiest retail shopping day to date. We hope you will spend part of your day at Kauffman’s! From BBC News:

Friday is set to be the busiest shopping day to date as consumers rush to buy last minute presents and food, credit card firm Visa has predicted.
The last shopping day before Christmas Eve regularly sets records – the previous record was 23 December 2010.
Visa expects to process 33 million transactions worth more than $2.3 billion, an increase of 8% on last year.
It is also expecting a rush on Saturday, with the busiest hour of the year between 12:00 and 1pm.

Happy shopping, everyone! Have a joyful, Merry Christmas!

Seems the concept of neighbors has become more and more important to Americans in the last decade. Neighborhoods have banded together for sports teams, crime watches, holiday parties, school events, yard sales, and the like. The cry of “buy local, it’s good for you and the local economy” especially has gained volume in the past years. And now, coming to your iPhone: an app to find fruit in your neighborhood. Go to neighborhoodfruit.com to see the app. The site talks about concrete jungles (meaning, cities), so I’m not sure if it will show you Kauffman’s orchards or not, since Kauffman’s is not exactly in the city…. have fun!

Merry Christmas!