North Star Orchard

Products

At North Star Orchard, we growing an ever-increasing diversity of crops. Starting in 1992 with just 4 acres of apples and Asian pears, we have since expanded to 20 acres and have additional plantings of peaches, plums, European pears, a wide range of vegetables, and a few herbs. Over the next several years, we may include more herbs in the mix, as well as small fruits such as berries and grapes (in limited quantities). We're toying with raising chickens and a pig or two as well...so stay tuned for further developments. For now, here's what we're up to (please click on the crop's link to see an alphabetized list of the varieties, with descriptions where applicable):

Apples: More than 70 varieties at last count, including some very new varieties like Gold Rush and some amazing antiques like Adam's Pearmain and Esopus Spitzenberg.

Please refrigerate all apples, preferably wrapped in a plastic bag to keep them from dehydrating. Apples that are not refrigerated will lose their flavor and crunchiness quickly, but if you prefer to eat apples at room temperature, only take out what you plan to use within a day or two for best eating quality. Early season varieties (before October 1st) will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Late season varieties (after October 1st) will keep from one to three months in the fridge.

Asian Pears and pears: 7 varieties of Asian pears and 18 varieties of European ('regular') pears.

Please refrigerate our Asian pears, as they are ready-to-eat. Some varieties will keep up to 2 months in the refrigerator, but will lose quality if they are left at room temperature. Larger pears may be cut in half, and the unused portion wrapped in plastic wrap for later use - they will not brown like most cut apples or peaches!

Asian pears may be eaten peeled or unpeeled, and are a great addition to salads. They can be used in cooking in any way you would use apples or pears. Over the years, our customers have made them into pies, tarts, 'baked apples', poached pears, and more.

European pears should be kept at room temperature until desired softness is achieved, which takes anywhere from 1 day to a week. Test ripeness daily by trying to slightly indent the fruit near the stem end with gentle pressure from your thumb. Feel for a bit of 'give'. To stagger ripening, so you don't have a bunch of pears ripening all at once, keep some pears refrigerated while others are on the counter ripening. When fully ripened, use the fruit promptly or refrigerate for a day or two. Refrigerating for longer than that tends to turn a fully ripened pear 'grainy'.

Peaches and Plums: More than 30 kinds of peaches and 50 varieties of plums. Forget about grocery store bland grainy plums...we've gone plum crazy, and so will you!

Plums may remain at room temperature for a day or two at most; they soften quickly! To keep them longer, store plums in a bag in the refrigerator, and just pull them out as you need them to soften up.

Our peaches are picked tree ripe. So, while they start out firm, they will achieve the desired texture/softness in 1 to 3 days at room temperature. Please keep peaches in a fruit bowl or on the counter; there is no need to hide them away in a paper bag! To delay softening, store peaches in a bag in the refrigerator. While some people say peaches should never be refrigerated, we have found this only to be true with peaches that have been picked 'too green'. Many commercial orchards pick fruit much too early. Then, the fruit 'shuts down' when it is refrigerated, and further ripening does not occur. When picked tree-ripe, as our peaches are, the fruit continues the ripening process even when it is cold... although refrigeration does delay the process. You can refrigerate our peaches for a short period of time without losing much in the way of flavor or texture. It's certainly better to refrigerate a few, if you have too many, than to allow them to 'get ahead' of you at room temperature.

Vegetables: Scores of varieties of many different veggies. The only things we're missing are sweet corn and melons.

CSA members receive storage and use instructions about various veggies (particularly the more unusual ones) in their weekly share email. More detailed storage and use instructions will be included here on our website over time as we develop the recipes section. Until then, if you have a question about a particular vegetable, please email us.

Other Products: Less-than-perfect fruit goes into cider, applesauce, peach butter, apple butter, and our one-of-a-kind Asian pear butter.

Our cider is flash pasteurized, but does not contain preservatives, so please refrigerate our cider and plan to use it within 7 days. Cider can be frozen for future use; just pour a bit out of the top prior to freezing to allow for expansion.

Fruit butters and applesauce will keep indefinitely prior to opening the jar. Once opened, please refrigerate. Cider applesauce is best used within 7 to 10 days of opening. Peach butter is best used within a month, and apple or Asian pear butter can be used for the better part of a year after opening.