On September 26th, 1774, an American legend was born. His name was John Chapman. We know him as Johnny Appleseed. With all my friends up North enjoying family trips to pick apples at orchards, I decided we should join in the fun as we learn some more about delicious apples plus a good reason to have a Johnny Appleseed Celebration!
Johnny Appleseed was a pioneer nurseryman credited for having introduced apples to Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Tales tell that he was kind to animals, and was one of the first conservationist. Johnny Appleseed is also recognized for his generosity. There are a few festivals that honor him around the country, and we do not want to stay behind. So, it is time to take a moment to enjoy the fruit of his passion and indulge in apples 🙂
The first thing we set off to doing was an apple tasting. We have never stopped to discover the differences between apples. We were not discriminating at all and treated all apples as equal. We were very wrong! Apples vary widely in consistency, sweetness, tartness and juiciness among others.
For our little taste test, we used Red Delicious, Gala, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith varieties. At our tasting, little apple explorers voted for Red Delicious and Granny Smith as the favorites of this round of tasting. In addition to the fruits we sampled we also dabbed into apple products like our apple favorite apple juice, apple sauce and apple chips. For our next celebration I intend on adding caramel apples and a scrumptious apple pie and a glass of cider 🙂
This is a new celebration for us, and one that we will investigate further and definitively add on to our yearly list of traditions to mark. Have you celebrated Johnny Appleseed day or apple harvest in general? Do you Have tips for us to expand our celebration? What are you looking forward to this fall in terms of apples?
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I always heard about Johnny Appleseed but never knew the story behind it! Thanks for sharing,so very interesting!
I think the kids do something for Johnny Appleseed in school. Well, my little one at least. Fun ideas 🙂
I love all the apple picking celebrations that occur here in the Northeast. We’re headed out to go apple picking this weekend.
I am so jealous! I just found out about this. You would think I live under a rock 🙂
My kids used to love the story of Johnny Appleseed. An apple tasting is a fun idea.
I definitely need to pick up a few different kinds of apples. I’m looking forward to using them in dessert and meal recipes.
Who Knew? I did not realize apples can make such an interesting history lesson. I will have to keep this in mind.
An apple tasting is such a good idea! I’ve honestly only tried a few varieties and this would be a great way to check them all out.
We are going home to the northern Midwest next week and one thing I plan on doing is going to a couple of apple orchard. It is always a great time and they usually have some delicious baked goods too.
All of these apples look so delicious. I can just imagine all of the desserts that will be made with them.
How fun! This is such a great activity for fall!
I love apples. We have a huge Apple Fest here every fall. There are so many delicious ways to enjoy apples.
Interesting story. I am familiar with the name Johnny Appleseed but I did not know anything else about him. I guess I learned something new today.
Apple picking is one of the reasons why I love fall. All those apples look crunchy and delicious.
My grandparents always mentioned Johnny Appleseed but I had no idea what they were talking about ever. How very cool.
Apples are the family favorite fruit in our house. I need to go apple picking!!