Explore: Shelburne Farm

Let's face it, it wouldn't be fall in New England without apple picking. Spending a Saturday or Sunday climbing trees, filling white plastic bags with apples and noshing on cider donuts is one of the most glorious rituals we have in these parts.

Since it's officially fall, I decided to embrace the newly arrived season (and its cooler temperatures) and head to Shelburne Farm in Stow, MA for some picking!

I drove to Stow with two friends and when we arrived at the farm there was a line of cars about 20 deep spilling out into the street. We waited 10 minutes just to park!

Then we waited in line again to buy our bags and it seemed the entire state of Massachusetts had the same idea we did. The place was packed!

Once through the orchard gates we headed down row after row of apple trees in search of the best specimens.

When we got to the McIntosh rows I couldn't resist taking this photo of the sign which had a perfectly ripe and leafy apple sitting right on top of it.

The orchard was gorgeous and I was having a serious "I love New England" moment as we walking around beneath the perfectly blue sky.

Along the way we found our fair share of oddly shaped or oddly colored apples, but this giant green apple took the cake!

With a very full bag of apple loot we headed toward the farm's shop. In addition to an apple orchard, Shelburne Farm also has a pumpkin patch. The patch is full of great choices for your front porch or for jack-o-lanterns. The patch also happened to be full of families doing baby photo shoots! I think every family in Massachusetts now has a shot of their infant or toddler next to one of those pumpkins!

I noticed this funky pumpkin in the farm's shop. A new take on carving for sure.

In the shop we bought apple cider and pumpkin fudge to take home with us. The cider was sweet and delicious and the pumpkin fudge was heavenly! It was a lot lighter of a texture than you normally expect from fudge, but still had that sweet pumpkin pie flavor.

When we got home we got right down to business! We decided to make a pie as well as apple turnovers. We started by dressing the apples.

Then we prepped our pie crust and arranged the apples in their new home.

After very careful layering of the pie's top, we put the dish in the oven and one hour later - voila! The classic American dessert.

If you haven't had a chance to go apple picking yet this season, head up to Shelburne Farm this weekend at 106 West Acton Road in Stow, MA.

Where is your favorite place to go apple picking?

 

Molly Galler

Welcome to Pop.Bop.Shop. My name is Molly. I’m a foodie, fashionista, pop culture addict and serious travel junkie. I’m a lifelong Bostonian obsessed with frozen confections, outdoor patios, Mindy Kaling, reality television, awards shows, tropical vacations, snail mail and my birthday.

More from Molly

Pop.Bop.Shop. In the News