Apples shine at farmers markets

One benefit of this cool autumn weather is that Minnesota-grown apples are flying out of orchards and into farmers markets. Last week in downtown Minneapolis, a crate of baseball-sized, shiny-skinned, chartreuse- and red-streaked Honeycrisp apples, the pride of the Applecrest Farm stand, stopped me cold (OK, I'll admit that the accompanying sign that boasted "Explosively crisp" also nudged my curiosity). Gary Petrucci has been cultivating apples for several decades at his orchard near Medina, raising Honeycrisps, Haralsons, Regents and Honeygolds. The biggest sellers, by far, are Honeycrisps, said Jeff Peterson, a pal of Petrucci's who bundles up and helps his friend staff the orchard's sole farmers market outpost. "We brought 15 bushels of Honeycrisps down here today, and just a bushel of Haralsons," he said, noting that shoppers buy the latter for baking ("They're hard, and they're tart," Peterson said), but they prefer to enjoy the former straight up. "I don't care what anyone else says," Peterson said. "The Honeycrisp is the best eating apple in the world." By the way, that sign was no exaggeration. As I was walking back to the office, I pulled a Honeycrisp out of my coat pocket. A pronounced snap accompanied each bite, the sweet-tart flavor was as big as all get out and the apple's prodigious juices ran down my chin with abandon. No wonder the University of Minnesota-developed Honeycrisp was proclaimed the state's official fruit in 2006. That's the kind of government agenda that voters of all persuasions can agree upon.

Honeycrisp apples ($2.50 per pound), Applecrest Farm, Nicollet Mall Farmers Market (the stand is located between 8th and 9th Streets), Minneapolis, www.mplsfarmersmarket.com). Open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Nov. 5.

RICK NELSON