An apple a day...
A homemade apple pie, fresh from the A&E Editor’s oven.
Apple Hill Farm, in Burke County's South Mountains, grows 22 varieties of apples.
Gayle Prewitt
Any way you slice it, an apple is good to the core and the Prewitt family has been serving up crunchy apple goodness to Burke County for five generations.
Apples made their way from Europe to North America in the 1600’s and as the U.S. and Canada were settled, nearly every farm grew some apples, according to the Vermont Tree Growers Association.
The Prewitt family, owners of Apple Hill Orchard and Cider Mill, located in the South Mountains of the county, can trace their roots in the apple business for five generations.
Harley Prewitt Jr. and his wife Gayle are the current owners of the farm that has been in their family since 1955. The orchard itself was established in 1930. Their son Justin, is now also part of the business.
The Prewitts grow 22 varieties of apples, with 18 types available for public picking. “U-Pick” season begins in mid-August and typically continues until about the second week of November.
Autumn Saturdays typically find Apple Hill Orchard teeming with families and couples, meandering the grassy rows between trees, picking apples and carrying the fruit in baskets provided by the farm.
Weekdays are less crowded, but the orchard’s schedule provides ample time for folks who want a more slow-paced picking experience.
Gayle oversees one of the most popular features of the orchard, the bakery, where the staff serves up apple goodness every day.
“We do dehydrated apples,” Gayle said. “We do apple pies, crumb top pies, apple cakes, apple breads, apple muffins, apple cider donuts, and apple crisp.”
“And this year,” she added, “just on Saturdays, limited days, not every Saturday, we’re doing a fresh apple parfait with whipped cream and caramel.”
Then there’s Apple Hill’s cider slush, a delicious, frosty, cup of sweet apple goodness, made with the farm’s fresh-pressed cider. It’s the perfect treat for thirsty apple pickers.
Hurricane Helene caused a slight pause in farm operations, but the business has reopened and is running normal hours again.
“Our orchard sustained minimal damage from Helene,” farm officials said via Facebook. “Some apples were knocked off and we lost a few trees, but overall the orchard fared very well.”
Apple Hill Orchard and Cider Mill is located at 2075 Pleasant Hill Ave., Morganton. They are open 9 a.m.-6 p.m, Monday-Saturday, and are closed on Sundays. They can be reached at 828-419-7955.
Visit their website at applehillorchard.com to purchase picking passes and to sign up for the farm’s newsletter.
Sandra Wilkerson Queen may be reached at 828-445-8595, ext. 2002, or sandra@thepaper.media.
