A few weeks ago, when someone suggested I write about apples, it just didn’t seem right. Yes, I’d started seeing some apples at farmers’ market, but we were still having 100-plus degree days, with no sign of autumn ever coming. Then, all of a sudden, one morning, there it was – that first telltale tinge of chill in the air. Apple weather was on approach.

One of the many microclimates that San Luis Obispo County is lucky to have is the See Canyon area. Cooler than most of the county, this stretch between Avila Beach and San Luis Obispo/Los Osos is home to some venerable apple growers, among them Michael Cirone of Cirone Farms and See Canyon Apples.

A fixture at local farmers’ markets and well-regarded for not only his apples, but also pears and stone fruit, I figured Cirone was the go-to guy for my apple primer, so I asked him the age-old question: which apples are better for eating, and which for baking? The answer surprised me.

“For eating, some people prefer more sweet varieties, but a lot of people enjoy both, and a lot have universal use,” he explained. “The type of apple isn’t as relevant as it used to be, and it can also depend on a year-to-year basis.” For example, he noted, the Jonadelicious (which one website described as a combo of Red Delicious taste and Jonathon tartness) is a Delicious-type apple for eating, but it also wins its fair share of baking contests. Indeed, a fellow market goer noted that her mother always used to use Red Delicious apples in pies, and “they were the best!”

The Red Delicious is arguably the most iconic of apples, and its shiny red image is probably what pops into most peoples’ mind, but there are some 10,000 other varieties grown throughout the world. Even a visit to Cirone’s farmers’ market booth yields up Cortlands, Spy-Golds, Elstars, Galas, Early Fujis, Golden Delicious, Jonagolds, Empires, A Kanes, Orange Pippins, Honeycrisps … and those are just a few of the 80-plus heirlooms and newer apple varieties he grows.

A Cal Poly Fruit Science major, Cirone has been farming in the See Canyon for 26 years, a situation he arrived at through some good luck and circumstance. After graduating, he had started a winter fruit tree pruning service, and was offered the chance to rent an apple orchard in See Canyon.

“One thing led to another, and I just kept expanding. They’re still all leased orchards, but it’s worked out well,” he said, adding that he has hewn to the “See Canyon’s rich history of dry farming. I might start an orchard on drip, but then I’ll wean it off. It’s just good apple weather here – the soils are deep, rocky loam and well-drained, there’s a relatively high water table, and it’s chilly in winter, but it’s a good, very temperate climate.”

As I mentioned before, Cirone is one of several growers continuing the See Canyon’s long tradition of apple farming, which dates back to the late 19th century. The drive through the Irish Hills is a spectacularly scenic one, and during apple season, you can stop at a couple farm stands – Gopher Glen, Avila Valley Barn, See Canyon Fruit Ranch – to load up on the autumn bounty.

An apple bin at Gopher Glen.

(Michael Cirone also sells at the Santa Monica market, a gig that got him -- and the Spencers of Windrose Farms -- a great write-up in the LA Times a few years ago.)

Heirloom apple varieties from Windrose Farms.

Apple Factoids

The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.

The pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Apples are a member of the rose family. Members of the rose family have flower parts in fives (multiples of five). The flowers are white or pink and the fruit is a pome type ("pomme" means "apple" in French), derived from the fusion of the ovary and the receptacle which make up the fleshy part of the fruit. If you cut the apple in half cross-wise, you'll find a star with five chambers and two seeds each.

Only 11 varieties of apple make up 90 percent of all US apple consumption.

A recent Saveur article noted that “In the North, they eat a tart and cook a sweet. Here in the South, it runs the other way.”

To prevent discoloration of peeled apples, place peeled slices in a pan of cold water with a pinch of salt, and when making salads, dip apple slices in fresh lemon juice to prevent slices from turning brown.

There is evidence of apples being eaten and preserved by humans dating back to the Stone and Ice Ages.

Adam’s Apple refers to Adam getting part of that pesky apple caught in his throat.

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Octoberwaves of Radiation

October seems to be an auspicious month for microwave ovens, the technology for which was accidentally developed by an engineer working on radar technology for the Raytheon Company. Seems that as he was working on a radar set, he noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket was melting. Hmmmm. Anyway, Raytheon applied for the patent on October 8, 1945. They built the Radarange in 1947, then leased the technology to the Tappan Stove Company, which debuted their home version on October 25, 1955. Currently, about 90 percent of American households have one (I’m happily in the 10 percent), and now there’s even a personal USB-powered prototype developed by the Heinz Company called “Beanzawave.” Seriously!

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Ironically, the death knell for Gourmet Magazine sounded the day before I got my subscription renewal notice in the mail. If I re-up my subscription, will it make this bad dream go away?