Twenty minutes west of campus is a wonderful farmer’s market in the heart of West Allis. Every year, The Nieman Family Orchard brings their harvest of more than 30 varieties of apples to the market, nearly selling out, and going home early every Saturday.

Apples are one of the many wonderful flavors that autumn brings us Midwesterners. From cider to pies or eating them for breakfast in the morning, they are a great on-the-go meal that can be eaten sans utensils.

Twenty minutes west of campus is a wonderful farmer’s market in the heart of West Allis. Every year, the Nieman Family Orchard brings their harvest of more than 30 varieties of apples to the market, nearly selling out and going home early every Saturday. What they offer, in terms of apples, is nothing like that of a regular grocery store. Flavors, colors, sizes and shapes are captivatingly beautiful to patrons on the other side of the table. And for only $2.50 for five apples, it was hard to choose such a small selection to take home.

Honeycrisp
This apple is, to many, the best of the best apple. Found in many grocery stores, Honeycrisp apples tend to be very large, round and beautiful apples. Their colors show a lot of red and Granny Smith green streaks. This apple makes an outstanding pie filling, especially if the tough, flavorless skin is peeled off. The apple is very crunchy to the bite, almost like eating a potato chip.

Macoun
On first bite, this apple was not overly sweet and will not make your lips pucker with the overt sourness. The small hint of sour flavor balances out perfectly with the slight sweetness, giving this apple a very easygoing mild flavor. Small in size, this apple just about fits in the palm of your hand. Using it in a pie would not make the most ideal dessert considering the small size and mild flavor.

Russet
This unique apple resembles an Idaho potato in color and texture, but in taste is very sour and almost dries your mouth. The skin incorporates a flavor that helps aid the sourness beyond the first bite. Even smaller than the Macoun, you could hold two of these small gems in one hand. The apple is certainly suitable for baking, but don’t think that means using it in a pie. The flavor would be too intense and the apple slices would have a hard time softening in the short time it takes to bake a pie. Making apple chips or homemade applesauce would be the perfect way to cook this apple.

Secor
This apple is very similar to the Granny Smith apple. Its texture is very dense and crunchy. It also inhabits many green streaks throughout the outer skin. But in flavor, it is a lot milder than its famously sour counterpart. This is another apple that is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. And just as the rest of the small apples, this one would not be ideal for pie.

Because of its dense texture and sour flavor, a lot of other apple specialties would be a wonderful fit for this particular variety such as a garnish to a soup or chopped up in a salad with a perfectly paired cut of cheese.

Winter Banana
This is one of the most unique apples discovered at the West Allis Farmer’s Market. Extremely large in size, this fruit had a very sweet yet very mild flavor, almost like a banana. This is one that could not be found in any supermarket; the brand is unique to the farm itself. This apple would make a perfect applesauce. If desired, the peel could get left on the apple and ground up due to its unique and mild flavor.

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