The more rural parts of the United States are home to the nation’s many farms, from the farming communities of New York and Pennsylvania to the corn fields of Kansas and Nebraska. On a more traditional farm, one may find not only the classic farm house and barn, but also apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and more, and these farms are often open to the public, too. During the autumn season, a family can spend a day on a farm, and it can be fun for guests of all ages. Autumn activities when one chooses to spend a day on a farm may include hay bale rides, touring the premises, or even harvesting apples and pumpkins to take home to eat or use as organic decorations. What is more, a rustic outdoor wedding is another reason to spend a day on a farm, and more and more American brides and grooms today are interested in rustic outdoor weddings place of traditional but arguably stale ballroom or church weddings indoors. Best of all, a farm is a great site for an autumn festival, and parents can use the apples and pumpkins harvested there as authentic autumn cooking ingredients. Apple fritters, apple donuts, a baked pie, and more are possible when fresh apples and pumpkins are harvested. These are some delicious reasons to spend a day on a farm.
On Apples
These popular fruits are a great reason to spend a day on a farm, since most farms will have an apple orchard. There, kids can, with supervision, climb the ladders provided and have a great time harvesting apples, and parents can use these apples for all kinds of recipes. Apples are a staple in desserts in North America today, and many European traditional dishes use them, too. The apple pie, first developed in Canada and popular there and in the United States, is a great example. In fact, pies in general are very popular among American families, and that definitely includes the apple variety. A recent survey asked Americans what their favorite flavor of pie is, and the results were clear. Among all who responded, 47% said that apple was their favorite, followed by pumpkin at 37% and chocolate cream at 32%. Similarly, the American Pie Council and Crisco launched a survey about what dessert Americans would most want a friend or family member to bring to a holiday dinner. The results here were clear, too: pie was in first place at 29%, beating all other dessert types.
Apples themselves are a great fruit for cooking, and around the world, some 7,500 different varieties exist, with about 2,500 existing in the United States alone. These fruits can certainly made into pies, as mentioned above, but they can also be made into apple fritters or used as ingredients in donuts, and they can also be made into applesauce or even sliced up and eaten with peanut butter as snacks. And of course, apples are possible to eat as they are, and are tidy and convenient to hold and eat, being less messy than oranges and other fruits. But apples aren’t alone on the holiday dinner table. What about pumpkins?
Pumpkins for the Holiday
Pumpkins, too, are a great harvest to collect when visiting a farm. Kids can have fun browsing all the pumpkins out in the pumpkin patch, and choose one that they like and bring it back home with them. There, the pumpkin can be either carved into a jack-o-lantern, or they can be made into homemade pumpkin pies. Although not as popular as apple pie, pumpkin pies are still a holiday dessert staple, especially for American Thanksgiving. What is more, their seeds can be baked as low-calorie snacks. These seeds can also be salted if so desired.
Pumpkins and similar vegetables such as squash and gourds are also attractive to look at, and they can make for natural and convenient decorations in the home for Halloween and Thanksgiving. They can also serve as charming decorations at a rustic wedding being held on a farm, and since these vegetables are totally edible, baskets of them can be used not just as decorations, but also seasonal gifts to the wedding guests.
