Pleasant Ridge Farm

Do you ever go apple picking? I have gone a couple of times when I visited friends in the Boston and New England areas and it was a really fun good experience. There’s no comparison to picking apples off a tree, no wax, the natural sugars perfectly flavoring each bite, that crunch is indescribable. It’s worth it. It’s a tradition in New England to go apple picking in the Fall. Well this activity is also huge in Washington and I never thought I’d find an apple that stood out, outside of the famous Jonagold or Honeycrisp or Fuji apple until I got lost in La Conner/​Mt Vernon area.
On my way to La Conner, WA looking for a large apple farm, I was lost. Siri directed me to go the opposite way and soon as I realized that, I quickly turned off the main road onto a dirt path, intending to make a 3 point turn. After turning, I see up in the distance was this small shack with a sign for the farm. I had to drive up to check out this small business. It’s a small family run apple and fruit stand that carries the season’s fresh harvest: pears, apples, pumpkins, lentils, beans. Jonagold apple trees are all over the place and during apple season, you’d see them fall to the ground. As I walked up to the stand I saw it was closed at 8:30am. But there, plain as day, open to all, were all the fruit and veggies for sale, on an honor system; a locked box to put your money. You can open the fridge and take freshly squeezed apple juice, pick your produce, bags of apples, tally your total and put your money in a locked box. Soooo cool. Who does that anymore?
So I grabbed 2 bags to try, the Jonagold and Pink Pearls. Took them back to Seattle to share and we all really enjoyed them. The Jonagolds had that nice slightly tart yet sweet, crisply crunchy edge and the skin had that friction against your tongue that only an apple off the tree (unwaxed) would give you. I had 3. Then came the Pink Pearls. This apple I’ve never had. It looked like a cross between a golden delicious and a red. When I bit into it, it still had the crisp texture of a tree-​picked apple but this time I tasted flavors of fuji, cinnamon, honey with an overall tart finish. Nothin’ like a new taste experience. The flesh is a vivid pink, unique and different. I had 5. I went back and grabbed 4 more bags to take home. This time I also met the owner Dave Tjersland, whose family lives off the land and sells this amazing produce.
That was 3 years ago. Now I try to plan more business trips to Seattle in the Fall so I can savor the freshest apples, Pink Pearls and Jonagolds (off his fields) and bring some home.
To all my Unilocalers, if you are ever in the area or go apple picking in the Fall and you wanna discover something unique, local and deeeelishush, let’s give this family some love and business for the amazing produce and pumpkins (in October) they sell. It’s through farms like PRF that’s gotten me to appreciate farm produce. Waxed apples at Vons just don’t do the trick for me anymore.
Tip: Apple picking season in WA is from September to Thanksgiving. Pleasant Ridge Farm is 40 minutes north of Seattle.
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