This being the peak of the apple picking season, here’s what happened in North York’s early days. Apple paring competitions called “ bees” were very popular in the fall of the year, according to the North York Historical Society archives, when the apples had to be pared and cored for drying and making applesauce and apple-flavoured butter. Young and old entered into the fun, seeing who could peel the most apples or who could get the peel off in one piece, then twirling it over the head and, next, dropping it to the floor. The letter which it resembled as it lay on the floor was supposed to be the initial of their future spouse.
By 1870 paring machines were in use and team competition became popular. The boys operated the machine and the girls did the coring.
Make a point of visiting the close to 200-year-old Tolman Sweet Apple tree, the only survivor of an orchard planted in 1832 by prominent North Yorker David Gibson on his extensive property at the northwest side of what is now Park Home Avenue at Yonge Street. Tolman Sweet Apple Trees were popular with early settlers like Gibson. They’re sturdy, surviving all kinds of weather, and their fruit can be used for multiple purposes – eating raw, baking, pickling, and making sweet and hard cider.
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture says the three most popular Ontario-grown apples are McIntosh, Red Delicious, and Empire. Common apples found in the Toronto area include Gala, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, McIntosh, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Cortland, and Northern Spy, with Gala, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, and McIntosh being Ontario’s most popular varieties.
Pioneer apple pies were made with fresh or rehydrated dried apples and a crust made from flour, lard, water, and salt, baked in a “Dutch oven,” a thick-walled cooking pot, over coals. When apples were scarce, pioneers would make “mock” apple pie, using ingredients like crackers or zucchini to mimic the flavor and texture of apples.