Earlier this month we talked cheese; now we talk apples. SweeTango, First Kiss, and Honeycrisp are popular customer apple picks. Below are more AppleHouse goods.
CFANS Ice Cream
Perhaps you have been following the judging of the University of Minnesota’s 175th anniversary ice cream flavor from their College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). The winning flavor is North Star Apple Crisp, a creamy vanilla ice cream with oat crumble, swirls of Minnesota-grown aronia berries, and yes, apples. It’s available at the AppleHouse the week of Oct. 5.
Other currently available CFANS flavors include Cinnamon (perfect with apple pie!), Huckleberry, Honey Lavender, Black Raspberry, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Vanilla, and Minnesota Sundae (honey ice cream with salted sunflower seeds). They’re available while supplies last! Students, staff, and faculty produce the ice cream in a state-certified dairy plant.
Goldy’s Smokehouse
Goldy’s Smokehouse is the retail store in the basement of the University of Minnesota’s “Meat Lab” (officially known as the Andrew Boss Laboratory of Meat Science) in St. Paul. Intrigued? Read more here. At the AppleHouse, you’ll find freezers full of meat in classic and innovative flavors. Think: beef patties, meatballs, summer sausage, bacon (smoked and apple cinnamon flavors!), snack sticks (like Hot Hawaiian Maple!), brats (jalapeño & cheddar; apple; wild rice; pickle-jack, and more), as well as ground meats like elk and pork.
If you can’t make it to the AppleHouse, Goldy’s Smokehouse products are also available for sale Wednesdays from 2 to 5 p.m. on the lab’s main floor.
North Star’s apple cider mini-donuts, served hot and dusted with cinnamon sugar, are a popular treat during an AppleHouse visit. (Roseanne Pereira/City Cast Twin Cities)
North Star Donuts
North Star Donuts operates an on-site truck in front of the AppleHouse Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Oct. 30. Their apple cider mini-donuts are served hot and cost $9 for a dozen, $17 for two dozen, or $24 for three dozen. Hot cider, hot coffee, crafted cold brew, maple lemonade, and apple cider slushies are also available. I can attest to the comforting effect of North Star’s warm, cinnamon sugar-dusted donuts on a cool, crisp morning.
Faxon Farms
AppleHouse staff recommends the fresh-pressed apple cider and maple BBQ sauces from Faxon Farms, which started with a father and son tapping maple trees on their family farm. Root beer fans can also try their maple root beer, also available at the AppleHouse. Faxon Farms hosts a fall festival in Henderson through Oct. 25 that includes chickens, goats, cornhole, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, and a scarecrow contest.
Kettle Creek Kitchen
Kettle Creek Kitchen in nearby Chaska takes pride in its small-batch, slow-cooking methods. Their jams (such as strawberry, blueberry, and fig), glazes, and fudge sauces are other AppleHouse staff recommendations. If you want to try a thickly caramel-coated apple — some might say the AppleHouse’s are the clearest representation of a caramel apple — try one of theirs. Kettle Creek Kitchen makes them with caramel from Abdallah Candies, a fourth-generation family chocolate and candy business located in Apple Valley. The AppleHouse also sells tubs of Abdallah caramel dip, great for dipping fruit or topping ice cream.
