Well, the other day when I ran out to some local farms to get some local honey, and some good apples for both baking and giving.  ((can I say the names?)) I'm in N.E. Ohio, and got the honey from Guyettes on Chamberlain Rd. in Mantua, and the apples from Monroe's Orchard on Pioneer Trail, also in Mantua.  I know no one can probably get to either one, but I try to support local folks as much as possible.  Oh, I think Monroe's have a website, hang on… yep!  here it is, http://www.pioneertrailorchard….. 

I love getting apples there because while they do spray, they only spray as much as they absolutely must.  Keeping an orchard running is NOT for the faint of heart.  I shudder at the thought of trying to go truly organic in an orchard.  They don't claim to be organic at all, but I know these people and know they are as careful as possible.  Their own kids run around the place!  Heh, they have apple crates that several generations of the family built themselves by hand!

Anyway, I got some Melrose apples (Ohio's state apple!), some Mutsu's (which I found out are really a schmancy name for Crispins, who does that?) and some Empires, which I love too.  They are all SO good!!!  I'm going to attempt a 'perfect pie crust' apple pie or two tomorrow, or, maybe one big pie and some Hand Pies!  Yum!  I'm filled with ambition after tasting all those apples! I love them all so much.  I may even get some puff pastry and make some turnovers.  I have a really good turnover recipe, I think I'll mix up the filling for that and see how it works with a regular crust in the hand pies.

I'm going to mix up the crusts tonight so they can sit in the fridge overnight.

If you find an orchard most of them either have bees or get hives delivered to their orchard to help pollinate their crop.  They should either know of some suppliers or even have honey from the same hives in their shop if they're still open.  If they're not open, there's still probably someone around who can help you with information.  worth a try!

Here's a page that has a LOT of information including a fairly complete list of apple variaties, with some links to various recipes for many of the variaties.  Possibly recipes suited to each type, I'm not totally convinced of that but I haven't gone through them all really.

http://www.allaboutapples.com/….. 

Exactly WHAT did we do before the 'inter-web'? So much information to learn and share!!!