When?

Due to the diverse variety of apples, harvesting occurs at different times throughout the year. Most apples in the U.S., however, are harvested in the fall (between August and October).

Why?

Before harvesting occurs, apples must be tested for "maturity" to determine if they’re ready to be picked. This process allows consumers to receive fresh apples of the highest quality and for processors to select only the ripest apples for apple juice and applesauce. Apples that are harvested too early may taste sour or starchy, and apples harvested too late may be soft.

How?

To determine maturity, many characteristics of the apples are checked prior to picking. These include:

• Amount of sugar
• Firmness
• Seed
• Skin color

Once the apples are confirmed to be "mature," they are picked (mostly by hand, although some mechanical methods have been developed). The apples are then placed in canvas bags or lined buckets inside of large bins. These apple-filled bins are picked up by a forklift, loaded onto a truck and transported to a central loading area - where apples that are bruised, cut or have insect or disease problems are immediately removed. The remaining apples are stored immediately to ensure maximum storage life.

What a "Process!"

Just like apples that are delivered fresh to your local grocery store, apples that are processed to make apple juice, applesauce and other apple products are picked at their optimum maturity. Only high quality, ripe apples will do! Apples that are an "off" shape or appear to have "skin blemishes" may not be ideal for the produce department - but they are perfectly suitable for processing.

For more details about apple processing, click here.