10.14.2009

Stepping Out of My Kitchen: Russell Orchard in Ipswich, MA

I have been going to Russell Orchards in Ipswich, Massachusetts for many years now. I started going here with my family to pick apples, get pumpkins, check out the farm animals, and most importantly get fresh apple cider doughnuts. One of my favorite things about this farm is the short hayride out to the middle of the orchard; I love seeing all the rows of apples beforehand so I know which rows look the best.

Picking apples with my family is always one of my favorite things to do in the fall and it's a great family tradition.

Here is a gratuitous picture of me in the orchard.

The bags they provide for $15.00 a peck fit so many apples (it is $13. Monday through Friday) . Obviously, it's a lot more expensive to get apple here than in the grocery store, but for the experience alone, it's worth it.

This year we started out picking apples, moved on to the farm animals, and then went inside to get the apple cider doughnuts. You have to walk around inside the barn/store. There are wine tastings from their winery, which I hear is delicious, but I didn't get to sample. They also have a small ice cream stand and I sampled their delicious pumpkin ice cream. I really wanted to try the apple pie ice cream too, but felt too greedy asking for more free samples.

Then we went over to where they make the apple cider doughnuts. I love standing there watching the delicious dough drop into the hot oil and go through the entire process. My favorite part of the process is eating the fresh doughnuts of course. Thinking about the smell alone makes me crave them. Of course I had to bring a dozen home with me...What? They are small and I shared one or two.


They also have a great selection of pumpkins and mums to choose from. We got a few and will be carving them soon!


The biggest pig on the farm is called Big Boy and he weighs close to 1000 lbs. I remember some years ago there used to be an even bigger pig (see below), or at least I thought it seemed bigger, on the farm, named Inga.

Here are a few of the apple cider doughnuts that lasted only minutes after this photo was taken.

2 comments:

  1. There's nothing that quite compares to the taste and texture of freshly picked apples. Nice to see the apple trees still full. Great photos!

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  2. Omg that pig is huge!!! I ALWAYS talk about going apple picking and I never do :( Looks like you guys had so much fun!

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