The Pick of the Apple Orchard Two ways to prepare apples: new crop apple sauce, left, and Indian apple pickles. Once, I slept in a blooming apple orchard under a full April moon, surrounded by fragrant blossoms as big as saucers. People don't usually wax poetic about the humble apple, I know. But a visit to farmer friends in Northern California on that particular warm, clear and strikingly still night left a deep impression. Although they had prepared the guest room for me, sleeping outdoors seemed a far better option. It would be six months before the apples were ready to eat, but I didn't mind. Because just to be in that orchard was magical. And because new-crop apples are worth the wait. New-crop apples (that is, ones just picked) don't necessarily make it to supermarkets, where the general rule is to stock four or five dependable varieties that travel well. Those may come from eastern Washington or New Zealand or Peru. Not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with supermarket apples. They still have more or less the same health benefits and versatility in the kitchen. They just aren't going to make your heart beat faster. Not so long ago, apples were grown everywhere in the United States. Certain varieties appeared in mid-to-late summer; others didn't ripen before the onset of cool weather. These local apples were cherished. There were regional apple festivals and parades when the new crop came in. Even if you didn't grow your own apples, you certainly wouldn't buy them from out of state. But apple orchards have disappeared from many former apple-growing regions, replaced by housing developments or by more profitable, glamorous crops, like wine grapes. The American apple industry, now mostly in the Northwest, produces the second-most apples worldwide, millions of tons. Most of these apples are picked unripe, kept fresh for long periods in specialized chambers and allowed to ripen only once they are shipped. It is efficient, even if it is not romantic. If you long for the thrill of new-crop apples, head to a farmers" market, a farm stand or an honest-to-goodness apple tree on a cool day. What you will find is firm, dense fruit, some with the leaves still attached. When you take your first bite into the crisp flesh, the sweet juices fairly drip upon the tongue, not at all like the apples you recall. Smack your lips and swoon.