We city folk need to venture out more. Here I was, thinking that a farmers' market in a parking lot was just about the best local food source ever, while just 14 miles south of Pittsburgh, there's a rural wonderland called Trax Farms.

 When I pulled in, I was awed at the sheer size of the place, which includes greenhouses, the better part of a full grocery store, and heaven-to-behold, a local wine outlet where you can actually buy wine. But I was there for the apples, in preparation for the Pro-Am Apple Pie Contest next Saturday. Fortunately, Trax has 16 acres of apple orchard - which works out to about 2500 trees. In a good year, according to Bob Trax Sr., each one of those acres could yield as many as 300 bushels. (Do not ask about a bad year.)

As the fourth-generation owner of Trax Farms, I figured Bob would be the right person to introduce me to three lesser-known, locally-grown apple varieties that I'd been missing. He didn't disappoint.

Ida Red
As you can see, Ida Red's got a little green going on. She's a tart cooking apple, great for pies, that Trax has been growing since 1988. You can buy Ida Reds on their own, but you can also find them in Trax's Pie Mix, which also includes Jonagolds and Golden Delicious, and comes with a pamphlet of recipes. Ida Reds will be featured in my contest submissions Saturday, so watch out!





Rome
Rome was the reddest apple I saw around, and Bob called it "one of the best whole baking apple we've got" - as in, bake it whole. I'm going to take him at his word, and I bought two big, beautiful Romes that will find themselves stuffed with brown sugar and raisins later this week (just you watch.) According to Bob, old-time bakeries frequently used this variety in their pies.




 Stayman
And finally, my new eating apple. Bob called the Stayman a good all-around apple, sweet enough to eat out-of-hand but tart enough to use in baking. Trax has been growing Staymans since the 1940s, maybe even longer - Bob remembers eating them at the farm as a child, and he has grandkids now. As for all storage apples, keep Staymans in the fridge between 33-40 degrees for them to last as long as possible.





Trax has a handy online apple guide that can help you pick the best varieties for your next apple endeavor. As you can see, there are many more locally-grown types to discover!

Trax Farms
528 Trax Road
Finleyville, PA 15332

For even more scoop on unique apple varieties, check out the apple tasting with Lou Lego that's part of the upcoming Apple Festival. Lou Lego is a master apple grower from Auburn, New York, who has over 100 varieties of apples on his farm and has made a career of comparing "apples to apples." Join Lou at the Union Project on Friday, November 7, for just $10. For more information, visit Slow Food Pittsburgh.

And don't forget the rest of the highly-kid-friendly activities on Saturday, including the 3rd Annual Pro-Am Apple Pie Baking contest! (I'll be there between visits to Handmade Arcade.) Yes, you can eat the pie.

Urban Apple Festival
November 8, 11 am - 2 pm
Union Project
801 N. Negley Ave.
Stanton Heights or East Liberty or Highland Park (depends who you ask!)