This Little Piggy

Like best friends, your loyal pet dog, or a warm cup of tea, apples are always there for you. Apples are truly one of those things that without fail will always be shining up to you in the produce section of the grocery store. If apples weren’t there for me at my every beck and call I would probably have something to say about it! So that’s why this little piggy gathered some of her best piggy friends and went out to Albion Orchards to find out as much as she could about Ontario apples and find out how the heck apples are available without fail 365 days a year!

Apple of My Eye

Fall in Canada is synonymous to apple picking for a lot of people. Apple orchards are speckled all over Ontario and this little piggy had never ventured out to an orchard before. Albion Orchards is a hot destination for apple pickers, with 24 varieties of apples it’s not much of a surprise! Before hitting the orchard, we were given a few great tips for picking apples.

When picking apples twist the apples in one direction a few times as opposed to pulling the apples off the tree. This is important for two reasons: first, pulling the apples off the tree can damage the branches, preventing new apples from growing on that spot the year after. Second, pulling apples can cause lots of apples to fall from the top of the tree to the ground.

The Big Apple

Bigger isn’t always better. After we had searched hi and low for the biggest apples on each apple tree, Farmer Scott explained that bigger isn’t in fact always better. The larger apples tend not to last as long in storage and bigger apples don’t necessarily taste better than their smaller counterparts.

Bags and little wagon in hand we ventured out to the apple trees. We were surprised that the trees themselves weren’t that tall, with a bit of stretching, a few piggy back rides and a bit of climbing we managed to fill up our bags pretty quickly. We couldn’t resist how gorgeous and delicious the McIntosh apples looked and all immediately grabbed an apple for taste testing purposes. Seriously – Best. Apple. Ever. Period!

Three Little Piggies

How Do Ya Like Them Apples?

Just like growing other fruits and vegetables, apple growing is hard work. Farmer Scott of Albion Orchards told us that new apple trees get planted every year. Apple trees are a lot like people, as they get older they get less productive. This means that younger trees yield more apples then older ones. Though, don’t count the old guys out – trees at Albion Orchards range from 2 to 40 years old and some apple trees can even grow to over 100 years old!

During the winter months apple trees go into hibernation. During this time, branches are cut back to encourage new growth the following year. Just like when we get our hair cut, the trees get a fresh new look, ushering in lots of airflow, sunlight and buds.

Each bud on an apple tree eventually turns into a flower. The flower, with the help of a wonderful worker bee, will turn into an apple. Farmer Scott hires bees to work on the farm in the spring to pollinate all of the flower blossoms. Once the bees have done their job, they get sent packing.

Ripe for the Picking

Fall is apple season – apple trees thrive with lots of sunshine and cool nights. Different varieties of apples have different ripening times. As apples naturally ripen naturally occurring starch is converted into sugar.  When we were at the apple orchard McIntosh apples were ripe for picking! Over the next few weeks each and every variety of apple will be coming into season.

Apples All Day, Everyday

Farmer Scott hopes to have all of his apples sold by Christmas time. Though, if he’s not able to sell all of his apples, he’s not worried. Apples can actually last a whole year in storage. In fact, many of the apples that are in stores now are from a whole year ago! Despite being old they still remain tasty! No wonder I’m never without an apple!

Farmer Scott said it right, people don’t come out to the apple orchard to buy apples (we can all do that at the grocery store), people come for the experience. Apple picking is a wonderful little adventure out of the city and one that this little piggy is going to start doing annually. Besides exploring the wonderful shop that’s full of apple goodies, not to mention the wafts of freshly baked apple pie that beg you to walk in, apple orchards like Albion Orchards make me realize how lucky I am to be able to enjoy apples all year round! Click here for a full list of apple orchards that might be near you in Ontario.

Just Eat It – An Apple A Day, Keeps the doctor away

According to my Food Lover’s Companion apples are a great source of fiber and vitamins A and C. They also contain flavonoid quercetin which acts as an antioxidant, and may prevent some cancers, protect the arteries as well as the heart.

Whole apples are better than drinking apple juice because during processing, apples loose 80% of those amazing flavonoid quercetin properties, so really, just eat an apple a day to keep the wrinkles, I mean doctor away!

Too Many Apples to Choose From

There are thousands of different apple varieties in the world. With so many apples to choose from it’s hard to know which ones are best for what! For a list of which apples are best for baking, eating and making into sauce or cider check out the Ontario Apples website.

The amount of things one can do with apples besides just eating them daily is astounding. With my pounds of McIntosh apples I went into full apple cooking mode. See below for recipes on seasonal apple crisp, easy applesauce, apple spice muffins and a savory apple galette. Make sure to wash each dish down with a warm glass of apple cider – you’ll be in apple heaven, I know I am!

For Recipes Click Here

This week, I had the opportunity to go to a slaughterhouse. This was something I had always wanted to see – and although not all girls hope to go to slaughterhouses – this girl was vying to know how cows go from eating in fields to perfectly portioned 8oz steaks ready to be grilled on my BBQ.

Slaughterhouse Rules

I was lucky enough to have a well-connected butcher friend who made a few calls to get me in for a tour. Trust me, getting into a slaughterhouse is no easy task. I was allowed to go in based on a few conditions: no pictures, no names, no location mentioned. This was a real top-secret mission and somehow I secured a place on the team.

Access was difficult and rules were plenty for a reason. The process of slaughtering animals comes with very strong emotions and opinions, which to me, was surprising considering how many people very happily consume beef. When I arrived at the slaughterhouse I was shocked to see that it didn’t look like a slaughterhouse at all, but instead more like a business building, as if to say, nothing out-of-the-ordinary happening here. The building had security around the perimeter as individuals, often PETA and similar organizations, often try to take pictures and gain access to the building. There was obviously a huge tug-of-war in place. The slaughterhouse knows that the process taking place inside the building is a normal one in terms of meat processing. Yet, clearly, access isn’t permitted to the public. Many, like me, want to know how cows are slaughtered and processed from a purely educational standpoint and yet, are denied the opportunity to know (unless, like me, you happen to be friends with a good butcher, willing to help you learn).

Show, Don’t Tell

The images that I now have in my head, which I wish I could share with you, may seem gruesome to some but for me, absolutely incredible and essential to know. After returning from the slaughterhouse it quickly became evident to me that not everyone shared the same opinion as me. I wanted to tell everyone what I had seen because I thought it was amazing and couldn’t believe that tours weren’t being offered on a regular basis. But when I proceeded in excitement to tell my friends and my family what I had seen, I was told by quite a few to stop right there! They didn’t want to hear it. Some of the biggest beef eaters I know, who love and look forward to having their marbled slab of AAA beef every single week, were happy not knowing how their meat made it to the grill.

At first, I couldn’t understand the reluctance by many to know and was shocked because I wanted everyone to have seen what I had. But as I talked to more and more people I realized they were the majority and I was in turn, the minority. Not many people want to know the process that goes into getting their beef into their big mac. At the end of the day, they just want to eat it.

The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

I’ve taken a lot of time to think about how to write this post, some even told me not to write it at all. I’ve always found it deeply important to know where my food comes from and little piggy is, for me, a way to discover and connect with farmers, producers and everything in between in order to grasp and appreciate the things I have at times taken for granted. As a result, I feel that it’s important to relay what I have seen – the whole process was laid in front of me, and in turn, I am going to lay it out for you.

The Real Deal

I braced myself for the worst, prepared to see things that would likely turn me and many others off eating meat altogether. Clad with huge rubber boots, an oversized white lab coat, hair net and hard hat, I took a deep breath, I was ready. Two steel doors were swung open and I felt, that I had entered my Narnia. A cool, refrigerated wave hit me, huge sides upon sides of cattle hung by metal hooks, row upon row. There was no horrible smell, blood wasn’t splattered all over the walls, it was orderly, neat and above all real.

The Reality of the Situation

We made our way through the sides of beef and walked over to the processing line – I was asked if I was ready – ready to go to the kill floor that is. To some this might sound strange, but I was eager to see the cows, not just the beef – but the real animal alive, to me, it was important to make this connection.

Another massive steel door was swung open and there they were, cows. The real deal. As soon as cows arrive on site in a truck from the farm, they are immediately sent to slaughter. Cows are sent one by one through a narrow ‘hallway’ of sorts, they are stunned in the head with a bolt that knocks them out so that they can be hung by their hoofs with heads dangling. This particular plant I was in was kosher, so all cows were killed with one quick slit to the throat by a rabbi. Cows would come through hanging, the rabbi, with his huge, extremely sharp knife makes one quick cut with his knife and immediately all the blood begins to drain from the cow and out through drains on the floor. One cow, that had just been cut at the neck, flailed, splattering me and my tour guides in blood – face, coat, pants. Fearing that I would be completely traumatized, I was rushed out and asked if I was ok. Many people would probably be completely scarred and part of me thought I would be too. But, I wasn’t in the slightest. This was real life. These are real cows, being killed, so that I can enjoy hamburgers, steaks, tacos and more. More than anything, I was happy to be able to make the connection from plastic wrapped beef to the real, live animal. It was truly amazing, important and something I’ll never forget.

Perfectly Portioned 8oz Steaks

After cleaning ourselves off, we walked through the whole processing floor to see how the cow is broken down. First, the cows get their hides taken off, small slits are made at the front ankles of the cow and they are then attached by metal ropes by their front hooves. The hide is then literally peeled right off and placed in a bin to be sent for further processing, later to be made into shoes, handbags, clothes, etc. The hide is actually one of the most valuable parts of the cow.

The head is taken off the cow and cleaned, then later sent for testing, to make sure the cows are healthy. There are many checkpoints throughout the plant by CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) experts, to ensure healthy cows and in turn, healthy, safe meat.

The cows’ internal organs and stomach are removed all by making a slit down the chest of the cow. If the stomach or intestines are cut open in some way, the whole cow is spoiled and they have to do a complete clean of the area. The stomach is also checked for abnormal growths and any disease or sickness of the animal.

Still hanging by their hoofs, the cows are then slit in half, using a huge piece of machinery. A worker stands on a platform that moves up and down directing the saw. The spine of the cow is probably the only thing that is thrown away, removed for mad cow related reasons. The sides of the cow are then sent through a rinse for cleaning and preservation of the meat. We walked by the sides that had been recently killed and all of the muscles on the cow were twitching with rigamortis.

The sides are then left for a period of 48 hours, in a very cool, controlled environment. The meat must be completely cooled down before processing. This ensures the meat lasts longer and ends up being tastier due to a small amount of aging. After the 48 hour period, the real breakdown of meat happens. It is absolute magic to watch. A huge amount of workers are stationed throughout the assembly line process, knives and blades are everywhere. We had to walk very carefully through each part of the plant, making everyone aware that we were there.

Every piece of meat has a place for processing, conveyor belts work to move meat around to be handled by various workers and broken down further. Everything has its place and each worker skillfully slices and dices the meat, placing each cut on a different conveyor to move to the next processing station. All of the ends and fat pieces are dumped from a conveyor into a huge brown box. This is what I was told gets shipped to fast food restaurants around the world – I’m loving it? I was shown through the entire plant and at the end of the line perfectly portioned pieces of meat were packaged and sealed ready to be shipped all over the world. For more detailed information about how cows are broken down into steaks, ribs, flanks, etc check out this site on Beef Products

Not a Vegetarian

So far, most little piggy adventures have been had on a farm. This is the first that has taken place in a very different kind of environment. I have to say as a meat eater and as a cook, I feel very lucky to now know what happens when cows leave the farm. I feel like a veil has been lifted for me and I’ve been allowed to take a peek behind it, seeing things that most won’t ever in their entire lives. The whole experience did not turn me off meat but actually gave me a much deeper appreciation and understanding of something I eat weekly. I hope that more people who eat beef, might want to learn more about where their food comes from and how it gets to them. A lot of hard work goes into raising beef, growing food for cattle, transporting the cows to the slaughterhouse, the slaughtering and processing of the cows and in turn moving the processed meat around the world for sale and consumption. For more information on Canadian beef check out these two great websites: Canada Beef and Beef Info