Masonville Orchards

While Palisade peaches and Rocky Ford cantaloupe seem to get all of the locavore fruit glory in these parts, Masonville Orchards is the fruit vendor I most look forward to seeing at our local farmers markets. These folks truly are local, with orchards in the foothills and plains surrounding Ft. Collins. They are primarily about apples, including many heirloom varieties you will never see in the grocery stores. They are always happy to give you a taste of the varieties they have on hand (usually at least 4, unless you get to the market late and they have sold out of a variety or two), and there always seems to be a mix of sweet and tart, crisp and tender so surely you will find a variety that is to your liking. Some of the varieties I’ve enjoyed this year include Akane, Pixie Crunch, and Candy Crisp. If you’re not such a risk taker, you can find more common apple varieties, too — Gala, Jonathan, Honeycrisp, Red Delicious — but only when they are perfectly ripe off of the tree. I guarantee you that you will find even the most mundane varieties of apples to be a revelation when you have tree-​ripened fruit. Look for them at the downtown market on Saturdays or the Harmony market on Sundays.