One of my favorite family traditions is going to Brookfield Orchard on Labor Day weekend. This year we made the trip out a little later because the heat was brutal on Labor Day.
Brookfield Orchard is a great family friendly farm nestled in North Brookfield, MA. This year they’re celebrating their 100th anniversary. Over the years they’ve modernized and expanded a bit, but they still remain the same place I remember as a child.
We started our trip with lunch. I got the chili, bacon mac and cheese, and an apple dumpling with cheese. These are some off my favorites. The chili is nice and thick. It goes great with tortilla chips, but we forgot them this time. The mac and cheese has Brookfield’s extra sharp cheddar cheese, which is one of my favorites. Bacon is a new addition and was really good. After all, who doesn’t love bacon!? The apple dumplings are a staple, and is traditionally served with vanilla ice cream, but I like to get more cheese. The sharpe flavor really pairs well with the sweet and spiced apple.
Next we went to pick our own apples. Early in the season we had Macintosh and Cortlands to choose from. I picked about a 50/50 mix of both. I figured I would use these for snacking mostly. The field was beautiful as we picked. I really had to reach for some of them!
Next we headed into the shop, which is one of my favorite places. It’s open year round and carries my favorite…THE CHEESE!!! They also have cider, breads, pastries, bags of ready-picked apples, and so much more. In the main room they also have an apple washing machine, which is really cool to watch. In a side room there’s a great selection of jams and preserves. That room also has a lot of fun stuff in it like cups, plates, bowls, cooking tools and utensils. I really like the one-off teacup sets.
I always have a great time here. Besides the apples I also picked up some cider and of course cheese. I’ll probably make a grilled cheese with it and add some thin sliced apples. Check back to see what we do with the apples. We’ll update this post with links below.
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