You Have Been Picking Apples Wrong Your Entire Life

As apple-picking season kicks into full gear across the Hudson Valley, there's a good chance you've been removing apples from the tree the wrong way without even realizing it.

Heading to a local orchard and filling a bag with apples seems pretty straightforward. But most pick-your-own customers are making a mistake.

person holding four red apples

There's a Right Way to Pick an Apple

According to information published by New York State, professional apple pickers don't simply grab an apple and yank it from the tree.

Instead, the apple should be held in your palm and lifted upward until the stem releases from the tree. Pulling straight down can damage the apple and may cause the stem to pull out of the fruit, which can make it spoil faster.

Some orchards also recommend giving the apple a gentle twist while lifting it instead of pulling. Yanking apples or shaking branches can damage the tree and knock down fruit that isn't ready to be picked.

So, if you've spent years pulling apples straight toward you, you've been doing it wrong.

Don't Grab Every Apple You See

Another common mistake is assuming that every apple on every tree is ready to go.

Different varieties ripen at different times, which is why pick-your-own orchards will often direct customers to specific rows or sections. If an area is marked as closed, those apples may simply not be ready yet.

And once you pick an apple, you generally shouldn't toss it aside because you find a better one. Rules vary by orchard, but many pick-your-own farms operate under a pretty simple policy: If you pick it, you buy it.

a bunch of apples hanging from a tree

Can You Eat Apples While You're Picking?

This is another rule that can vary considerably from orchard to orchard.

Some farms encourage customers to sample an apple while they're picking. Others specifically prohibit eating fruit in the orchard.

There's also a food safety reason to wait. UConn Extension advises against eating apples directly from the tree without washing them first. Fruit can be contaminated in the field by wildlife, insects, dirty hands or other sources.

The same advice applies to apples that have already fallen on the ground. They may look perfectly fine, but extension experts recommend picking fruit from the tree instead of collecting "drops" because of the possibility of contamination.