Evans Orchard’s Sweet Apple Cafe & Bakery
Written by Kathy Witt
How are ancient Egyptians, tomb sketches and Roman gods connected to fried pies? They are all part of the sometimes eyebrow raising, always intriguing story of this unpretentious pastry – one that dates to 6000 B.C. and the Neolithic Period with an early form of the delicacy known as a galette.
The Egyptians liked their pies made of grains including rye, oat and barley, filled with honey and baked over hot coals. When the bakers to the pharaohs came along, they added nuts and fruits – and drawings of these treats can be found etched on the tomb walls of Ramses II. A millennium later, the Romans made pies to use as offerings to their gods.
Fast forward to the 21st century and the Evans family who, having planted apple, peach and pear orchards on 300 acres outside of Georgetown and opened a Sweet Apple Cafe & Bakery, began selling homemade fried pies stuffed with their own delicious apples. And the rest, of course, continues the history.
A fifth-generation family farm, Evans Orchard and Cider Mill is famous for its fried pies – this and apple cider donuts are the most popular items on the dessert menu at the café. The farm, operated by Kevan and Jenny Evans, is also known for its produce, with 20 acres of vegetables grown, fresh-picked and piled high in the Farm Market and Gift Store for visitors to purchase.
The store and cider press were built in 2000; the certified kitchen came along five years later, in 2005. Seating is all outdoors, so families coming for some fresh-air farm fun at the Play Area, Barnyard and Petting Zoo and/or shopping for produce can relax in the sunshine while enjoying a lunch topped off with fried pie and cider.
“We have delicious cheeseburgers, pulled pork made with our own apples and homemade chicken salad,” said Jenny. “We specialize in items grown right on our own farm. All the vegetables used to top the sandwiches are straight from our fields and all of our fried pies are made with fruit grown here.”
In addition to the coveted apple fried pies, there are strawberry rhubarb and peach fried pies, too. The menu also includes assorted sandwiches, kids’ meals, homemade fudge, ice cream, slushies and other goodies.
Evans Orchard and Cider Mill is located about three miles from downtown Georgetown. Check the website for seasonal hours and for admission and seasonal pass information for the farm’s Play Area and Barnyard, which include jumping pillows, swings, pedal car track, hay castle, Apple Cider Slider and other amusements. Call 502-863-2255 for more information or visit the farm’s Facebook page for the latest news.
Updated information about all of Georgetown’s eating establishments, including onsite dining, curbside pickup and delivery details, may be found here.
RECIPE
A 476-year-old cookbook, A Proper newe Booke of Cokerye, guided the intrepid home cook of the mid-16th-century in the manner of making pies:
“To Make Short Paest for Tarte – Take fyne floure and a cursey of fayre water and a dysche of swete butter and a lyttel saffron, and the yolckes of two egges and make it thynne and as tender as ye maye.”
Fortunately, Jenny Evans has shared a recipe that is much easier for the modern cook to follow. It’s not for the farm’s famous fried apple pie – you’ll have to visit the café in person to taste one of these yummies – but it is for a delicious apple treat.
Apple Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soda
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups peeled and chopped apples
1 cup nuts
Directions:
Beat together sugar, oil and eggs. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and soda. Add to liquid mixture. Add vanilla, apples and nuts to mixture. Put into two loaf pans sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until done.
Author: Kathryn Witt
Kathryn Witt is an award-winning travel and lifestyle writer, syndicated columnist and author of several books, including Secret Cincinnati, The Secret of the Belles and Atlanta Georgia: A Photographic Portrait. A member of SATW, Authors Guild and the Society of Children’s Books & Illustrators, she lives in northern Kentucky.
