Pastor Chuck Orchards

Goodlifer: Pastor Chuck Orchards

So this psychotherapist walks into an apple orchard… it might sound like the beginning of a joke, but it was really the start of a new and unusual career. Pastor Chuck Orchards is the brainchild of an Episcopal priest and former private-practice psychotherapist who has become a creator of organic, apple-based products.

In 1985, Pastor Chuck started an orchard in his home state of Maine. When the trees began to bear, the annual harvest resulted in too many apples to eat fresh, so experiments in making apple butter and applesauce followed. These products proved so popular that they were eventually marketed. Today, Pastor Chuck Orchards offers several forms of apple preserves, if you will. All products are certified organic, and most are kosher. One percent of profits are donated back to the community.

Pastor Chuck and his apples.

Pastor Chuck and his apples.

I can recommend the apple butter. If you don’t know about apple butter, it has no butter in it. Instead, it’s a long-cooking type of apple preserve. This apple butter is perfectly smooth, with an ideal texture; it isn’t so thick that you can’t spread it easily, nor is it thin or watery. The first taste you’ll get will be one of sweet spices, followed by a genuine apple flavor. Both the apple butter and applesauce (which also contains spices) are offered in sweetened and no-sugar-added varieties, and both are kosher. There’s also an apple salsa, a product I’ve never seen anywhere else. Yes, it’s a real salsa, complete with onions, garlic, and a couple of types of peppers. Although this information is not currently on the company’s website, Pastor Chuck tells me that all of his products just completed gluten testing and that they’re gluten-free.

Organic Applesauce (New!), Mix & Match set of Applebutter & Applesauce, Organic Apple Salsa (New!) & Organic Apple Butter.

Organic Applesauce (New!), Mix & Match set of Applebutter & Applesauce, Organic Apple Salsa (New!) & Organic Apple Butter.

Pastor Chuck Orchards is a small-scale producer making food the way it should be made — with care, good ingredients, and concern for future generations. These products are on store shelves in a baker’s dozen of states, but online ordering is available, too (there’s a three-jar minimum, or you can buy by the case). Protecting God’s creation, one organic apple at a time, Pastor Chuck is a man on a mission. “One taste and you will know the difference between good and evil!”

For more information, visit the Pastor Chuck Orchards website.

Top photo by Ctd 2005, Creative Commons

About author
Stephanie Zonis was born with a spoon in her mouth — a tasting spoon, that is. She began cooking (especially baking) at a very early age, and for a short time even ran a highly illegal baking business from her long-suffering parents’ house when she was in high school. After acquiring a Master’s Degree in Foods, she eventually discovered the Internet in 1997. She’s been writing about food and developing recipes, especially where chocolate is involved, ever since. During those few moments when she’s not cooking or writing or thinking about food, Stephanie enjoys reading, walking, political discussions, and volunteering at a local no-kill cat sanctuary. She has been a member of a medieval re-creation group for longer than she’ll admit and loves absurdist humor.
1 comment on this postSubmit yours
  1. Pastor Chuck’s sauces are unbelievably delicious. One taste and you will become a believer! They are great for everyone. Ingredients you can read and trust!

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