Bilpin - The Land of the Mountain Apple

Gosh, it sounds so magical, doesn't it? Like right out of a children's book.

Stephen and I like to walk the tracks at Katoomba, and last time we went we decided to stop on the way at one of the little fruit stores we saw lining Bells Line of Road. There we discovered the land of Bilpin, a small town 90 km West of the Sydney CBD that is famous across Australia for the apples they grow there. Last week we went back for their apple juice, a fresh, crisp, wonder of a juice in itself, and for a slice of gorgeous home-made apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

After a little over an hour of driving, our first stop was The Bilpin Fruit Bowl, one of the largest stores in Bilpin and, coincidentally, also home to the World's Largest Fruit Bowl. We got out of the car, stretched out our limbs and took a gander at the huge bowl of fibreglass fruit, then walked into the store.

Once inside, we were attracted to the shelves of hand-made preserves with labels that had been written in texta. Knowing that we'd been buying an awful lot of jams lately, we settled for a peach and ginger jam ($6.50). There were also shelves of apple-cider vinegar, apple jelly and honey.

We then headed over to the fresh fruit section, which was a bit homely compared to, say, a supermarket's fresh food section, but rightly so - fruit shouldn't look like it's made of wax. The fruit here was dull and unpolished, but when we bit into an apple, the "crunch" sound practically echoed it was so fresh (imagine just biting an apple at the top of the Three Sisters, instead of making the traditional "cooee!" call, lol).

There was a work station in the middle of the shop where two ladies were making the apple pies, and a cabinet with the finished product displayed. Though tempting, we had already tried these particular pies, and were looking forward to trying the ones across the road, so we gave them a miss.

After paying for our purchases (which included six 3 litre bottles of apple juice at $6 a bottle), we crossed the road and paid a visit to The Pines Orchard:

All along the back wall were stacks of preserves and honey, and even some sauces and 'The Grape Alternative' wine jellies to accompany meat. We picked up some blood orange marmelade, apple jelly, and some cabernet and merlot wine jelly.

We noticed that there was a cafe section to this store, and we were feeling quite hungry, so we ordered a small lunch before sampling some delicious apple pie. We placed our order, and were given one of those buzzing pager devices. Meanwhile, we paid for our other purchases at the front register and ordered our coffee and pie.


Small Cappucino - $3.50

We started our meal with a cappucino made with Vittoria ground coffee. It was a rich, robust brew without being too bitter, and it shook out some of the cobwebs.

Hamburger with Eggs, Bacon and Cheese - $7.50

Stephen described his burger as one of the best he's ever had. The beef patty was thick and juicy, and the egg was just as chunky. The bacon added some salt and the salad gave the burger some freshness to cut through all the cheese. To this day I still have no idea how Stephen ate that monstrously high burger.

Steak Sandwich with Salad - $7.50

I wanted a slightly smaller option, so I selected the steak sandwich with salad. It was very basic, but in a good way - the white bread was lightly toasted, the salad fresh, crisp and cool, and the steak itself was well done, but also tender and moist. It was something that I could have made at home, but was comforting and moreish.

Apple Pie and Ice Cream - $4.00

We recieved a quarter of an apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for our dessert. The pie had big, uneven chunks of apple which provided a nice balance of sweet and tart, and the crust had a sort of crispy shell that gave way to a more solid pastry. The vanilla ice cream is a classic accompaniment, and I really feel that no other garnish was needed.

Bilpin remains an enchanting place to visit, and it's probably one of the only places I'll ever buy apple juice from. I look forward to visiting next apple season for some fruit picking!

 

The Bilpin Fruit Bowl

2093 Bells Line of Road
Bilpin, NSW
2758

Phone: 02 4567 1152
Fax: 02 4567 0115

http://www.bilpinfruitbowl.com.au

 

The Pines Orchard*

Funnily enough, we could NOT find any details for this place on the internet. It's like it doesn't exist! However, it's directly across the road from The Bilpin Fruit Bowl - you can't miss it.

 

Comments

[muppy]

I love bilpin, although i haven't visited the fruit bowl in years - do they sell veges as well?
Thats quite funny you could not find the pines listed. That lunch looked fantastic, so real!

[InTolerantChef]

That apple pie looks so lovely and yummy! I love preserves that are made with love and not humungously mass produces for supermarkets, I would have got a suitcase full!

[chopinandmysaucepan]

I must make it a point to visit this place or drive through it on my next visit to Orange. That burger looks awesome!

[Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella]

Picking fresh apples off the trees out at Bilpin is a real treat too. They are so fresh.

[Maria @ Scandifoodie]

Bilpin is great isn't it! That's were we went at Easter too!

[Heavenly Housewife]

Those lovely apple pies could only mean one thing for me: trouble.
*kisses* HH

[Jennifer]

This takes me back home! Nothing more Aussie than a roadside burger or a steak sandwich! How much fun :-)

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