It's 'apple time' at Mileur's

MURPHYSBORO - While this year's Apple Festival may have been scaled down, the apples are still ripe and ready to eat at Mileur Orchard just west of Murphysboro.

"The trees were planted in 1961," said owner Lisa Mileur, emerging from the kitchen where she had just finished whipping up more apple cider doughnuts.

Mileur said she and her husband took over the orchard in 1996.

Along with a variety of apples, the orchard also features fresh bakery items including pies, apple crisp, cider, among other treats.

"My favorites are the Mutsu," said Mileur. "They are tart and sweeten as they mature."

Mileur said those apples store well in zip lock bags in the refrigerator.

"They will stay good up to six months," she said.

Several locals stopped by on Sunday afternoon, picking up apples but also taking advantage of the homemade apple crisp that Mileur made that day.

"We've been here several times since we discovered it," said Mark Cocot of Ava, who brought his family over for an afternoon treat.

Mileur's is open daily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and can be found on the web at www.mileurorchard.com.