For Media Inquiries, please contact us at the store 845-374-5471. Art and Jeff Soons, experts on all things apples, peaches, cider, corn, veggies and more, are available for comment!

Record photographer Jeff Goulding jumped on the tractor and headed out to capture scenes of apple picking on Sept. 25.

Not press, but a cool watercolor painting by Donna J. Roettger, inspired by Soons.

From TIME OUT NY, Issue # 474, October 28, 2005

HARVEST BOON

-New Hampton, NY
Located just a few meters off the town's main drag, Soons Orchard is more of a quaint suburban getaway than a sprawling rural adventure. Still, the air felt cleaner than the exhaut-heavy city's when we got out of the car a painless 90 minutes northwest of Brooklyn. The 140-acre apple, vegestable and pumpkin farm has been worked by the Soons family for 95 years, and despite the abundant nearby car dealerships and motels, it maintains an old-fashioned agrarian feel. Inside the orchards, picking from row upon row of apple varietals made us feel very rustic indeed. However, after collecting two full bags of Galas and Yataka Fujis and engaging in a few staged photo ops (Look at me in a pumpkin patch!), the novelty of gathering our own food quickly wore off.

Thankfully for us ADD city folks. Soons offers something beyond its [mini] maze, hayrides and pick-your-owns that every New Yorker is down with: bargain shopping. The farm's well-stocked store -about a two minute drive from the orchard- carries all manner of down-home delights, including fresh apple cider, Soons-grown fruits and vegetables, homemade pies and cider doughnuts, gourmet salsa, local maple syrup and cheeses, among countless other edibles. We loaded up on more than a basketful of country goods - which would've cost at least 70 bucks at Whole Foods -- for just $30. Though we proved we're ill-suited to life on the farm, we discovered there's more than one way to enjoy the harvest. - Jennifer Romolin/Time Out NY

Side Dish: See ya Soons
   By Bob Andersen
   For the Times Herald-Record
    
   I crunch through fallen leaves and walk up to the barn-red country store, Soons Orchards & Farm Market in New Hampton. The market is buzzing with people. The shelves are packed with neat bottles and containers of jellies, salsa, soups, and maple syrup. Baskets of apples line the walls. There are fresh vegetables in bins, jugs of freshly pressed apple cider, candy apples and a favorite – cider doughnuts.
   The size of the average coffee mug, Soons apple cider doughnuts are a must for fall. Every few minutes, fresh, hot, doughnuts are delivered to the front, then quickly disappear.
   I have to try one.
   The exterior of the doughnut is a rich golden brown and is dusted with the perfect combination of sugar and cinnamon. It's still warm and soft to the touch as I take my first bite.
   The cake doughnut is filled with tiny air pockets and is extremely light. The pale, golden-apple-colored interior is very moist and packed with flavor.
   Now I know why those lines get so long and the doughnuts disappear so quickly.
   And there's much more to pick than fresh-baked goods and packaged wares: Get fresh apples in the U-Pick orchard or hop on a hayride that delivers you to a U-Pick patch where you clip your own pumpkin from the vine.
   Oh, and pies! But that's next week's issue.
   

October 22, 2004

Side Dish: Not too Soons for more
By Bob Andersen
For the Times Herald-Record


At Soons Orchard and Farm Market, Art and Sandy Soons daily work the land and store opened by William Soons, a New Yorker who left the city to establish Soons Orchard in 1910. Meanwhile, daughter Laura, the principal baker and the wizard behind the curtain at Scotty's Pies, is the quintessential "Pie Lady."
For the past 17 years, Scotty's has been using simple, wholesome ingredients and original recipes to make something special, "a homemade quality that you can't find anywhere else."
In the space of an average hotel room and utilizing a staff of four, Scotty's bakes about 1,000 pies a week in 15 varieties. Apple and pumpkin are the most popular. Each morning, the nine-inch pies are delivered oven-fresh to Soons Market.
I open the square box, revealing a golden brown crust. I cut a hefty slice and slide it onto my plate. The first thing I notice is that the apples are cut very small, almost chopped.
The homemade crust is flaky and delicious. Notes of cinnamon, ginger and clove are reminiscent of Ma's and Grandma's kitchens.
Laura explains that she utilizes a blend of apples to develop the unique taste of her pies. Another key ingredient is her special apple cider syrup. "This keeps everything moist," she says.
She's often amazed at the reaction she receives when people find out that she makes the pies everyone loves: "No one freaks out when you tell them that you're the pizza guy, or you manage an office."

A quick note from Laura: "I want to recognize the amazing talents of Carol Boyle, who cooks nearly every day of the week! She is a master of the pie and we couldn't do it without her. And, actually, there's no ginger in the pies!"