..Is a love story. First with my husband Gary and then with the orchard. The conceptual idea of creating organic products from the fruits and berries of the orchard began during the courtship of my then soon to be husband; Gary W. Middleton.

Gary a fourth generation farmer and I a city girl living a corporate lifestyle met fell in love and married. During the time of our courtship I was making dinner one night and I suddenly started thinking of apple butter. Apple butter of all things! Perhaps subconsciously I was thinking of my beloved grandmother whom was always in the kitchen and always had plenty of apple butter in her pantry. In fact it was a household staple.

Every summer my grandmother and her "canning" friends would get together and process fresh vegetables and fruits from the gardens for days. It was busy and entertaining times watching all of the ladies prepare and process their favorites such as tomatoes, watermelon pickles and corn relish...Grandma’s root cellar had as much variety as a small town grocery store.

I fondly embrace all of the moments I spent with my grandmother in the kitchen and I am quite sure that is where my passion for cooking derived from. In the days ahead I found myself cooking and experimenting with batches of apple butter. This occurred day after day and as I would stir the batches I would ponder various packaging ideas that would delight my family and friends.

Two years later while at the orchard I was walking through the house we were building and found myself suddenly stopping and staring out of a window while becoming completely awestruck by the beauty of the cherry blossoms. It was one of those rare and once in a life time moments that you are compelled to stop, watch and quietly listen. Of course it was not as though I had never seen blossoming trees before yet, this was somehow different. This too was one of God's perfect creations and as I was starring and quietly listening it became the defining moment that Middleton Organic Specialty Foods was conceived.

I knew that I wanted to share the beauty and the flavors of our organic orchard with others and soon my mantra became "from our orchard to your home". I created the first of my "Savoring the Harvest" product line featuring a collection of organic apple butters including apple, apple citrus, apple blueberry and our favorite apple cherry. And well I guess you could say the rest is history.

Our organic "Savoring the Harvest" products are prepared with the freshly harvested tree ripened fruit grown on our family orchard. The taste profiles are pure and bursting with fresh fruit flavor with never any artificial preservatives, colors or sulfites. Just natural fruit taste.

I have always believed that there is nothing better in life than sharing delicious healthy foods with family and friends, an abundance of laughter, and savoring those special moments that take you back to simpler and quieter times. From Our Orchard to Your Home we warmly share with you Middleton Organic Orchards & Specialty Foods.

Warmly,

~Gary & Lori