“My mom did not want me to become a farmer. She knew how hard it was,” says Joanne Krueger, who with her husband, Dan Lehrer, founded Little Apple Treats, which makes our favorite cider vinegar. It actually tastes of apples! But farming already was in the family. Her maternal grandparents became farmworkers after immigrating from Spain to California.
“Even after my grandparents moved off-farm, they had a garden where my grandfather grew garlic for our extended family,” Krueger says. “I swear I didn't know you could buy garlic at the supermarket until I was in high school.”
Fruit trees also were also a staple on their property and the apple tree was a favorite of Kreuger's grandmother.
“She loved apple pie and would make tons of them with fruit from her Gravenstein tree. She'd make and freeze dozens of pies every fall and every visit you'd always get a frozen pie to take home,” Krueger says.
