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Apple Cooking
Apples make a great addition to a variety of meals. Whether it be a tart apple used in a pie, more acidic apples used to complement a main course, sweeter apples to add life to a salad, or apple juice used as a sweetener substitute, apples are the perfect fruit for cooking.
Here are some tips when cooking with apples:
Selecting the apples
- When you can, purchase fresh apples from your local grower or farm market. While commercial apple shipping has improved, nothing can beat an apple that hasn't travelled thousands of miles before ending up in your kitchen.
- Choose the right apple for your meal. Check the varieties section of our site to find apples that match the flavor you are looking for. For example, if you want a tart apple pie, subsitituting a Granny Smith apple with a Red Delicious apple won't work well.
- Experiment! Another advantage of visiting your local orchard is the ability to try new varieties. Tell the farmer you want a tart apple for a pie and I bet he'll be willing to tell you about a dozen apple varieties they grow that would bake into the best pie you've ever had -- heck, they may even run inside the house and grab their Great-Grandmother's famous pie recipe to share with you!
- Choose apples that are firm, but don't necessarily sweat over the appearance of the skin. There are plenty of incredibly good tasting apples that are ugly from a cosmetic standpoint. But, if you are buying apples from the grocery store, steer clear of apples with discoloration or brown spots.
Storing apples
- Apples like to be cool. If apples could pick their home, they'd choose one kept at 35-40 degrees with relative humidity of 80-90%. Since most of us don't necessarily have climate control for that type of environment, storing them in the refrigerator or in an unheated section of a basement will help keep your apples fresh. Apples do absorb odors, so be careful if storing them for a prolonged period in your garage.
- Some apples will store longer than others. Many of the apples listed in our varieties section show the "season" apples can be stored.
Preparing apples
- Wash apples with soap and water before use. This will ensure any contaminants on the skin of the apple don't make it into your next apple masterpiece.
- Cut out any bad or softer sections of the apple.
- If using in a salad and/or desire more visual appeal of your apples, dip them in a solution of one part citrus juice to three parts water to minimize browning. There are also products like Fruit Fresh that can be used for the same purpose.
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