Ways to Cook and Serve Apples

Apples for eating out of hand, apples for baking and cooking, apples for sauce and juice, apples to serve with savory dishes, and apples for dessert: there is an apple for every use. Apples that ripen early, apples that ripen mid-season, and apples that ripen late for eating right into winter: there is an apple for every season.

Apples range in color from yellow to bright yellow-green to green to almost every shade of red. Apple textures range from tender to crisp. Apples can be sweet or tart or range in flavor complexity from simple to complex. The flavors of an apple can vary from pineapple to bananas, apricots, strawberries, roses, cloves, spices, wine, nuts, and berries.

There are apples that actually taste like where you live. The flesh of an apple can be cream-colored or white or yellow.

Apple serving suggestions

Apples can be eaten raw, cooked, dried, or candied.

Slice to add to cereal.
Sauté in butter to accompany pork sausages and waffles or pancakes.
Add to fruit, tuna, or chicken salads.
Serve alongside savory foods: soft-ripened cheese, meat, poultry, and wild game.
Make into applesauce, jelly, jam, marmalade, syrup, butter, chutney, or vinegar.
Use in pies, cakes, crisps, cobblers, strudels, tarts, muffins, crepes, flans, strudels, clafoutis, charlottes, pies, and puddings.
Core and fill the center with raisins, coconut, nuts, and honey and bake.
Use to make cider and apple juice.

Favorite apple recipes

Chocolate Chip and Dip Applesauce Cookies

Baked Fruit and Nut Stuffed Apples

How to Make Old-Fashioned Applesauce

Red Cabbage and Apples

Eating apples raw

A refreshing, fruity balance of sour and sweet, apple slices are versatile—and widely matched for flavor.

Sweeter varieties such as Fuji and Gala are right for desserts—match them with cream, ice cream, and honey; tart varieties such as Braeburn and Granny Smith are suited to dark greens such as spinach and arugula and sharp cheeses.

Taste apple slices for their flavor notes—spicy like nutmeg and anise, dairy like butter and cream and cheese, and nutty (especially near the core) like almond. Tasting for flavor will help you match raw apples with suitable flavor partners.

Selecting apples for eating raw

A fully ripe apple will be heavy and firm with a vibrant color and fresh aroma. Heavier apples contain more moisture and are less likely to have a mealy texture; ripe apples will be vibrant red—yellow and green apples are best with a slight blush; a just ripe apple will smell fresh and rich—not overly fruity.

Best apples for eating raw

Red Delicious: crisp, juicy, and sweet flesh with a thin but tough skin.
Fuji: crisp and sweet, a green-red fruit.
Gala: sweet, orange-yellow fruit.
Golden Delicious: not too sweet, not too tart, a golden yellow, freckled fruit.
Granny Smith: brisk and tart and bright green fruit.
McIntosh: very juicy and slightly tart red-green fruit.
Jonathan: sweet, slightly acidic, vibrant red with yellow undertones.
Pippin: crisp, slightly tart, large greenish-yellow with red blush.
Braeburn: blends sweet and tart, red hue over yellow skin.

Preparing apple slices

Rinse apples under cold running water. Cut apples in half then cut each half in half again and pare out the core. Slice each quarter to the thickness you desire. Once apples are cut the enzymes in the flesh will begin to oxidize and turn them brown. To keep apple slices from turning brown, place them in a lemon and water solution as you cut them (for every two cups of water, add two tablespoons of lemon.)

Serving apple slices in a salad

Serve apple slices raw with the flavor match you choose. To create an apple-slice-based salad bind the apple slices and other ingredients with a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise or apple cider vinaigrette or yogurt—just enough to lightly coat the mix. Try this: thin apple slices with torn spinach leaves, chopped walnuts, and raisins lightly tossed with low-fat yogurt and a dab of honey.

Sliced apple flavor matches

apples + arugula
apples + bananas
apples + bacon
apples + blueberries
apples + cantaloupe
apples + caramel
apples + carrots
apples + cheese – slivers of Brie or Camembert
apples + hard cheese—a wedge of Cheddar or Stiltin
apples + cinnamon
apples + cottage cheese
apples + granola
apples + honey
apples (tart) + horseradish
apples (tart) + mangoes
apples + maple syrup
apples + oatmeal
apples + pears
apples + peanuts
apples + oranges
apples + peanut butter
apples + pineapples
apples + spinach
apples + brown sugar
apples + yogurt
apples + almond butter + cinnamon
apples + celery + walnuts (bind with a tablespoon of mayonnaise)
apples + caramel+ slivered almonds
apples + caramel + peanuts
apples + caramel + pecans
apples + cream + ginger
apples + ginger + hazelnuts
apples + kiwi slices + strawberries
apples + apricots + pine nuts
apples + raisins + rum
apples + snow peas + apple cider vinaigrette
apples + red cabbage + cinnamon
apples + almonds + crème fraîche + raisins
apples + brown sugar + creams + walnuts
apples + caramel + pistachios + vanilla ice cream
apples + cabbage + orange + pineapple

Ways to cook apples

Suitable for a variety of cooking techniques. For cooking, use firmer textured apples such as Rome Beauty or Cortland. Cook gently in just enough liquid to prevent the fruit from sticking to the pot.

Baking apples

Peel and core apples; quarter lengthwise. Glaze and bake until hot (about 20 minutes).

Grilling apples

Core and cut small to medium-sized fruit in half lengthwise; cut large apples lengthwise into ¾-inch wedges. Grill until hot and streaked with brown (about 6 minutes for wedges, 10 to 12 minutes for halves).

Poaching apples

Peel and core and sprinkle with lemon juice. Simmer in poaching liquid until tender when pierced (10 to 12 minutes for 4 or 5 medium-sized apples).

Sautéing apples

Peel and core apples; cut into ½-inch-thick slices. Sauté until hot and tender when pierced (3 to 5 minutes).

Amount. One pound of apple (4 small, 3 medium-sized, 2 large fruits) yields 3 cups diced fruit or 2½ cups peeled, sliced fruit.

Apple harvest times

In the course of a year, there are actually three apple harvests: an early-season harvest, a mid-season harvest, and a late-season harvest.

The harvest for early-season apple varieties begins in mid-summer and peaks in late summer.
The harvest for mid-season apples begins in late summer and peaks in early autumn, and the harvest for late-season apples begins in early autumn and peaks in late autumn–and sometimes runs right into winter.
Late-season apples can be stored at cool temperatures and stay fresh right into spring.

Apple types

Cookbooks sometimes divide apples into those that are juicy and eaten out of hand (usually the early- and mid-season varieties) and those that are dry and used for baking and cooking (usually late-season varieties). The apple growers in your region can recommend specific varieties for the use you have in mind. Here’s a short guide to choosing apples:

Firm, juicy, crisp, and sweet-to-sweet-tart-tasting apples are right for eating out of hand.
Sweet but firm apples that will not disintegrate in the oven easily are great for baking or cooking whole.
Apples with a slightly acidic flavor are best for pies; they are more dry than juicy.
Acidic but juicy apples are well suited for jellies.
Sweet to tart apples that do not discolor easily are best for applesauce, cider, or juice.

Just remember that as a general rule: sweet apples are eaten out of hand while tart apples are used for cooking.

Apple harvest season

The peak harvest season for apples varies by variety. The earliest apples are ready for harvest in mid-summer and the last is ready for harvest in winter.

Apple varieties and their use

Select smooth, clean, firm, brightly colored apples free of bruises or soft spots. If the apple yields under the pressure of the fingers, the apple will be mealy. Choose apples specifically for their use:

Eating out of hand: Choose a firm, juicy, crisp fruit such as Golden Delicious (gold), Granny Smith (green), Newtown Pippin (green), Jonathan (red), McIntosh (red to green), Red Delicious (red), Stayman (red), or Winesap (red).
Pies and applesauce: Choose a dry, tart, slightly acidic variety: Gravenstein (yellow-green with red stripes), Grimes Golden (gold), Jonathan (red), McIntosh (red to green), Newtown pippin (green), Northern Spy (red); Rhode Island Greening (green), Stayman (red), Winesap (red), or York Imperial (red).
Baking: Use firmer fleshed, slightly acidic varieties over 3 inches in diameter: Northern Spy (red), Rome Beauty (red), Winesap (red), or York Imperial (red).

How to store apples

Apples will continue to ripen if left at room temperature. To keep apples crisp place them in a plastic bag in the coldest part of the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 2 weeks. Apples can be stored in a cellar at 32º to 40º F: place them in a plastic container and cover them with a damp towel to prevent moisture loss. Sort out damaged or overly ripe apples before storing them.

To freeze apples, peel, and core and then freeze in light syrup.

Dried apples will keep indefinitely when stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

How to prepare apples

Rinse apples before eating out of hand. Use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to peel apples for cooking. Cut into quarters and remove the core from each section.

To core without slicing, push an apple corer through the center of the fruit from the bottom and pull out the core from the stem end.

Coat or sprinkle peeled or sliced apples with lemon, lime, or orange, or vinaigrette juice to prevent discoloring

Apple flavor partners

Apples have a flavor affinity for allspice, apricots, celery, cinnamon, clove, curry, ginger, green onions, nuts, onion, pork, poultry, and vanilla.

Apple nutrition

One large raw apple contains about 125 calories. Apples provide bulk and aid digestion.

About apples

The apple is a pome fruit with a fleshy outer layer and a paperlike core that usually contains 5 to 10 seeds in its center. Apple trees can grow to 40 feet tall and flower in late spring with blooms that look like tiny pink and white roses. The apple fruit is ready for harvest 140 to 170 days after pollination. Apples are a temperate region fruit that requires a period of cold and dormancy each year in order to thrive.

One of the rules of good fresh apple eating is to know the varieties that grow in your region. An apple that is tasty in one region may not be tasty in another. The key is to appreciate the subtle flavors of apples and the soil and climate where they grow. Choosing a great apple is not just about appearance.

The apple is native to the region of modern Kazakhstan which stretches from Central Europe to Central Asia. It was first cultivated at least 3,000 years ago. The ancient Romans spread apples to England and parts of Europe. American colonists brought apples to the western hemisphere from England. The word apple can be traced back to the name of its Indo-European ancestor, the abel. The apple’s Latin name pomum means fruit. The French word for apple is pomme.

There are more than 7,000 varieties of apples. The most popular ones, you know: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and McIntosh, are shipped around the country and around the world. But, there are many little-known but delicious regional favorites available at farm stores or farmers’ markets.

Sierra Beauty, Rhode Island Greening, Arkansas Black, Gala from New Zealand, Fuji from Japan: if you really want to appreciate fresh apples, get to know the apples that grow in your region.

The botanical name for apples is Malus pumila.

Also of interest: Apple Recipes

How to Plant, Grow, Prune and Harvest Apples

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