Ode to Apples

You’re moseying down the produce aisle, looking for a pumpkin for the carving party you are hosting. But what do you see most of? It’s the produce aisle—more than anything else there are tons and tons of apples. So many varieties of apples. Red, maroon, yellow, green-yellow, green, lime, orange, red-striped orange, red-striped yellow.

Your mouth begins to water as you think of pies, crumbles, wassails, sauces, caramel-covered apples. . . . You decide on that crumble-topped apple pie your mother would make for Thanksgiving dinner. You’re thinking you should probably practice once or twice before the Thanksgiving holiday comes around. You walk over to the apples stand with purpose, grab a produce bag, and shake it out. You reach out and hesitate, because there’s one problem—you don’t know which apple to use.

Gala is an apples with yellow-orange skin and red stripes. It is crisp, sweet, with a mild flavor good for eating fresh, in salads, and in applesauce.

Golden Delicious is a yellow apple and is considered one of the best all-around cooking apples. It has a mellow flavor, is somewhat soft, and keeps it’s shape after baking.

Granny Smith is your regular tart green apple. It’s good for cooking and baking, but is usually enhanced with a sweeter, mellower apple added to it.

Don’t be fooled by the Crispin. It looks like a Granny Smith, it’s crisp like a Granny Smith, but it is sweet and is good for just about anything: eating fresh, salads, freezing, sauces, and baking.

McIntosh is a bright red apple with hints of green. They are better eaten fresh and in sauces because they tend to break down when cooked. You can use them for baking when paired with Golden Delicious or other sweet apples.

Red Delicious are a pure dark red apple and are meant to be eaten fresh. They are completely unsuitable for baking. But cover them in all the caramel you want.

Fuji color varies from yellow-green with red highlights to solid red. They aren’t the best for baking with, but they are spicy and crisp and good for eating fresh or in applesauce.

Now remember, you’re standing at the apple stand in the produce aisle with an outstretched hand and you have no idea which apple to pick. Pull out our iPhone, navigate to this blog post, and figure out that you want either a Crispin or a Golden Delicious for a scrumptious crumble-topped apple pie, just right to send that certain someone’s taste buds tingling and wanting more. And if you want it a little tarter, pick up a few Granny Smith to add to the mix.

The most important thing: Make mom proud.