Do you have more apples than you know what to do with right now? Need some ideas on how to bake ’em, can ’em, and which to just slice and eat fresh? Don’t have tons of apples, but want to bake ’em, can ’em and eat ’em anyway? No worries, it’s coming up on the end of apple season, so now is the time to scour farmer’s markets for awesome deals.
Baking Apples
Every apple variety has a different taste. Granny Smiths are awesome for pies, because they add a little tart to the sweet pastry– if you want to get crazy, mix them with sweeter Golden Delicious apples {in the same pie}, and you have found heaven, my friends.
Rome, Braeburn, and Jonagold are also great for baking. They hold up well to heat, so they will keep their shape, and they taste great.
Canning Apples
If you want to put some apples up, apple sauce is super easy–the peeling is the worst part, and even that isn’t so bad if you invest in an apple peeler or a food mill {my preference}. Empress, Cortland, Gala, Jonagold, Braeburn, Golden Delicious, and Honeygolds are all great choices. I think the key to applesauce is to mix several different varieties. Make sure to get a mixture of sweet and tart.
Apples for Eating Fresh
Honestly, most apples fit in this category. I used to think Red Delicious apples were the bottom of the barrel–until I had one freshly picked from the tree. I am telling you, they taste nothing like the ones that sit in the grocery stores for months. They are awesome. A few of my personal favorites for slicing are: Pink Lady, Honeycrisp {there is a reason these are usually more expensive, they are the cream of the crop}, Gala, and Fuji’s. These ones are the best of both worlds, sweet and tart, crisp and delicious.
What varieties do YOU like to use?
~Mavis
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Cecily says
Pink Lady and Cameo are my favorite easy to find apples for eating fresh. My ultimate favorite though is Karmijn de Sonneville. It has everything you could want in a apple. Crunchy and sweet, tart with hints of spice. It also keeps for months. Unfortunately you have to grow your own if you want to enjoy them. Golden Delicious is my favorite for pies and I usually use a variety of apples in sauce. My local produce stand sells “sauce apples” for 10 cents a pound (mixed apples that are overripe, bruised or nicked).
gardenpat says
We tried a new variety from a local orchard- William’s Pride! We sauced it, made pie filling and ate them fresh! They were delightful in each of these ways!
Mavis Butterfield says
I don’t think I’ve ever tried those.
Robin says
Just got a great deal on some apples and made applesauce for the first time with the skins on. It was super easy and was great not to have to peel or put through my food mill. Since anytime I made it before it seemed like it took forever to peel and core (the first ime I made it) or run it through the food mill (what I had been doing since). It tastes great and we have the benefit of having the extra fiber and nutrients from keeping the skins on. I did not use sugar or cinnamon as we like the straight taste of the apples. You might want to try it sometime.
T. Wimes says
My favorite for eating are Jazz apples. If you haven’t tried them you are missing out.
Sue Frommer says
I agree, and just the right size for a snack!
Kathy says
Jonagold and Cortland are the best for when I make apple butter. Perfect combination of sweet and tart, and I don’t even add any sugar to it at all. The Amish lady I used to get apple butter from says mine tastes just like hers, which is a HUGE compliment because hers is the best!
JC says
My favorite apple of all time used to be Mcintoshes. But two years ago I tasted a Junami apple and I’ve been in love ever since. Junami apples are only available in Jan/Feb from Rainier Fruit Company in Washington. Have you ever tried them?
Cecily says
I’ve scoped out retailers near me and can’t wait to try a Junami! Thanks!
sharon says
I think I saw sam’s club has them. Has anyone seen them there?
Kirsten says
Totally agree. McIntosh are awesome but tried a Junami this year and they are amazing! Just the right size too, not too big, not too small. I bought a whole case of them through a food co-op.
darlene says
Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon we have a lot of Gravenstein apples. They make AMAZING applesauce =)
Amy says
Our family loves apples. A few of our favorites are Honeycrisp, Senchu, and King. Those 3 varieties are excellent all around apples, good for juicing, dancing, pies, and of course munching!
Ellen in Clackamas says
Honeycrisp are one of my new favorites. And Mavis I know what you mean about the Red Delicious apples. My Dad used to go hunting over in Yakima,Wash and would come back with boxes and boxes of Red and Yellow Delicious apples and we would eat them and cook and freeze them. Then when I had one from the store it was like “yuk–what happened”. Cold storage does not do them justice. One of our local nurseries, Al’s Garden Center, now has “ice apples”. They are Fugi apples grown in Wenatchee Wash and left on the trees till a frost then harvested..holy cow! Are they ever good!!!
Bruce says
You asked for suggestions on sites to see in Virginia. I have not been there in decades but still can vividly recall the beauty of the Luray Caverns. If you have the time to visit., it should be well worth youtr while.
Bruce
in California
Alicia says
We stopped by a farm stand a couple of days before Halloween to let the kids pick out pumpkins. I was looking at the apples and the guy running the stand told me I had to try the Winesap if I hadn’t had them before. I bought 3 and didn’t try them until I got home. BIG mistake! The kids and I totally flipped over how good they were. A couple of days later I was so obsessed I drove an hour back to the stand and bought half of a bushel of them. 🙂 I was looking at your apple recipes just a minute ago.
Rosemary Wilcher says
I love the “honey crisp” apples! Until about a year ago, I’d never even heard of, until a friend told me about them. Only problem, there’re not available in our area, but certain times a year. But very much worth waiting for….I never throw out apples, I make homemade applesauce.
Ruth Ward says
I find it interesting that no one has mention the Old fashion Winesap apple. True it is on the small size, but it has a great taste and the fruit stays firm after it is cooked. My neighbor a few years back had so many fruit on his trees that the limbs were breaking. I asked him if I could pick some of his apples after I pointed out that the limbs were breaking from the weight of the fruit. I then made some applesauce, and apple butter, which I share with him. I also made some apple pies. I would of made more, but when I returned to pick another 5 gallon bucket of apples, someone else had raided orchard and picked every apple.
Ruth Ward says
I’m thinking about planting a few Winesaps, but they are not self-pollinators, so I’ll have to plant another variety as well.