It's the Season for Apples

BEST APPLES FOR BAKING!

Almost any apple can be enjoyed when eaten fresh. However, not all apples are ideal for the kitchen. 

Below is a chart with some of the best baking and cooking apples in North America. 

Note: When it comes to cooking with apples, it may be helpful to know the following:

1 pound of apples = 2 large, 3 medium, or 4 to 5 small apples

1 pound of apples = 3 cups peeled and sliced apples  

Below is a list of apple varities with their best use, their characteristic, and lastly, their appearance. 

Braeburn  - is used for sauce, they are tart, sweet, and aromatic. With a tall shape and bright color. 

Cortland - Great for Pies, Sauces, and Fruit Salads. They are tart and crisp. The Cortland is larger than a 'McIntosh' 

Fuji  is wonderful for baking, yet we love to eat them out of hand. They are sweet and juicy with firm, red skin 

Gala  is great dried, made into cider, or eaten out of hand. They are mild, sweet, juicy, and crisp; with yellow-orange skin with red striping (resembles a peach). We have a Gala tree and the longer you leave it on the tree to ripen the sweeter and more red the skin becomes. Once you have a ripe gala you won't want to eat one from the store ever again.

Granny Smith  is perfect for baking. It is moderately sweet, with a crisp flesh, and beautiful green skin. My daughter Laura thinks the Granny Smith is the apple to die for. Just a tad to tart for me.... unless we are talking Carmel Apples with lots of nuts and chocolate icing swirls. Then I've just got to have one.

Jonagold  is just right for Apple Pie, or sauce. It is tangy-sweet, with a yellow top and red bottom.

Jonathan is just right for sauce. It has tart flesh. You'll find it crisp and juicy. Look for bright red on yellow skin. It is a handsome apple. 

The McIntosh  is perfect for applesauce. It's juicy, sweet and has a pinkish-white flesh with red skin 

Newton Pippin is the pie, sauce, and cider apple. It has a sweet-tart flesh, nice and crisp, with a greenish-yellow skin 

The Rome Beauty  is for baking and cider. You'll find it to be mildly tart with crisp greenish-white flesh and a thick skin.  

The Winesap is a sauce, pie and cider apple. It is very juicy, with a sweet-sour winey flavor. Not that I would know what wine tastes like, but hey if that's what the winesap grower say, who am I to say different. It also has a aromatic, sturdy, red skin.