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Certain apples will taste different depending on the time of year purchased. If you are buying large quantities, it would be best to purchase a few and taste them. They should be firm, have no holes, be unbruised, and have a good even color. If the apple is not ripe, leave at room temperature for a day or two. Apples are capable of lasting three to five weeks in the refrigerator, and will still retain vitamin C content.

• Apples will spoil ten times faster at room temperature. After they are ripe, be sure to refrigerate them.
• Apples will float because 25 percent of their volume is made up of air between the cells.
• The soft texture of cooked apples is caused by the heat collapsing the air spaces between the cells.
• Apple butter contains no fat if prepared properly with cinnamon and allspice.
• Pare apples by pouring scalding water on them just before peeling them.
• Cut apples into quarters before peeling, it will be easier.
• To give applesauce a different flavor, add sliced unpeeled orange in the last few minutes of cooking.
• To avoid wrinkled skins on apples when baking, cut a few slits in the skin to allow for expansion.
• Apples will store for a longer period if they do not touch one another.
• For winter storage, wipe apples dry and pack in dry sand or sawdust. Keep in cool, dry place.
• Fresh apple juice will only last for a few weeks, even if under refrigeration.
• Most of an apple harvest ends up being made into pasteurized apple products or frozen in order to preserve it. When pasteurized at temperatures of 170 degrees to 190 degrees, microorganisms are destroyed and the juice has a stable shelf life of up to one year.
• If you purchase frozen apple concentrate, it will only last for a few weeks after it is thawed.
• The tartness of an apple is derived from the balance of malic acid and the fruit's natural sugars.
• Commercially prepared sweetened applesauce can contain as much as 77 percent more calories than unsweetened varieties.
• Nutritionally there is no difference between "natural" and "regular" apple juice, even the fiber content is the same.
• Apple juice is not high on the nutrient scale. It contains no vitamin C unless it has been added.
• FDA testing can only detect 50 percent of the approved 110 pesticides that are used on apples. The worst ones are: Captan and Phosmet, both can be removed with washing or cooking.
• Apple juice and cider should not be purchased unless you are sure that the whole apple was not used in their preparation. The pits contain a poison.
• Americans eat approximately 22 pounds of apples per year per person. Thirty-three percent of apples in one government study contained residues of pesticides. Forty-three different pesticides were detected in apples.
• If you store apples along with green tomatoes, they will ripen at a faster pace.
• There are 150 strains of Red and Golden Delicious apples.

Most apples are tart flavored. The best and sweetest eating apples are the Red and Golden Delicious varieties. There are many varieties of apples which make them available year round.

• Akane:  Do not store well. Have sweet-tart flavor. Skin is thin and usually tender. They retain their shape well when baked and have a tart flavor.
• Braeburn:  Store exceptionally well. Skin is tender, moderately tart. They keep shape well when baked and retain their tartness.
• Cortland:  Fragile and needs to be stored carefully. High in vitamin C and resists browning. Thin skinned with slight tart-sweet taste. Keeps in shape well when baked.
• Criterion:  Yellow apples that are difficult to handle without bruising. High in vitamin C and resists browning. The skin is tender but flavor is bland when baked.
• Elstar:  Store well with their tart flavor mellowing when stored. They have tender skin and retain their flavor and shape well when baked.
• Empire:  Do not store well and tend to get mealy easily. High in vitamin C and will resist browning. Thick skinned and bake well retaining flavor.
• Fuji:  Store well with tangy sweet flavor. Will retain flavor well when baked, but take longer to cook than most apples. Looks like an Asian pear.
• Gala:  Choose apples with pale-yellow background and light reddish stripes. Sweet with slight tartness and have tender skin. Hold shape well when baked but does not retain flavor.
• Golden Delicious:  Stores well but spoils fast at room temperature. Should be light yellow not greenish. Skin is tender and flavor is sweet. High in vitamin C and resists browning. Retains shape well when baked.
• Granny Smith:  Best color is light green not intensely green and could even have a slight yellow tint. High in vitamin C and resists browning. Nicely balanced sweet tart flavor. Cooks into excellent thick applesauce, but is not recommended for baking.
• Gravenstein:  Comes in both red and green. Excellent sweet tart flavor and very juicy. Good for applesauce but not a good baking apple.
• Idared:  These keep exceptionally well and become sweeter during storage. Resembles Jonathans, skin is tender. When cooked they will retain full flavor.
• Jonagold:  Has good sweet-tart balance. A very juicy apple with tender skin. For best applesauce, cook with peel then strain.
• Jonathan:  Found in California around mid-August. They become soft and mealy quickly. Thin skinned, cook tender and make good applesauce. Retain shape well when baked.
• McIntosh:  Most come from British Columbia. Be careful when selecting as they get mushy and mealy easily. Skin is tough and will separate from flesh. Tend to fall apart when baked in pies.
• Melrose:  Normally found in the Northwest. Store very well and flavor actually improves after one or two months of storage. Well balanced sweet and tart flavor. Retains shape well when cooked in pies.
• Mutsu:  (Crispin) Looks like Golden Delicious, but is greener and irregular in shape. Store very well. Has sweet but spicy taste with fairly coarse texture for applesauce, cook with peels and strain.
• Newton Pippin:  Sometimes picked too green wait until light green for sweetest flavor. Crisp, sweet tart flavored apple. They keep shape when baked or used in pies. Makes a thick applesauce.
• Northern Spy: A tart red or green apple, excellent for pies.
• Red Delicious:  Ranges in color from red to red striped. Store for up to 12 months. Will not last long at room temperature. Avoid any bruised ones. Normally are sweet and mellow with a hint of tartness. When cooked they do not hold flavor well.
• Rhode Island Greening:  Best choice for pies, but not very available. Only available October and November on the East Coast.
• Rome Beauty:  If stored for long periods of time Rome Beauty apples will developa bland flavor and get mealy. They are very mild and have a low acid level. The skin is thick, but tender. It is an excellent baking apple.
• Spartan:  Will not store for long periods and get mealy easily. Sweet flavor and very aromatic. Flavor is weak when cooked.
• Stayman Winesap:  Stores well. Spicy tart flavor and good crisp apple. Have thick skins which separate easily. When cooked they will retain flavor well. Good for baking or pies.

See also:
Good Eats: Apples
Fitness and Freebies: Apples!

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