Apples

Fruits

Apples.

The original grab-and-go snack — and fall's most versatile fruit — with 7,500 varietals and counting!

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Apples recipes

4 recipes featuring Apples from our community of creators.

Texas Harvest Salad

by Farmhouse Delivery Team

Roasted Beet & Apple Salad with Balsamic Glaze

by Katie Jarrott

Smoked Chicken Liver Mousse with Grilled Baguette, Sweet Onion Jam & Apple Mostarda

by Evan LeRoy

Beef Meatballs with Carrots and Apple

by Albina Fowler

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Before You Cook

Storage, prep & technique

Essential tips for handling Apples.

Prevent Browning Naturally

Brush cut apples with lemon juice or submerge in acidulated water (1 tablespoon lemon juice per cup water). The acid slows enzymatic browning without affecting flavor. For cooking, saltwater works even better — 1 teaspoon salt per cup water.

Store for Maximum Life

Keep apples in the refrigerator crisper drawer, away from strong-smelling foods they'll absorb. Store different varieties separately — some produce more ethylene gas than others, accelerating ripening in neighboring fruit.

Choose Cooking Varieties Wisely

For pies and tarts, use firm varieties like Northern Spy, Jonagold, or Braeburn that hold their shape. For sauce or butter, choose softer varieties like McIntosh or Gravenstein that break down naturally during cooking.

Control Cooking Texture

Add apples to hot preparations in stages for varied texture. Start firmer varieties first, then add delicate ones. This technique creates layers of texture in dishes like apple crisp or compote.

Perfect Baking Timing

Bake whole apples at 375°F for 45-60 minutes depending on size, testing doneness with a knife tip. The flesh should yield completely but still hold its shape, with natural juices beginning to caramelize.

Judge Ripeness Properly

Look for firm fruit with tight, unbroken skin and a fresh smell at the stem end. Avoid apples with dark spots, wrinkled skin, or a fermented aroma — signs of internal breakdown even if the surface looks acceptable.

Seasonality & sourcing

Find Apples near you

Discover farms, markets, and retailers with Apples in your area and check seasonal availability.

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Apples Trivia

Things worth knowing about Apples.

Surprising facts, culinary wisdom, and nutritional highlights that make apples a remarkable ingredient.

Why do apple seeds never grow true to their parent variety?

Apples are what botanists call 'extreme heterozygotes' — each seed carries a completely unique genetic combination. Every commercial apple variety comes from a single remarkable tree, propagated by grafting for centuries.

What transforms an apple's starch into sugar?

Cold autumn nights trigger enzymes that convert starches to sugars, concentrating flavors. This is why apples picked too early taste flat and starchy, while those that experience frost develop their signature sweetness and complexity.

Which country actually gave us the apple?

Despite the phrase 'as American as apple pie,' apples originated in Kazakhstan's Tian Shan mountains. Wild Malus sieversii still grows there, bearing fruit remarkably similar to modern varieties — some naturally as large as tennis balls.

“The apple is the commonest and yet the most varied and beautiful of fruits. A dish of them is as becoming to the center-table in winter as was the vase of flowers in the summer.”

— John Burroughs, Winter Sunshine, 1875

Why do sliced apples turn brown?

Phenolic compounds in apple flesh react with oxygen when cell walls break, creating brown quinones. Different varieties brown at different rates — Honeycrisp stays white longer due to lower phenolic content, while Red Delicious browns quickly.

How did apples survive before refrigeration?

Colonial root cellars maintained the perfect environment: just above freezing with high humidity. Wrapped in newspaper and stored in wooden barrels, apples could last until spring, providing crucial vitamin C through harsh winters.

What makes some apples better for cooking than others?

Pectin content and cell structure determine cooking behavior. High-pectin varieties like Northern Spy and Rhode Island Greening hold their shape, while low-pectin apples like McIntosh break down into sauce naturally.

About

The story

With over 7,500 varieties grown worldwide and only a handful making it to grocery shelves, the apple is currently one of the most underexplored fruits in the American kitchen.

America's apple story runs deeper than most people realize. Heritage varieties still grow on New England hillsides. Small orchardists are reviving forgotten cultivars. Families return to the same trees every fall like a ritual. The apple was once the most regionalized fruit in the country — tightly tied to specific soils, climates, and communities — and that diversity is quietly making a comeback at markets like the one near you.

In the kitchen, apples are as versatile as any fruit gets. They hold their own raw, roasted, pressed into cider, dried, fermented, and baked — and they behave differently depending on variety, ripeness, and where you are in the season. October apples fresh from the orchard cook differently than storage fruit — brighter, more complex, more alive. Getting familiar with what's local and what's in season is where cooking with apples gets most exciting.

Ancient American Orchards

Over 11,000 apple varieties grew in American orchards by 1900. Today, fewer than 11 varieties dominate commercial production, though heritage fruit enthusiasts are slowly reviving lost cultivars.

Perfect Storage Temperature

Apples stay fresh longest at exactly 32°F with 90% humidity. This precise combination slows respiration and prevents moisture loss while avoiding freeze damage to cell walls.

Mostly Water, Perfectly Structured

Fresh apples contain 85% water, but it's the remaining 15% — pectin, sugars, acids, and aromatic compounds — that creates their complex flavor profile and cooking properties.

Sunlight Develops Flavor

Direct sunlight on developing fruit increases sugar content and red pigmentation. Farmers often prune specifically to ensure sunlight reaches fruit, balancing shade for the tree with exposure for flavor.

Cultivars