C’est Si Bon Apple Guide

Food

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Apple Guide

A few people have asked, so even though it’s a little late in the season, I am writing up a little Apple guide here for anyone getting ready to go pick apples or to bake with them.

This is not an exhaustive guide, but these apples listed are the ones I see and buy most frequently in my grocery store, and the ones I like to bring home when we go apple picking in New York. I hope this is helpful! 

Fuji: Fujis are small, sweet, hard, crisp, and mostly red in color. They are generally widely available in grocery stores, and good for eating, salads and sauce.

Rome: I don’t usually see Rome apples in my grocery store, but I have picked them before. They are a red, tart firm apple that is perfect for baking.

Gala: Another apple I see frequently in grocery stores. They were a favorite of mine before I switched to buying mostly Honeycrisps during the year. They have a mild flavor, and are juicy and crispy. They are usually a bright yellow and red in color. Great for salads and eating, but I don’t don’t bake with them.

Granny Smith: I don’t believe I’ve ever picked Granny Smith apples in an orchard, but they are available. I mostly buy them at the store and my family eats them year-round. If I’m not baking with apples I’ve picked from an orchard, I use Granny Smiths. They tend to be large, green in color, hard, tart, tangy and crispy. Excellent for eating, pies, sauce and salads.

Cortland: This is an apple I bring home every time I go apple picking. It’s one of my favorites to eat and bake with, and I cannot usually find it in stores. Cortlands are generally large, semi-sweet, and mostly red in color. They are my favorite for apple pies and crisps. They also good for eating, sauce and salads. 

Macoun: This is also a favorite apple of mine to pick, and another one I generally don’t see in grocery stores. Macouns tend to be medium sized, red in color, semi-sweet, crunchy, and are excellent for eating, sauce and salads. Sometimes I also bake with Macouns.

McIntosh: These are an apple I sometimes see in the store, but I prefer to pick them and not buy them. McIntosh are generally green on one side, and red on the other. They’re large and somewhat tart, and good for salads, sauce, pies or eating.

Honeycrisp: I remember having a Honeycrisp apple for the first time when I was visiting Door County, Wisconsin many years ago, and thinking it was the best thing I had ever tasted. Up until just the last few years, you could only get them in the Midwest, and now they’re everywhere. They really are the most delicious apple.  Honeycrisp apples were produced from a cross breeding program in the 1960’s involving the Macoun and Honeygold apples, as part of the University of Minnesota apple breeding program to develop winter hardy cultivars with high fruit quality. Honeycrisp’s are clean and crisp, and have a sweet tart taste. I buy these year-round at the store now. I don’t pick them because they’re most always picked off the trees by August here, and I don’t bake with them. I just love to eat them!

Hope this guide is helpful and comes in handy when you’re deciding what to pick and what to make!