Apples: Tips and recipes for America's favorite fruit

Epicurious.com

Most apples are great for cooking, whether you're making applesauce, crisps, crumbles, or cake. In general, the apple's sweetness pairs nicely with savory pork, resulting in classic dishes like pork chops and apple sauce and sausage and apple stuffing. For drinks that incorporate apple, click here. And be sure to check out our visual guide to apples.


Tips:

Go for firm

When buying apples, choose ones without bruises or soft, mushy spots. They should be firm for their specific variety (a McIntosh will not be as firm as a Granny Smith).

Wrapped in the dark

To keep apples for an extended period of time, wrap each apple in newspaper (don't use paper with colored ink), and then store in a dark, cool place like the cellar or the garage. To keep apples in the fridge, place them in a perforated plastic bag and then in the crisper. Do not store bruised or cut apples since that will accelerate the spoilage of the other stored apples.

A touch of lemon

If you're slicing apples and don't want the exposed pieces of flesh to turn brown, sprinkle lemon juice over them.

Sweet and tart

When baking a pie, use a mix of sweet and tart apples to obtain a balanced flavor.

Photo by: National Geographic/Getty Images


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