How ’Bout Them Apples

When it comes to choosing the perfect apple for your fall dishes, it can be a bit like, well, comparing apples to apples. With thousands of varieties out there, each one brings its own combination of sweetness, acidity and texture to the table. Knowing what sets them apart can help you choose the most perfectly a-peel-ing variety. 

Granny Smith is the variety to reach for when you want some serious tang. Its signature tartness and firm flesh hold up beautifully to heat, making it a favorite for pies, galettes, crisps and other baked treats. That acidity also makes Granny Smith a natural partner for rich foods. Try pairing it with sharp cheddar or gorgonzola, pork, walnuts or caramel. And if you’re slicing apples for a salad or snack board, Granny Smith has another advantage: its flesh is relatively slow to brown.

For a sweeter bite, Fuji brings plenty of natural sugar to the table. Developed in Japan from Red Delicious and Ralls Genet, Fuji apples are crisp, dense and honey-sweet with a subtle floral character. They’re delicious straight out of hand but can also hold their own alongside savory flavors. Add thin slices to a charcuterie board, toss them into a grain bowl with a splash of soy sauce or cook them down into a warmly spiced chutney.

Then there’s Cosmic Crisp, a relatively new variety developed by Washington State University from a cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise. It delivers the crunch and juiciness you’d expect from its parentage with a balanced sweet-tart flavor. Cosmic Crisp is particularly good for snacking, but don’t stop there. Its flavor plays nicely with rosemary, thyme, goat cheese, bourbon and even dark chocolate. 

Sunrise is an early-season apple with an easygoing personality. A cross between McIntosh and Golden Delicious, it strikes a pleasant balance between sweet and tart. Its tender flesh makes it especially well suited to applesauce, quick-baked crisps and other dishes where you want the apple to soften without losing its bright flavor. For a simple snack, pair Sunrise slices with honey, pecans or a little warm vanilla. Voila!

And for an all-purpose classic, Gala is hard to beat. Its thin skin, mellow sweetness and floral aroma make it a natural for eating out of hand or blending into smoothies. Gala also shines in simple pairings where you don’t want the apple to overpower everything else. Try it alongside brie or camembert, toasted hazelnuts and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Think you know your favorite apple? Consider this your invitation to play the field. Bring home a few different varieties from the Co-op this fall and put them to the taste test. See how they stack up in sweetness, acidity, texture and aroma, then try them in the kitchen. Your longtime favorite might hold onto the top spot, but you could discover a new contender that’s ripe for a promotion.

After all, there are plenty of apples in the orchard, and fall is far too short to play it safe. Branch out, take a bite and see which varieties have what it takes to become the apple of your eye.

Apple Butter

• 4 lbs apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 9 medium-sized apples)

• 1 cup apple cider

• ¾ cup light brown sugar, loosely packed

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground cloves

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp kosher salt

• Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 Tbsp)

Directions:

In large pot, cook apples, apple cider, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cloves and salt over medium heat until apples are very soft – about 1 hour.

Blend the mixture until smooth using a hand blender or by adding it in batches to regular blender.

Put puree back into pot and cook, uncovered, until thick and smooth and creamy – about an hour. Stir occasionally. It’ll also be a deep mahogany brown color.

Stir in lemon juice, transfer mixture to jars, and refrigerate.