this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. It's sweeter than any other apple we tried, and while it may not have the most complex flavor, it's pretty tasty. Choose an equal amount from each of the following lists and you’ll be making the very best apple pie in no time. Fuji apples are popular for good reason. Here we showcase 12 great baking apples that meet those criteria--as suggested by the Ohio Apple Marketing Program and the Michigan Apple Committee. If you've ever tried baking an apple that was only for fresh eating, you know why you need to buy different apples for baking. This dark red fruit with creamy white flesh is soft, tender and perfect for sauce. © 2020 EatingWell.com is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. For apple pies and crisps, use “firm” apples which hold their shape during cooking. The yellow-green skin of a Golden Delicious apple may look appealing, but this apple has the same texture problem as the Red Delicious. It has a great balance between sweet and tart, and it's also one of the least expensive at the grocery store. Their sharp sweetness and juiciness is described as a "fizz-like" mouthfeel. How do you like those apples? From baking to biting into, different varieties of apples have different strengths. They need to be able to stand up well to baking, so if … This apple is crisp and full of flavor. You can also use this apple for baking (if you can resist eating them all!). Slightly more tart than sweet, but very well-balanced, the texture was also outstanding: not broken down, but gently yielding. How to Choose the Perfect Apple for Eating Fresh, Salads, Baking and Applesauce. They don't turn brown as quickly as other varieties and the bright red skin and snow-white flesh look striking against a contrasting backdrop. Best Apples For Baking: Regardless if you are baking whole apples that have been stuffed, making a fresh apple pie or tart or some other delicious apple baked good you are going to want to pick just the right apple that will hold up in your baked goods… For most baked goods, we like to use a combination of apples for the best texture. The classic Fuji apple is another that's brilliantly colored and crisp. For the person with more love of balance than sweetness, who doesn't mind gentle tartness, this is a remarkable baking apple. As far as designer apples go, this one wins the prize. If you're not into tart apples, this one will probably jump to the top of your list. Their complexity lends itself well to eating fresh. The balance of sweet and tartness helps it play up greens and keeps it from browning. Learn how to ace hot chocolate charcuterie boards! Here is our go-to list for slicing and salad apples: Ambrosia are low-acidity, so they add a great sweet crunch to a salad. We love the Braeburn apple's striped red and yellow appearance, but its flavor is even better. It holds its shape well when baked, but take care when storing and handling—the skin bruises easily. The flavor is never too subtle or overwhelming, and the hint of pear taste is just right. Braeburn apples have muted greenish-gold to red skin and pale yellow flesh. We don't know, and it probably depends on whom you ask. Here are five of our favorites. (See chart below.) This go-to apple guide can help you make a plan to get the most out of your apple dishes this fall and all year. Northern Spy apples, as noted above, have limited availability in the U.S., but if you can find these, you should definitely use them to make robustly flavored applesauce. The Red Delicious apple may be the quintessential red fruit, but in our humble opinion, it's the worst-tasting of the bunch. Pink Lady apples hold their shape and flavor well for baking. Choose unbruised apples that feel firm and heavy in your hand. They are incredibly sour—definitely the sourest of the apples we tasted—and are tough to eat without puckering up and squinting. The approach of fall means it's apple season—but not all apples are worthy of picking. They have a tangy, sweet flesh that provides a perfect balance for applesauce. The tender white flesh is crisp when freshly harvested, but soon adopts a softer consistency, making it perfect for cooking into pies or sauce. Pink Lady apples pair nicely with softer apples, like McIntosh. Im not an expert at making pies but i have been growing and marketing baking apples of many varieties for almost 30 years now. Click HERE to see some jaw-dropping carved fruit art. Using the same recipe for baked apples… Granny Smith has a lime-green speckled skin that resists bruising to maintain a very firm, crisp flesh. But act fast—SweeTango is only available for a few months in the fall. Different apples have different niches and can make your dish shine, while some are best to enjoy on the spot. Pictured Recipe: Easy Homemade Applesauce. Its sharp, tart flavor holds up well in recipes with spicy notes, and the flesh is firm enough to retain its shape when cooked. Some apples cook down to mush, while others hold their shape after baking. Look for richly colored fruits with smooth skin and no signs of russeting—tan or brown streaky, protruding marks that can be near the stem or base of the apple, and may be caused by excessive wetness or fungus. It's bright red, very crisp and has just the right balance of sweetness and tartness in every bite. They’re everyone’s go-to apples for baking (mine included) because they’re tart and firm, keeping their shape while providing a perfect balance to … Hopefully, this list will help you. McIntosh apples have a tender white flesh that's crisp when freshly harvested, but soon adopts a softer consistency, making these perfect for cooking into sauce. https://www.best-easy-apple-recipes.com/what-apples-are-best-for.html It is soft and has a flavor that's nicely balanced between sweet and tart, and it cooks down perfectly into sauces. Apples are all created the same, nutritionally, but baking and drying create new textures and flavors. At the beginning of each bite, the SweeTango tastes like it's going to be incredibly tart and sour, but the flavor sweetens toward the end of the bite. HERE to see some jaw-dropping carved fruit art. Macs are sweet and juicy with a pleasant tanginess. “firm-tart” and 2. Which Apples Are Worst for Baking? There may be other flavor or texture facters in play but most important is the apples tartness at maturety. Yes, we did. It was also the priciest apple we encountered during our taste test. Apples are baked in the oven at higher temperatures because the crust must be baked completely. Honeycrisp is exceptionally crisp and juicy, with a sweet-as-honey flesh and just a hint of tartness that makes it a tasty treat any time of the day. Gala apples are another staple, and there's a reason for it. The best way to create a nice balance is to simply mix two variety of apples, one tart and one sweet! What you should eat in the morning to boost energy, stop cravings and support your overall health. It is just that good. Making the perfect applesauce is an art. Honeycrisp hooked up with the Zestar apple to make this tangy hybrid that landed on shelves for the first time in 2009. The best baking apples offer a balance of sweet and tart flavors as well as flesh that doesn't break down in the oven. McIntosh is an apple that has been loved since John McIntosh discovered seedlings in Ontario in 1811. Fuji is a relative newcomer to the American public, but these baseball-size beauties have become hugely popular due to their sweet flavor and incredibly crisp texture. But not all apples are designed for baking, so here’s what you need to know! They add tanginess to other apples in baked goods and applesauce. Don ' t even get us started on that bitter, bitter peel. All Right Reserved. The flavor is absolutely sweet and mellow, making it a versatile cooking apple. Pro tip: Smaller fruits are perfect for packing in lunchboxes. For more on fall favorites, check out Everything You Need to Know About Pumpkins. Jonagold has skin with orange-blush stripes, surrounding a creamy, pale yellow flesh with a juicy, crisp texture that shares the shape-holding characteristics of its parents. The Best Apples for Baking. What we do know is how to make an apple crisp, pie, sauce or salad. Pictured Recipe: Apple-Cranberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese. It can be hard to choose the perfect apple for the job, so we created this go-to guide for all of your apple needs. Be careful with the skin; it's fragile and can easily bruise. But the apple is super juicy and tastes great, too. Most people eat their apples whole rather than cut up, according to research conducted by local industry group Aussie Apples. Jonathan has a bright, sweetly tart flavor. It's on the tart side, but the sourness is pleasantly subtle, and its crispness is close to perfect. Best Apples for Apple Cakes, Crisps and Crumbles. 1. If you’re looking for the best apples for apple pie and you don’t want to dig too deep, go ahead and pick up a bag of Granny Smiths. When picking apples for apple pie, one of the most important things is that the apples stand up to baking. The best apples for baking are apples that hold their shape and don’t get mushy when baked or cooked. All baking apples should be firm so the fruit will hold its shape throughout the cooking process, and a combination of tart and sweet varieties will give your apple pie the best flavor. Some apples cook down to mush, while others hold their shape after baking. We tried them all and ranked them for your convenience below so you won't have to. They're a little more sturdy than the delicious apple, because of the Jonathan side of the family. Their honey-flavored flesh doesn't brown quickly, so it can be sliced and held in a dish. If you can resist biting into apples right away, store them in the refrigerator. This may be an unpopular opinion, but Granny Smith apples need a little extra to really shine. Macoun is a cross of the McIntosh and Jersey Black cultivars, and is regarded as one of the best all-purpose cooking apples around. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Trader Joe’s Just Spilled Details About 9 Products Coming to Stores This Holiday Season, Hot Cocoa “Charcuterie” Boards Are Our Favorite New Holiday Trend, Apple-Cranberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese, Everything You Need to Know About Pumpkins. 19. They turn out mushy. EatingWell may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. The key to a great apple cake is to use a diverse variety of apples for a mix of textures and flavors: sweet, tart, crisp, and soft. Jazz is the child of two other delicious varieties: Braeburn and Gala. It does have more going for it in the flavor department, balancing a bit of tart sweetness, but it's certainly not as flavorful as its name suggests.