How to Choose Apples for Your Favorite Recipes
November 28, 2012
•Emily Murray
•Boston
• 0 Comments
How to Choose Apples for Your Favorite Recipes
The apple – it’s America’s fruit. Who doesn’t have a memory of a holiday dinner that doesn’t contain an apple as a healthy snack? From sweet to tart, golden to green, the apple is an American icon. With over 7,000 varieties of Apples, how do you choose to perfect apple for your favorite recipes? The answer, in part, depends on what you are cooking, but there are several things to look for when picking an apple for cooking.
When shopping look for apples that are:
- Firm
- Fragrant
- Bruise-Free
Finding the Right Apple for the Recipe
Long gone are the days of going to the market and picking up a back of Red Delicious or Granny Smiths and using them for all of your baking needs. Now, when at the market you’ll find a wide-variety of apples ranging in sweetness and tartness. Generally—for baking you want to find an apple that is softer.
Baking Apples
Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Came, Pippin and Winesap apples are just a few examples of apples that are perfect for baking. They all offer a sweet contrast that blends well with flavors like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove, cardamom and other spices. These are the apples that you will most commonly find in your Grandmothers famous apple pie or apple cobbler. They are a good pair with spices and when cooked they maintain their shape-- opposed to turning into a gooey mess.
Finding the Perfect Sweet-Savory Balance
Apples aren’t just for apple pies; they offer an incredible balance to many savory meals. Sage, rosemary and lemon are a couple of spices that are commonly paired to complete the sweet-savory equation. Pork, squash, bitter greens and quite a few cheeses all can be paired to satisfy the sweet and savory we crave. Just a few of the apples that fit these recipes include Gravenstein, Gingergold, Macintosh and Cameo.
This American icon is so much more than something that keeps the doctor away. With so many flavor varieties, apples can be used for thousands of cooking recipes, you just have to find the right apple for the dish.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in the Boston, Massachusetts area. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Boston for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.