Apple -Tips

Serving Suggestions and Tips:

Apples travel well, so they provide a healthy snack option, but the fruit can also contribute to a range of dishes. Top a piece of whole-grain toast with thinly-sliced apple, sharp cheddar shavings and cinnamon for a savory and sweet open-faced sandwich. Add apples to your salad -- the fruit pairs well with dried cranberries, spinach and a maple-balsamic vinaigrette. Try adding apples to your pureed soups -- butternut squash and apple soup or a carrot-ginger-apple soup make for comforting meals in cooler weather.

Tips for Usage (Cooking/Eating):

Apples are extremely versatile fruits that can be eaten alone or used as an ingredient in several recipes. The skin of an apple contains unusual amounts of nutrients and so it should be eaten with its skin on. Even if you are using the apples in a recipe, it is advisable to use them unpeeled to reap their full nutritional value.

Before using the apple, make sure to scrub its skin gently with a natural bristle brush for 10 to 15 minutes to remove the pest proof coating of wax. Processing of apples such as boiling or extraction of apple juices often results in the loss of polyphenols or other nutrients. Hence, consumption of raw apples is the best option to obtain all the nutrients. Given below are some of the tips to enjoy this delicious fruit.

1. Apples can be eaten directly. Besides satisfying your sweet tooth, they can be a nutritious treat. All you need to do is hold the unpeeled apple and take a bite. You will notice that the apple tastes sweeter near the core. Alternatively, you can also eat sliced apples.

2. Diced apples can be added to fruit and green salads. Beets and apples can be combined in a refreshing salad garnished with walnuts and endive and tossed in light vinaigrette.

3. Chopped apples can be braised with red cabbage. Pork chops can be braised with apple cider and served with tender red onions and sweet Granny Smith apples.

4. Apple juice is a refreshing drink and can be prepared at home by blending whole apples in a powerful blender. Commercial apple juices fall into two categories “clear” and “cloudy”. Clear apple juice does not contain the pulpy apple solids called apple pomace while the cloudy apple juice retains some of these pulpy solids.

5. Apple sauce can be prepared by mixing sliced peeled apples, water and sugar in a 2 quart microwave safe dish. This should be covered and microwaved on high power for 6 to 8 minutes. Now, the mixture can be processed or blended to make the sauce. You can also make chunky apple sauce by mashing with a potato masher or cutting with a pastry blender.

6. Apples can be used to make healthy desserts that satisfy your sweet tooth as well. For instance, you can bake apples and blackberries and serve it with crumbled sugar-cone topping.

Overall apples contain a great variety of everything you need, this little fruit is jam packed! You wouldn’t want to waste the golden benefits that apples provide. So grab an apple and start increasing your level of health one bite at a time. Let us know what else you love about apples in the comments!

Perfect Pie Tip : Choose Tart Apples:


You may think that picking the right apple for a pie is all about flavor, but there's another equally important element: pectin. Pectin is the biological glue that holds together plant cells, giving fruits and vegetables their shape and structure. When apples are cooked, this pectin breaks down, and the apples turn mushy.

However, there are ways to control this pectin breakdown, helping you to ensure that your apple slices are tender, but still hold their shape in the pie. The easiest first step is to pick the right apple. Pectin breakdown is inhibited by low pH levels (that is, it breaks down less when the environment is acidic). Thus the tarter the apple, the more likely it is to hold its shape upon baking.

Interestingly enough, tartness also prevents oxidation reactions that can turn apple slices brown. So by examining which apple slices turn the brownest after slicing, we get a pretty good gauge of their acid content.
As you can see, Red Delicious, McIntosh, and Braeburn brown the most and will tend to break down completely upon baking. Meanwhile, Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Empire, Cortland, and Golden Delicious will all fare far better. I like to use Golden Delicious because of their perfume-like aroma, but any tart apple will work.