Apples can be enjoyed as a tasty snack anytime, but can also be stewed, baked, grilled, or just chopped raw into a salad.
With many well-known varieties such as: Elstar, Pink Lady, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Gored, Cox O.P., Golden Delicious, Goudreinet, Delcorf and Alkmene, there is plenty of choice with each variety having their own unique taste ranging from crisp and sharp to soft and sweet.
In most countries, apples are harvested in late summer through to late autumn. Apples, especially the skin, contain pectin, a substance which helps gellify jellies and jam.
How to prepare
Just wash and eat it as a snack, or cut it into segments and enjoy. You can eat the skin too! The flesh can discolour (turn brown) quickly after cutting which can be prevented by squeezing a little lemon or lime juice over the pieces. This way you can have a plateful cut and read-to-eat as a snack when the children come home from school!
Buyer's and storage guide
- Buy solid apples and not more than you will eat in a short period of time.
- Keep apples in a cool place or in the refrigerator. That way, you can store them up to four weeks. Rough handling will cause brown spots on the apple.
Serving
- Cut into slices and serve with tasty cheese or try apple slices topped with Brie melted cheese in the oven or just serve on a slice of bread sprinkled with cinnamon
- Easy salad. Just sauté apple slices with cabbage strips and curry powder
- Stir-fried with other vegetables such as carrots, ginger, cabbage and nuts
- Grated in pancake batter to make apple pancakes or bake an apple pie
