One of the best parts of fall is going to the apple orchard and filling baskets with as many apples as you could ever desire! This is something I've done every year, and I love the satisfaction of eating apples you picked from the tree. There are a countless number of apple varieties, each with a unique flavor. While some love tart apples like Granny Smith, Pink Lady apples, Jonathan and Braeburn apples, others love ones with a deliciously sweet flavor.
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Cooking with Sweet Apples
Unsure of what you're supposed to do with all these apples? Although the pome fruit might not be what you first consider when you think about baking fruit, apples make for excellent fillings in pies and galettes. You can bake them into a cake or thinly slice them and fry up some apple fritters. Crisp and fresh apples make for an excellent salad topping; however, you can always turn soft apples into applesauce or even apple butter.
Got a party coming up? Perhaps it's time to make some apple pie moonshine.
There are so many ways to utilize apples in the kitchen—If you don't eat them all on the way home.
1. Fuji Apples
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Fuji apples are beloved for their sweet flavor, and are often the sweetest apple variety found in grocery stores. These popular apples have juicy flesh that also retains a satisfying crunch. As for the flavor, they were bred with sweetness in mind, and taste floral and sweet like honey. As this variety ripens, their sweet flavor gets stronger and the acidity decreases. Fuji are available year-round, so no need to wait until harvest season to enjoy these tasty fruits!
?2. Honeycrisp Apples
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?Another classic choice when it comes to sweet apples, Honeycrisp have a sweet, balanced flavor that apple lovers wait for all year long. Their sweet taste is accented by their slightly spicy, floral aroma and crisp texture. These are also naturally very large, making them perfect for snacking and impressive to the eye. You can even plant a Honeycrisp apple tree in your yard to enjoy from home!
3. Red Delicious Apples
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Red Delicious are the classic apple that you think of when you picture the fruit. These are a favorite apple in the U.S., distinctive for their bright red skin and sweet but mild flavor. Interestingly, this variety is one of the parent apples to the Fuji variety. Although snacking on one of these from the grocery store isn't an exceptional experience, a Red Delicious apple freshly picked from the tree is a whole new level of delicious!
4. Ambrosia Apples
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Ambrosia also have an addictingly sweet flavor, reminiscent of flowers and honey. These are full of natural sugars, with a low level of acidity allowing the sweetness to come through with no competition. If you buy these from the store in the spring or summer, chances are they've been imported from New Zealand or Chile, but in the fall they're from apple farms in the U.S. and Canada. Ambrosia are especially unique because they grow naturally and were discovered for their tasty super-sweet flavor rather than bred for sweetness!
5. Golden Delicious Apples
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Golden Delicious are wonderfully sweet and delicious, one of the sweetest apples that has yellow-green skin. These can be tart if picked before fully ripened, so it's best to buy them from a local grower or at an apple orchard, where you'll find a truly delectable Golden Delicious. This variety is also an easy one to plant in the yard or garden, as Golden Delicious apple tree are cold-tolerant and self-pollinating.
6. Gala Apples
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Although Gala apples are definitely in the sweet family, they also have a touch of tartness in their flavor profile, making them well-balanced and versatile. They're the parent apple to many sweet apple varieties, and are known for their lovely red and yellow skin. Buy them in the grocery store or pick right form a Gala apple tree! The sweet-tart flavor of this variety also makes them popular for apple pie and crisp, as they have a crispy, firm texture that stays when cooked.
7. Jonagold Apples
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Another perfectly sweet-tart apple variety, these are a cross between the Golden Delicious and Jonathan, and their flavor reflects these two tasty apples' tastes. These are delicious as a fresh apple from the tree, with the ideal balance of sweetness and tartness to fit a variety of uses. Find ones that have ripened fully to get the best taste!
8. Lady Williams
Lady Williams has beautiful red color and flavor, making it another classic variety to enjoy for its sweetness. Like many types of apples, these have a tart flavor when picked early, but are sweet and tangy when allowed to ripen fully. These do best in warm climates, and may not reach their full flavor when in a cooler climate.
9. Piñata Apples
Pinata Apples
Piñata apples are a descendent of the popular Golden Delicious variety, and they reflect the deliciously sweet flavor of their ancestors. These are sweet and tangy, with a bold and vibrant flavor making them ideal for fresh eating after being picked. This sharp, tropical flavor has a crisp texture that makes it distinct, as many of the sweetest apples don't have the satisfying crunch that we love in a good apple. Although this variety doesn't get the attention of some other sweet apples, it's not to be overlooked!
10. Kiku Apples
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Kiku are wonderfully juicy and sweet, with bright red striped skin. They taste similar to the Fuji, and actually come form a natural mutation of the Fuji. Kiku have a crunchy, firm texture that makes for a satisfying bite, whether you buy them from the store or pick from the tree. Kiku apples are an excellent choice when searching for a classically sweet apple flavor to enjoy this fall.
