Baskets of apples at a "farmers market" at Rogers, Ohio.
Credit: Annette McCarthy
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EmailAlmost any apple can be enjoyed when eaten fresh. However, not all apples are ideal for the kitchen. Below is a chart with some of the best baking and cooking apples in North America.
Note: When it comes to cooking with apples, it may be helpful to know the following:
1 pound of apples = 2 large, 3 medium, or 4 to 5 small apples
1 pound of apples = 3 cups peeled and sliced apples
As you cook those apples, here are some of our favorite apple recipes:
Baked Apples Filled With Sausage
Perfect Apple Pie (The Classic)
For more about apples, see our Related Articles (above) and see recipes using apples.
Please post your favorite apple varieties and any cooking tips below!
| NAME | Best Uses | Flavor Characteristic, Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| Braeburn | Sauce | Tart, sweet, aromatic, tall shape, bright color |
| Cortland | Pies, Sauces, Fruit Salad | Tart, crisp, larger than 'McIntosh' |
| Fuji | Baking | Sweet and juicy, firm, red skin |
| Gala | Dried, Cider | Mild, sweet, juicy, crisp, yellow-orange skin with red striping (resembles a peach) |
| Granny Smith | Baking | Moderately sweet, crisp flesh, green skin |
| Jonagold | Pie, Sauce | Tangy-sweet, Yellow top, red bottom |
| Jonathan | Sauce | Tart flesh, crisp, juicy, bright red on yellow skin |
| McIntosh | Sauce | Juicy, sweet, pinkish-white flesh, red skin |
| Newtown Pippin | Pie, Sauce, Cider | Sweet-tart flesh, crisp, greenish-yellow skin |
| Rhode Island Greening | Pie | Very tart, distinctively flavored, grass-green skin, tending toward yellow/orange |
| Rome Beauty | Baking, Cider | Mildly tart, crisp, greenish-white flesh, thick skin |
| Winesap | Sauce, Pie, Cider | Very juicy, sweet-sour flavor, winey, aromatic, sturdy, red skin |
See "Related Articles" above for more about apples—planting apple trees, apple crafts, apple recipes!
Comments
Haralson is an excellent pie
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By DGH
Haralson is an excellent pie apple....also a good keeper. I like the tartness as an eating apple too.
I am looking for a good apple
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By Annette shoemaker
I am looking for a good apple that you can deep fry for apple fritters. I live in Canada. some of the apples mentioned above are here for sure. courtland,macintosh, spy,
can anybody help me find a good one to deep fry? Thanks annette
If you love apple pie then
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By Addi
If you love apple pie then you should buy the granny smith apple. They are super yummy in a apple pie. Next time you bake a apple pie buy a granny smith apple. they are the best.
Thank God someone mentioned
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By Ammers
Thank God someone mentioned Cortland! I love these Apples. I grew up in Westford, MA and worked on a fruit farm as a kid. Only problem with these is they need the cold. Can't get them in San Diego CA!
The empire apple is great for
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By Steve Carp
The empire apple is great for pies, and for eating fresh also. A great all-around apple. And it was named at the NYSAES, with the monicore for NewYorkState, Empire.
Remember eating fantastic
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By Tammie from Colorado
Remember eating fantastic apple butter growing up in KS as a kid. Haven't been able to find good apples for this. Any ideas?
We suggest Cortland apples,
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By Almanac Staff
We suggest Cortland apples, which don't oxidize as rapidly when cut as do other varieties.
I love Mutsu but they are
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By Elaine Robinson
I love Mutsu but they are hard to find.
Any one know anything about
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By old south
Any one know anything about Carter Blue?
I got a bag of them four
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By AppleGuy on June 13
I got a bag of them four years ago and we ate them all - no pies. They were great. Large green apples with a strong blue blush/color on one side. Intense apple taste, a cross between freshness and jolly rancher green apple - but natural and fresh. I've read that some have called the aroma rosewater but I didn't experience that. I planted one three years ago but no fruit yet. They and the Russets were some of the most exciting apples.
the Honeycrisp apple is the
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By hawgbug
the Honeycrisp apple is the best all around. It's sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw and for baking.
Gravenstein(sp) which is no
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By MSG1947
Gravenstein(sp) which is no longer grown commerically is beyond great for pies! Not a 'pretty' apple which is a prime reason why they aren't grown anymore. Fujis which hold their shape and have a syrupy juice in sauces. As apple consumers we have been taught to buy based on color, size and use. We have forgotten what a real apple tastes like!
You can purchase Gravenstein
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By Alyce
You can purchase Gravenstein apples locally in Sonoma County, CA. They are also available in many stores in Northern California. They are the very best apples for applesauce and pies!
Melrose apples are very good
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By Mark Lisowski
Melrose apples are very good for eating or pie. They will keep til spring if stored in a cool dry place.
I love good old Macintosh and
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By App lover
I love good old Macintosh and jonamacs are good as well, also Empire. We peel and cook them in a pan with butter, a greet desert. my least favorite is the gala, probably fine for eating with a sandwich but you can't cook or do anything with them.
I really enjoyed this web
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By Pinkenstein
I really enjoyed this web site. Very helpful very useful. I've marked it as a favorite place.
I just made upside down apple
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By HeatherAnne
I just made upside down apple cake, and I used Paula Reds. They are incredibly flavorful, soft, and just right sweet-tart. They have the most intense apple aroma I ever experienced! I hope I can find them again.
The Macoun (pronounced
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By Rachel Kipka
The Macoun (pronounced "McCowan") is one of the finest eating apples in the whole Northeast. It is a cross between the McIntosh and a Jersey Black variety, and first grown in Canada. We picked a half bushel of Macouns yesterday!
I LOVE Mountaineer (I think
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By jennie-xenia
I LOVE Mountaineer (I think they might be called York as well). They are wonderful in sauce and pies, especially together with Honeycrisp.
I live in apple country -
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By Jane Umstead.
I live in apple country - Central VA. Some of the BEST here are these wonderful eating apples - Honey Crisp and Pink Lady. I think they would taste food in pie, too, but they usually disappear too fast!
I agree! Two years ago for a
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By Gustavos
I agree! Two years ago for a Mixed religious celebration (I think it was Hanukistmas, as we call it ; ) I volunteered to make the pies- one pumpkin cheese cake and my very first apple! I live in Portland, OR and did a little checking into some of the better baking apples I should look for. Low and behold, Pink Lady was at the front of the line, along with the steadfast Granny Smith- so I went for those... And, boy-O-boy, did I get accolades and rave reviews through mouths stuffed with pie!!! If you can find em, give Pink Lady's a whirl!!!
I live in Southern Cal, not
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By Charlotte Keyes
I live in Southern Cal, not far from the coast, and not many apples grow well here. However, there is one, "Anna", and it makes a TERRIFIC pie!! I am so lucky to have a tree in our backyard.
Hi, Happy Thanksgiving! I
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By Sandy Plubell
Hi, Happy Thanksgiving! I work on an apple farm in central PA & used to use only Rome apples for pies, now I use a mixture of apples for my pies, usually Golden Delicious, Cortland, Jonagold & Rome . My boss things they taste wonderful.... YUM !!!
Love granny smith pie holds
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By Barry Gratt
Love granny smith pie holds up great
I have to vote for the
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By Joan Jackson 3
I have to vote for the Northern Spy also. Just picked up the last peck a local apple grower had for sale.These will go for the Thanksgiving pies.
I like jonadells,or
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By Karen Betts
I like jonadells,or johnathons for baking has any one ever heard of a wolfriver apple. I saw one once as a little girl on my uncles' farm it was huge and when you bit into it there were big sugar pockets all through it.
Hi, I have been growing the
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By Jeannineann
Hi, I have been growing the wolf river apples for about 18years.... they are huge and produce tons of apples,they are biennial,but still produce in the off year. This year I had to give a lot of them away, too much from one tree......... they were really sweet this year too, not usually that juicy.... great for applesauce. We had one on the property that was close to 100 years old and when it died, we had to plant 2 more..... lost one to some kind of bug, but its buddy is doing well.....some years you can't put your hands around them, other times they are huge, but not that big... depends on the weather.....we are in the upper peninsula of Michigan right on lake superior...
We picked Wolf River apples
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By Carlenne
We picked Wolf River apples as kids but that orchard was bulldozed and I've never seen them again - they were HUGE! And so good. Two made a whole pie! I'm from Michigan - seen Wolf River anywhere else?
I don't know if you'll get
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By writerlygirl
I don't know if you'll get this, but I get them at the Michigan State University fruit sale. They are gigantic and my kids love them. Don't know if you're in the range of the university, but it's the only place I've seen them.
WolF River Apples...YES! I
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By sagimoon
WolF River Apples...YES! I saw some at Freeman's Orchard in Hendersonville NC last week. Haven't had any in quite a while, but they're an old time favorite around this area. :~)
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