Choosing the Right Apple

There are currently more than 3,000 varieties of apples, which range from mouth-puckering tart to candy-sweet in shades of green, gold, pink and red. Below are the most popular varieties and how to use them (the best uses for each apple are listed first). Some apples are recommended specifically for salads because their flesh is slow to brown. For baked apples, Rome Beauty is the best choice.

Related Links

Making Fresh Applesauce

Apple	Characteristics	Best Uses
Arkansas Black	Crisp, juicy	Eating, sauce
Baldwin	Crisp, juicy	Baking, eating
Braeburn	Crisp, sweet/tart	Eating, sauce, pie
Bramley	Sweet, tangy	Baking, sauce
Cortland	Fragrant, tangy	Salad, baking, sauce, eating
Empire	Super-crisp, sweet, juicy	Eating, salad
Fuji	Sweet, juicy	Eating
Gala	Crisp, fragrant, mildly tart	Eating, baking, sauce
Golden Delicious	Juicy, sweet	Sauce, baking, salads, eating
Granny Smith	Tart, crisp	Baking, eating
Gravenstein	Crisp, tart	Baking, sauce
Idared	Juicy, fragrant, tart	Baking
Jonagold	Tart, juicy, crisp	Eating, baking
Jonathan	Crisp, juicy	Eating, sauce, pie
Lady Apple	Juicy, intensely sweet	Eating, baking
Macoun	Firm, fragrant, very flavorful	Eating, baking
McIntosh	Tart, juicy, slightly spicy, very soft	Eating, sauce
Mutsu	Crisp, juicy	Eating
Northern Spy	Full-flavored, very firm	Baking, eating
Red Delicious	Crisp, mildly tart	Eating
Rome Beauty	Slightly tart, firm	Baking
Spartan	Well-balanced, sweet, tart	Eating
Winesap	Sweet, juicy with a slightly fermented wine flavor	Eating, sauce