Written by Molly Zingler, New York Apple Association
With so many great-tasting apple varieties available this time of year, it is possible to snack on a different flavor every day for weeks – if not months! New York growers produce more apple varieties than any other state, so when you’ve had your fill of fresh fruit then start baking with them.
You turned off your oven for the summer, so now that fall is here let’s ease back into baking gently. First, here are our tips to lay the foundation – crust, if you will – for the best baking experience:
- Make the right choice: All apple varieties are not created equally. Choose varieties that are recommended for baking. Which means never choosing Red Delicious.
- Make the hard choice: Select apples that are firm to the touch and aren’t bruised. Handle them gently to prevent blemishes.
- Just say no to the fruit bowl: Refrigerated apples last much longer than room-temperature ones.
- Pucker up to prevent browning: To keep apple slices and dices from browning before baking, bathe them in a mixture of half lemon juice, half water – or 100 percent apple juice fortified with vitamin C. (Lemon juice = citric acid = vitamin C.)
- Get mixed up: When making a pie, crisp, slump, betty, crumble, or any other baked goodie that calls for sliced or diced apples, use a blend of sweet and tart apple varieties for balanced flavor.
- Dress for success: Most of the apple’s health benefits are in the peel, so leave it on.
- 1 refrigerated/ready−made piecrust
- cooking spray
- 6 or 7 baking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup all−purpose flour
- dash of vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces