SC - Recipes 5 & 6

[James F. Johnson]

Ras is right.  Keep in mind that there are apples for cooking, apples for
juice, apples for cider, apples for sauce, apples for eating fresh, and
there is Red Delicious for looking at.  (It actually used to be good to
eat, but has been ruined by breeding for perfect appearance at the expense
of both flavor and texture.)

Supermarkets out here in the West offer relatively few varieties; maybe you
get a better selection in the East.  There are several thousand cultivars,
but only a dozen or so are widely grown commercially nowadays.

Northern Spys are good, as Ras says, for many uses.  For cooking, Granny
Smith isn't bad - it has a tart acidity and firm texture that holds up well.

Colin

><< Is there no difference and I can just buy what is on
> sale?
> 
> Asking the stupid questions
> Zoe >>
>
>Apples differ widely in texture and flavor. A quick web search should
provide 
>you with information on cooking apples as wells as eating apples. A good 
>all-purpose apple would be Northern Spy, for instance. 
>
>Avoid mealy, tasteless varieties like Red Delicious or those pretty yellow 
>and red varieties that are sort of tapered and picture perfect. Those 
>varieties were designed specifically with looks in mind and are usually too 
>sweet and mushy to be of any use except as an eye pleaser in a fruit basket. 
>
>What you are looking for is an apple with crisp flesh that has a somewhat 
>pineapple flavor with hints of raspberry and citrus half way between sweet 
>and sour. The manager at your green grocer should be able to point you to
the 
>cooking varieties. If you go to Wegman's, you can, for the asking, taste
test 
>any of the varieties they have free of charge to make sure you get the 
>correct one.

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