Apple Cookbook (3 page)

Many of these heirloom or antique apples rank among the best varieties for eating out of hand and for making the most flavorful pies, applesauce, and apple juice. However, because of their unreliable yields, susceptibility to diseases and misshapen fruits, few old varieties are grown in large commercial orchards.

In an effort to save important heirlooms that may contain unique genes, researchers at the Plant Genetic Resources Unit are always on the lookout for new genetic material. The reason has less to do with the fact that many of the heirlooms produce aromatic, intensely flavorful apples than with the fact that they represent genetic diversity. The key to safeguarding against the loss of genetic diversity is to rescue germ plasm, the genetic material contained in the seeds.

Seeds collected in Central Asia and planted in Geneva are now bearing fruits, ranging in color, form and shape from purple and cherrylike to yellow, conical, and of commercial size. The diversity of the wild and heirloom varieties growing at the Plant Genetic Resources Unit provides researchers with the opportunity to develop new hybrids and cultivars that will be disease and pest resistant, winter hardy, vigorous, and highly productive, and bear apples that are flavorful and firm.

While there is interest among apple growers in planting historical varieties on a commercial level, the economics discourage large-scale production. Even though heirloom varieties are available as dwarf and semidwarf trees, which bear quicker and more abundantly than their large spreading ancestors, they still take longer to bear fruit than the apple varieties favored by large commercial orchards.

The heirloom varieties are grown by a limited number of farms, such as Breezy Hill Orchard (profiled on page 150) in the Hudson Valley, New York, and Linden Vineyards in Linden, Virginia (profiled on page 83). To buy heirloom varieties from these orchards, and from other antique-apple growers around the United States, you must contact the orchards directly, or buy locally from specialty stores and farmers’ markets. You’ll also find farmers’ markets and greenmarkets in major towns and big cities.

A
S FAMOUS AS APPLES ARE FOR PIE
, cooking with apples does not stop there. With even just a little imagination, you can use this versatile fruit in almost as many savory recipes as dessert dishes.

Cut into rings, apples can be sautéed along with pork chops and cider. Chopped and sautéed with onions, they elevate such pedestrian fare as braised cabbage and Polish sausage from Sunday’s supper to a guest dish. When diced large, they make a delicious addition to any braised chicken recipe or pork and lamb stews. At some time or another, we’ve all had one of the many variations of apple stuffing with turkey and duck. Apple chutneys, relishes, and sauces may also take their place next to pork, poultry, goose, game, and curries.

For dessert, apples can be stuffed and baked, crisply frittered, folded into crêpes, mixed into cakes and breads, baked in tarts and pies, and hidden in cobblers, crisps, crunches, and brown Bettys.

Apples are available all year round in North America. Obviously, weather and latitude play a big role in the distribution of apple orchards across the United States. Varieties that ripen in September in the southern states ripen around November in the north. Because of differences in
the climates, an apple variety that tastes sweet and perfumed in Vermont may be flat and mealy in Virginia. In fact, in the north, some apples must be picked before they are mature in order to beat the first frost. Whatever the region, apples that are considered “best keepers” are left to ripen — often they become sweeter and more flavorful with age — in controlled-atmosphere storage at larger commercial orchards.

Unfortunately, after December, the apples that reach the consumers are often transported long distances, are left sitting around, and are not kept under refrigeration in the grocery stores or supermarkets. Some stores polish their apples to make them look even more appealing, and this removes the natural bloom. Once this bloom is removed, apples start to break down.

At the orchards, the loads of just-picked apples are so fresh and in such peak condition they haven’t had time to bruise. It is for this reason that apple devotees go a little crazy every autumn. Starting as early as August sometimes and continuing through November, they make weekend pilgrimages to their local orchards and farm stands, looking for varieties that never reach the village markets or for those orchard jewels of limited production — such as Summer Rambo, Patricia, and Raritan.

Although most apples are sold loose by the pound, quart, peck, or bushel, some retail stores sell them packaged in perforated plastic bags. The bags are stamped with the weight, variety, and U.S. grade — U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy, with U.S. No. 1 meeting the minimum standards of quality.

Apples are graded mostly according to color and size. A very large, deep red Red Delicious will be Extra Fancy, while a small,
somewhat greenish Red Delicious will be U.S. No. 1. I am frequently disappointed by large, perfect-looking apples. All too often they turn out to be tasteless and mealy.

Orchardists who sell locally grade their apples somewhat differently. Extra Fancy becomes Grade A, and Fancy is called Grade B, seconds, or “utility.” Grade B apples grow on the inside of the tree and are not as colorful or as large, and sometimes they are not as sweet. Windfalls or bruised apples are also called “utility” or Grade 3.

There’s nothing mystical about choosing apples. As a rule, what you see is what you get. If you bear the following points in mind, you’ll end up with some pretty good specimens in your bag:

Look for apples that are bruise free and firm to the touch. A bruise or blemish on the skin means a decay spot in the flesh.

Overripe apples will feel soft, and the texture will be mealy or mushy. The background, or undercast, color will be a dull yellow or a dull green, instead of a soft light green or yellow.

When the green of an apple is very dark, it is an indication that the apple is not fully mature. Such apples will be hard, will be sour, and will have poor flavor. Underripe apples are fine for cooking. If you want them for eating out of hand, refrigerate them and allow them to ripen slowly for a week or two.

Your decision to choose a particular variety should be influenced by what you plan to do with the apples. For the lunch box, you’ll want crisp, crunchy, juicy apples. Summer apples that have these qualities include Ginger Gold, Raritan, Jonamac, Early Blaze, Patricia, and Paula Red. Later, I would choose Braeburn, Empire, Fuji, Jonagold, Macoun, McIntosh, and Mutsu/Crispin, among others. If you want to bake apples whole, or make pies, then choose those that hold their shape and retain their flavor, such as Northern Spy, Stayman, Jonathan, Jonagold, Braeburn, and others. (For a complete breakdown of best uses for apples, refer to the table on page 175.)

There’s a lot of goodness in the peel of an apple. It contains vitamin C, fiber, and much of the apple’s flavor. So why not leave the skin on for all the recipes? Because some apples have tough skins; and even if the skin is not tough when the apple is eaten raw, it does not break down in the cooking process. Nothing, in my opinion, spoils a fine cake, pudding, or applesauce more than finding some cooked apple skin. You may leave the apple skins on in any of the recipes that call for peeling. Then see how you feel about “to peel or not to peel.”

Planning to make gallons of applesauce? Then you may want to invest in a special strainer, available from specialty kitchen stores. For small batches of sauce, a Foley Food Mill does a fine job.

If a recipe calls for a lot of chopped or grated vegetables and apples, I use a food processor. When a recipe calls for cubed apples, I always prepare them by hand to make sure I get uniform pieces. A food processor will make very thin and very uniform apple
slices
in no time at all.

Apples ripen 10 times faster in a dry, warm atmosphere than when they are in cold storage. Therefore, commercial orchardists store their apples in controlled-atmosphere (CA) sealed chambers. CA storage reduces (without arresting) an apple’s intake of oxygen, which slows down its maturation process. This method prolongs the storage life of an apple by
several months, and enables the orchardists to pick apples that are not meant for immediate consumption, before they are fully ripe. As they mature ever so slowly in CA storage, the good keepers retain their juicy, crisp texture while becoming more flavorful and sweeter.