All About Apples!
As delicious local apples come into grocery stores across Canada, we thought it was high time there be a post dedicated to this tasty fruit!
Selecting an apple:
Apples are the perfect snack – at any age! Just grab and go, they even come in their own packaging 🙂
Look for an apple that is firm and unblemished.
Most apples are all- purpose, making them good for eating raw or cooking.
The all-purpose varieties include: Granny Smith, Idared, Golden delicious, Empire, Mutsu, Cortland and Spartan. The Red Delicious and Gala are best eaten raw.
There are always new varieties of apples appearing in your supermarket. Be sure to ask the produce manager what’s new in the apple category, and be prepared for exciting flavour sensations.
Storing an apple
Apples like the cold. It is best to store them in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper separate from other fruits and vegetables, if possible. If you have a large quantity of apples (e.g. a bushel), store them in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place such as a fruit cellar or garage.
Apples stored this way keep for about 6 weeks.
Preparing an apple
Apples need to be thoroughly washed and scrubbed especially if you are eating them raw with the skin.
Easy applesauce recipe via food.com.
If you peel an apple, brush with lemon juice or lime juice to prevent it from browning.
If the apple starts to get soft, don’t waste it: use it to cook apple sauce or for baking.
Eating apples
There are so many ways to enjoy an apple. You can eat it whole, grate it into a salad, add it to a soup, make into a sauce, add it to a cake or pie…the possibilities are endless.
Here is a tasty soup recipe you can try: Carrot Apple Soup
Seasonality
Apples are available in grocery stores all year round.
Check your grocery stores in early fall for fresh local apples.
Nutrition
A medium apple contains 90 calories and is a good source of fibre with 1/3 of the fibre found in the skin.
Apples contain pectin, a soluble fibre that helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.
