Your Essential Guide to the Best Apples for Baking and Cooking

Apples vary widely in flavor and texture, and each type reacts to heat differently. The apples you choose can significantly impact the outcome of your recipe. Continue reading to discover which apples are perfect for your culinary creations.

A Comparison of Apples

With over 2,500 different apple varieties in the U.S. alone, choosing the right one for your recipe can be daunting. Let's take a look at some of the most popular apples to help you determine which ones work best for apple pie, applesauce, versatile baking, and more.

Braeburn Apples

Braeburn apples offer a sweet-tart taste and maintain a firm texture when baked. These versatile apples are perfect for pies and tarts, where you prefer the filling to stay less juicy.

Cortland Apples

Cortland apples are juicy and mildly tart, with vibrant red skin and crisp white flesh. They're an excellent choice for baking, making them ideal for pies, cobblers, and crisps. Sliced, they also make a fantastic addition to salads and cheese platters, as they resist browning.

Empire Apples

Empire apples are a hybrid of McIntosh and Red Delicious. With a firm texture and a perfect balance of sweet and tart, they are a versatile apple great for everything from juice and sauce to pies, baking, fresh eating, and even drying.

Fuji Apples

Fuji apples are firm, crisp, and juicy, making them a popular choice for fresh eating. They’re also excellent for baking as they retain their shape when cooked.

Gala Apples

Gala apples are crisp, sweet, and have a delicate flavor. With their yellow-orange skin and red streaks, they are perfect for making applesauce, adding to salads, enjoying fresh, or turning into cider.

Golden Delicious Apples

Golden Delicious apples are sweet with a smooth, mellow taste. Known for their versatility, they are one of the best all-purpose cooking apples as they hold their shape when baked.

Granny Smith Apples

Granny Smith apples are well-known for their tartness, offering a crisp and sour bite. These versatile apples are excellent for cooking, especially when paired with sweeter or spicier varieties in pies and crisps, where their tartness shines.

Gravenstein Apples

Gravenstein apples come in red or yellow varieties, offering a sweet-tart flavor and firm texture. They're perfect for eating fresh, as well as for baking, making applesauce, or pressing into cider. These apples have a very short season and don't store well, so be sure to grab them when they're available at local markets or farm stands.

Honeycrisp Apples

Originally developed in Minnesota, Honeycrisp apples are known for their crisp texture and juicy, honey-sweet, and tart flavor. They are not only excellent for snacking but also great for baking and making applesauce.

Ida Red Apples

Ida Red apples are an old variety known for their tangy flavor and flesh that often has a rosy pink hue. These apples are perfect for making applesauce: simply cook them with the skins on and strain the mixture for a beautiful pink color. They also hold their shape when baked and are great for salads or freezing.

Jonagold Apples

Jonagold apples, a cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious, offer a perfect balance of tangy and sweet. Their yellow-green base with a red blush makes them visually appealing and they're fantastic for both fresh eating and cooking.

Jonathan Apples

Jonathan apples are notably tart, offering a rich, slightly spicy flavor. They hold their shape beautifully when baked, making them ideal for pies and crisps. They're also great for salads and making applesauce.

Macoun Apples

Macoun apples are sweet and aromatic, making them perfect for snacking, adding to salads, or turning into sauce. With their bright red skin and juicy white flesh, they also make a striking addition to cheese plates.

McIntosh Apples

McIntosh apples are classic, with their bright red skin and greenish undertones. These juicy, crisp apples tend to break down when cooked, making them perfect for eating fresh or making applesauce. They are also a great addition to pies when paired with Golden Delicious or other varieties.

Mutsu (Crispin) Apples

Mutsu apples, also known as Crispin, are large, yellow-green fruits with exceptional juiciness and crispness. Their sweet, refreshing flavor makes them perfect for fresh eating, salads, freezing, making sauce, and baking.

Northern Spy Apples

This late-season variety features a crisp, juicy white flesh with a balanced sweet-tart flavor. Known for its excellent storage qualities, it is also perfect for baking and making juice.

Winesap Apples

Winesap apples are firm and aromatic, with a spicy, tangy bite. These sweet-flavored apples are excellent for making sauces and baking.

More About Apples

While certain apple varieties are better for specific recipes, you don't have to limit yourself to just one kind. Many chefs prefer using a mix of apples to achieve a more complex flavor and texture in their dishes.

During apple season in autumn, farmers' markets and specialty stores often carry regional and heirloom varieties. Be sure to ask the grower how these apples perform in different recipes.

How to Store Apples

While apples are at their peak when freshly picked in autumn, varieties that store and ship well are available throughout the year. To keep them fresh, store your apples in a cool, dry place. They last longest when kept apart from one another—remember, one bad apple can spoil the bunch. If refrigerating, avoid storing apples near lettuce or other delicate produce, as the ethylene gas they emit can cause these items to ripen or spoil more quickly. Learn more about how to store apples.

Explore our collection of Apple Recipes.