Your Guide to the Best Apples for Baking, Cooking, and Snacking
From rare heirlooms to splashy newcomers, there are more varieties ripe for the picking than ever. A chef, orchardist, and apple historian share their faves.
As we enter fall, fresh apples flood the market. Gone are the days of a handful of options at the grocery store; American orchards grow more than 2,500 varieties. More than 100 of those are commercially available. Forgotten varieties of the past are enjoying a renaissance, while new creations continue to arrive from the test orchards.
What’s good? We asked a few apple people for their thoughts on the state of the fruit, and took a few recommendations.
Meet the Experts
Dan Bussey has managed orchards with as many as 1,500 varieties of apples. He researched and wrote the seven-volume Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada, which chronicled 16,350 varieties of apples documented in North America. He figures he’s encountered another couple thousand since.
