Peak apple season is upon us. Two dozen local Honeycrisp apples currently fill my refrigerator drawers. More to come. In the next couple of weeks, our second fridge also will hold a wide variety of apples: the ultra crisp SweeTango, super sweet Golden Delicious, crunchy Gala, perfumey Fuji, and barely sweet russets. Red Delicious need not show up. Jonathon and McIntosh apples never make it to cold storage; they are destined for our supply of homemade applesauce.
Apples keep well in the refrigerator crisper drawers, often for several months. Separate them with paper toweling and avoid stacking too tightly, which can cause bruising. Generally, thicker-skinned apples, such as Honeycrisp and McIntosh, keep better than the thin-skinned Golden Delicious and Gala varieties. Use up any bruised apples quickly and don’t store them with other apples—remember one rotten apple can indeed spoil the bunch.
