When you buy apples at the grocery store, they were most likely picked the previous fall. This is due to fruit growers storing the fruit in refrigerated warehouses ahead of time.
It's a procedure that keeps people energized for extended periods. But does it affect their flavor?
The climate, for example, is one of the elements that influence when apples are harvested. The peak harvest season for most temperate apple-growing locations is September (perfect for picking on a fall trip).
Some apples mature early and are available to pick before August, while others ripen later and are ready to harvest in October or later. Check with your local orchard to see which types are "ready to pick," and schedule your visit appropriately.
Most apples are sweeter, softer, and taste better when fully ripened, so choosing the proper ones is critical. Their color and texture indicate when they are ripe.
Giving an apple a little squeeze between your fingers and thumb is an excellent technique to test its freshness. It's ready to pick if it indents slightly. If it has a lot of dents, you should wait a bit longer before picking it up. You can also look for bruising.
To get the finest quality and flavor out of apples, choose them at the right stage of ripeness. Picking at the optimal maturity level for a variety, whether for eating fresh, preserving for a long time, or selling at a premium price.
A fruit's stem should easily detach from the branch when cupped in your palm and twisted around, then up (don't yank on it), in addition to the background color and hardness checks. It is generally not ripe if an apple is difficult to pull from its spur branches.
Mature apples are rigid, mature skin color but no greenish cast, and soft flesh that is not limp or bruised. Most types also have brown seeds, which indicate maturity.
Apples are a traditional fall meal but are also popular all year. Extending autumn's fruit harvest is simple if you properly preserve apples.
Begin with high-quality apples free of bruises, blemishes, and pest damage. These can be kept for weeks without going wrong.
Keep them in a cool (at least 32 degrees Fahrenheit) area, such as your refrigerator's crisper drawer, an unheated basement, a root cellar, or even a chilly garage or shed if you have one.
Tart, thick-skinned cultivars such as Jonathans, Rome, Melrose, Fuji, and Granny Smith are ideal for storing.
Wrap each apple individually to keep it fresh. This prevents them from rubbing together and polluting the others with ethylene gas.
Apples are the principal fruit of a fruit tree and can be eaten raw or cooked into various cuisines. They are typically huge and firm, with a sweet scent when cooked. Cooking apples are available from July through September and can be consumed raw or cooked.
Some apples are better for cooking than others, depending on the kind. Some are sweeter, while others are spicier.
In the kitchen, they are generally used to make apple pie or other desserts such as ice cream. They can also be frozen and stored for a long time.
Many producers use controlled-atmosphere storage (CA) to slow the ripening process by managing oxygen, temperature, and carbon dioxide levels until it's time to sell the apples. As a result, the apple taste and feel fresher than standard grocery store types yet lack the ethylene gas that causes other food to decay faster.
