June 8, 2015
by Jason Ford
Ford on Food
It’s my observation that there are three kinds of people; those who like green apples, those who like red apples, and those who like oranges.
Apples are one of the earliest fruits cultivated by humans. There are now thousands of varieties grown all over the world.
There is a kaleidoscope of colours from red to pink, and green to yellow.
Apple textures range from crisp and firm to soft and juicy, and flavours contrast from sweet to tart.
With all the diverse climates that apples grow, there is a variety for all seasons; in fact apples are available all year round.
Some of the common varieties you may find on Australian grocery store shelves are::
- Royal Gala which have a sweet perfumed flavour and are great is salads or for apple sauce
- Golden Delicious are very popular for cooking, especially as a pie filling or baked into muffins or tea cakes
- Red Delicious are a sweet, crisp texture and are great eaten fresh or chopped into salads
- Granny Smith apples are a firm with a slightly tart flesh that cooks well in baked items and is also balances out the sweetness in fruit salads
- Pink Lady apples have a very decorative coloured skin, are sweet with firm flesh that eat great both fresh or cooked
- Sundowners are a red apple and are fantastic for eating fresh
- Other varieties include Jonathan, Jazz, Fuji, Jonagold and Braeberne.
All apples are rich in vitamin C and fibre, so they’re a very healthy snack and versatile ingredient.
There are so many types available to suit any taste, so even if you are an orange kind of person, consider giving apples a go.
You may just discover how much you like them apples!
* * *
Basked Cinnamon Apples
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 large apples – peeled, cored, and sliced
- 3 1/2 tablespoons water
Method:
- Preheat oven to 175oC (350oF)
- Grease a large baking dish with the butter.
- Mix brown sugar, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl.
- Layer about 1/3 of the apples in the prepared baking dish; sprinkle with 1/3 of the sugar mixture.
- Repeat layers twice more
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Pour water over apples and continue baking until tender, about 15 minutes more
Serves 6.
