1. About 7,500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world. More than 2,500 varieties are grown in the United States and Canada.

2. Some varieties are better for baking than others. Pie apples should hold up and not become mushy when baked: neither should they remain crunchy. Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Rome, McIntosh, and Braeburn are a few good varieties for pies. The same varieties, plus many others, can be used for any of the recipes in this book where the apple is cooked. The fact is, all varieties will soften if cooked for a long enough time, but sometimes that would be longer than is good for the rest of the dish, such as the piecrust. The smaller the pieces of apple, the faster they cook.

3. For fresh eating, salads, sandwiches, and recipes where the apple will be distinguishable and a bit of crunch is desired, sweet, crisp apples are preferred though not mandatory. The sweetness depends on factors during the growing period and at what point they were harvested. Apples freshly picked from the tree are crisp, but their texture changes the longer they are stored. Some varieties stay crisp longer than others.

The key is to taste a sliver of the apple and see if it meets your expectations for the particular dish. If it’s a bit too tart, you might consider adding a small amount of sweetener; if already sweet, you may want to proceed without adding sweeteners or reduce the amount being added—unless making baked goods such as cakes or cookies, where the sugar becomes part of the total liquid and volume of the baked product.

4. Any apple can be used for cooking if the recipe calls for grating, chopping, mashing, or pureeing the finished dish (as in cakes, cookies, breads, soups, and sauces).

5. Two pounds of apples make a 9-inch pie. There are two or three large apples in a pound.

6. To peel or not to peel? It’s a matter of taste. Two-thirds of an apple’s fiber is in the skin. The skin is high in antioxidants, and most of an apple’s vitamin C content is just under the skin.

7. Consider leaving the skin on when a recipe calls for grated or chopped apples.

8. The USDA recommends washing apples before eating them.

9. Many of the salad recipes in this book can be easily used for sandwiches, and vice versa.

10. In recipes where the apple is cooked with other ingredients, the apple is somewhat like a potato in that it absorbs the other flavors. In that way, apples are good recipe extenders.

11. Apples ripen or soften ten times faster at room temperature than when kept refrigerated.

12. Wrinkled apples, or those beyond their prime (but not spoiled), are ideal for making cobblers, cakes, soups, and applesauce. Waste not, want not!

13. A little lemon juice can wake up the flavor of bland apples for applesauce or in other recipes.