Autumn time is apple time. Apples are a versatile and rewarding ingredient in the kitchen. They taste great raw, boiled or baked in cakes or other savory and sweet dishes. However, the variety of varieties is sometimes a bit confusing. In Germany alone there are around 2000 and not every one is suitable for every purpose. While some are best eaten raw, others develop their full flavor only when processed. We present the best apple varieties for baking.
Apple varieties for baking
Not all apples are the same, especially when it comes to baking. Dessert apples, for example, taste best when they are raw, they are not too sour and have a pleasant consistency. The qualities of a real boiled or baked apple only come to light when it is cooked. Raw they are usually sour and less flavorful.
An important factor in baked apples is the acidity. It brings out the apple flavor particularly well. It shouldn't be too watery and the apple pieces shouldn't fall apart when heated, but should keep their shape and lose only a little liquid. Nevertheless, for some pastries it is better if the apple falls apart easily and quickly. But which apples are suitable for baking and which one is the most popular?
sweet baked apples
from A - J
Delbarestivale
The Delbarestivale is one of the early varieties. It is small to medium-sized and has a mild acidity and a fine note of anise. The flesh is medium-firm, the skin smooth, greenish-yellow and with pronounced red stripes on the sunny side. It tastes fresh and crunchy raw, but is also a good cooking and baking apple. From the end of August it is ready to be eaten and picked and can then be stored until October/November.
Golden Delicious
- Golden Delicious is often the first choice when baking
- It is large, initially rather greenish
- Later yellowish-green, faded to light gold on the sunny side
- Meat is firm and juicy
- The later it is harvested, the mealier it is
- Harvest young and fresh for baking
- Taste rather sweet, with a pronounced aniseed and cinnamon aroma
- Shape and taste are largely retained during baking
- Beginning of harvest and maturity around the beginning of October
- Harvest as early as possible for longer storage
tip: Fruits hanging in the shade often taste watery. If they are not mature, they are relatively tasteless or tasteless.
Jonagold
Jonagold is a popular dessert apple and very suitable for delicious cakes, for cooking and for salads. It is medium-sized, with a reddish-green skin and loose, juicy, yellowish flesh. The taste is sweet and fruity to slightly sour. This apple can be stored for a long time. However, if the fruit is stored too long, it becomes soft and is relatively sensitive to pressure. It doesn't break down easily in the oven. Harvest time is between mid/late September and early October.
by K - R
canada reinette
- Popular winter apple with medium-sized to very large fruits
- Skin is dry, rough, heavily rusted
- Greenish yellow and orange on the sunny side
- Flesh medium firm, greenish-yellow and juicy
- Balanced sugar-acid ratio and pleasant flavor
- Will become crumbly with increasing storage time
- A good table and baking apple
- Ready to pick in October
royal gala
The fruits of this variety are relatively small, but all the more aromatic. They are sweet with a fine acidity and are among the most popular autumn apples. Their skin is smooth, slightly waxy, red or striped with red. The yellow flesh is firm, moderately juicy and somewhat reminiscent of a pear. This apple tastes just as good fresh from the tree as in a delicious apple strudel or as a baked apple. It is ripe for consumption from the end of September to March.
rubinets
The Rubinette is a rather small-fruited, greenish-yellow apple with orange-red stripes on the sunny side. It has a firm and slightly rough skin and a crunchy, firm and very juicy flesh. It is sweet and fruity, slightly sour and very similar in aroma to the Cox Orange. Harvest from the end of September.
tip: The sugar content of this apple variety is 16 percent and is therefore not suitable for diabetics.
Predominantly sour apple varieties
from A - C
Braeburn
In addition to Elstar, Jonagold and Boskop, Braeburn also ensures unlimited apple enjoyment. No matter whether in a delicious apple strudel, cake, compote or a fresh fruit salad.
- Medium to large fruits
- Skin shiny, green-yellow with dark red, short stripes
- Flesh crisp, firm and juicy
- Has a sweet and sour aroma
- Reminiscent of rose, fennel and partly plum
- Cultivation in Germany only recommended in warmer areas
- Harvest time then from mid to late October
tip: Among the numerous varieties, Braeburn is the one with the highest content of vitamin C
Bismarck apple
The Bismarck apple is one of the old varieties. It is a large to very large apple with a thick, smooth and slightly frosted skin. The basic color is yellowish with reddish stripes on the sunny side. It has a slightly vanilla scent. Its whitish flesh is medium-firm, coarse-celled and juicy. It tastes strongly sour, without any noteworthy aroma and is suitable for cooking, baking and as dried fruit. It is ready for harvest from the end of September.
Boskop - the most popular baking apple
The Boskop is the all-rounder among the apple varieties. Due to its firm, coarse and juicy flesh, the intense, fruity-tart aroma and its high acidity, it has everything a baked apple should have. It grows relatively large, with an initially greenish-yellow skin that becomes red when fully ripe. The fruits are ripe for consumption from the end of November to April.
tip: The longer you store a Boskop, the brittle and drier it becomes.
Cox Orange
This cultivated apple is one of the most popular small-fruited and the oldest apple varieties. It is a good table, baking and cooking apple. The tangy autumn apple has a greenish-yellow skin that turns golden yellow when ripe and partly has red stripes on the sunny side. The yellowish-white flesh is very juicy, crunchy and medium-firm, with a sweet-sour taste and a fine aroma. This classic is ready to be enjoyed from the end of October to March.
from E - H
Elstar
The Elstar is one of the best-known and most popular apple varieties that are wonderfully suited for baking. Its medium-sized fruits are bright yellow and orange-red to bright red on the side exposed to the sun. The flesh is yellowish-white, medium-firm, crunchy and juicy, with a slightly sour, fruity-spicy taste. It is harvested from September to October.
bell apple
This old traditional variety has medium-sized, tall, slightly bell-shaped fruits with a slightly uneven and irregular surface. The basic color is greenish-yellow with reddish cheeks. The flesh is low in juice and has a refreshing acidity, making it a desirable pie apple. This apple reaches maturity in December.
Granny Smith
The crisp green, medium-sized Granny Smith is also one of the tart apples because it has a high proportion of fruit acids. When fully ripe, it is yellow-green and the flesh is firm and greenish-white. The harvest time is from the end of October to November and the ripeness for consumption is from January to April.
tip: This variety is unsuitable for apple allergy sufferers. Because they tend to tolerate old apple varieties better.
Gravensteiner
The fruits of this old variety are large, spherical with a delicate yellow skin that has reddish stripes when ripe, smooth and greasy. The yellowish-white flesh is very juicy, sweet and sour and has a distinctive spicy aroma. Ripeness for consumption is from August to October. This valuable dessert and very good baked apple comes out of the oven al dente.
Holstein Cox
The medium-sized to large fruits of the Holsteiner Cox have a green-yellow, tender red skin on the sunny side. Their white flesh is medium-firm, very juicy, hearty, spicy, aromatic and rather sour. This apple is one of the tastiest apple varieties. It is then harvested from mid-September to October.
tip: If stored for a long time, the acidity decreases and the pulp becomes mealy.
from I - T
Idared
- Fruits of this variety medium to large
- Shell smooth, very firm with a yellowish-green ground colour
- About three-quarters covered with intense red
- Flesh white to cream-colored, sometimes slightly reddish
- Firm, crisp and juicy
- Taste slightly sour, rather mild, with little aroma
- Use as table, cooking and baking apple
- Ready for consumption from December to July
- As a dessert apple very well suited for diabetics
James Grieve
This summer apple is ripe from mid-August. It is suitable for fresh consumption as well as for cooking and baking. The medium-sized, spherical fruits are yellow-skinned and have red stripes on the sunny side. They have yellowish-white, medium-firm, fine-celled and juicy flesh. The taste is sweet and sour with a pleasant spiciness.
pilot
This winter variety inspires with medium-sized, vermilion and rosy-skinned fruits. Under the skin lies a firm, juicy and pressure-resistant pulp. This convinces with a sparkling sweet and sour taste and nutty aroma. The Pilot variety is ripe for consumption from October to May. It is just as good as a wine apple as it is for baking or as a baked apple.
topaz
The winter apple 'Topaz' is considered a jewel in the home garden. This is due to the excellent aroma, the pleasant acidity and its good shelf life.
- Skin is greasy and waxy
- Red flames on the shady side
- Lighter towards the sun, with fine red stripes
- In between, yellow-orange coloring appears
- Flesh is firm, juicy and fine-celled
- Fine acidity and excellent aroma
- As a typical winter apple, it is not immediately ready for consumption
- Only ripens after harvest, around November
- Has very good baking properties
