Apples compute anyway you slice it

The Jewish Star sends our deepest condolences to Jerry and Judy Joszef on the passing of Jerry’s mother Sari, an exemplary Aishet Chayil b’Yisrael. Hamakom yenachem etchem b’toch evaillay Tzion V’Yerushalayim.

This week, we’re reprinting one of our favorite columns from the Who’s In The Kitchen archives.

I’ve always wanted to compare apples to apples, and figured, since the recipe I’m sharing with you this week is an apple cake, what better time than now?

China is the largest producer of apples, producing almost half of the world’s apples.

In 2009, 71,000,000 tons of apples were grown, and 138,000,000 tons of apples were produced.

The average apple orchard is 50 acres, while the average Apple store is .1 acre.

The first apples were cultivated in Mesopotamia around 8,000 BCE. Before this, apples were sour, seedy, and inedible.

The first Apple was built in 1976 by Steve Wosniak. Before this, computers were ugly, clunky and undesirable.

There are over 7,500 varieties of apples and 400 varieties of Apples. 

Of the 7,500 varieties of apples, a few are standouts for those of us who like to bake and cook with them. 

McIntosh apples are sweet, slightly tart, juicy and have tender flesh. They are good eaten raw, made into applesauce, or baked in a pie. Like the Apple Mac, they are versatile, can be found in a student’s knapsack, and are the most popular apple in New York.

Honey Crisp was introduced fairly recently. They are sweet, slightly tart, and very juicy. They make a wonderful eating apple and are perfect for baking and sauces. 

Granny Smith is one of the most popular tart apples. They’re crisp, quite tart, and perfect for baking and cooking.

Golden Delicious are sweet with rich, mellow flavor. They are best for all around cooking as they maintain their shape after baking.

Mutsu (Crispin) are juicy and super crisp with a sweet refreshing flavor. They’re great for baking, eating, salads, freezing, and sauces.

Empire are firm textured and slightly tart. They are good for eating, pies, salads, sauces, freezing, and baking. 

Cortland are juicy, and slightly tart, but terrific for baking and are a welcome addition to fruit and cheese plates, as the flesh doesn’t brown quickly. 

When people hear the word apple, so many images come to mind.