About Apples It’s Time To Pick Apples For Your Favorite Pie, Salad And Other Dishes

When I was a child growing up in Maryland, fall always meant a trip to the local apple orchard. My dad and I would walk around the laden trees, then load large paper bags of different apples into the back seat of the car.

Pies were number one on my wish list, but the apples we brought home also found their way into wonderful salads, entrees and other dishes mom made.

She had strict rules about which apples were for eating and which for cooking. Eating apples were categorized as anything that turned to tasteless mush in the oven, but were crisp and pleasant eaten out of hand. Mom put cooking apples in a higher class, those apples that held their tang and texture under temperature. She and my dad would debate the merits of each apple served at our table - whether it was best for pie or pudding.

More than 8,000 varieties of apples exist in the world today, according to Edward Behr, author of “The Art of Eating.” Some people love the well-known Red and Golden Delicious; to my mind, neither make a good cooking apple and are on the sweet side for eating. Others prefer McIntosh, which bakes up tart and tangy.

Once picked, apples like to be stored at 90 percent humidity and a temperature of 30 to 32 degrees. You can keep a small batch in the refrigerator. The bushels of Haralsons I buy this month will stay in the garage and then be moved to the cool basement for the winter.

Since we live near an orchard, I’ll be repeating my dad’s annual pilgrimage this year, buying enough late-season “keeping” apples to assure us of baked apples for breakfast each winter morning. What more heavenly smell to wake up to than sugar, cinnamon and apples, steaming away in the oven?

Brown Sugar Baked Apples

I still make my mother’s baked apples for late-fall mornings.

6 large cooking apples

13 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped raisins

1 teaspoon softened butter, optional

1 cup water

Core apples, leaving 1/4 inch in bottom to hold filling. Place apples in 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

Combine brown sugar, ginger, raisins and butter in small bowl and mix well. Spoon mixture into apple cavities, mounding it. Add water to dish around apples.

Bake at 350 degrees 45 to 60 minutes or until apples are very soft. Serve hot or cold, spooning any cooking liquid over apples.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 151 calories, 1.1 grams fat (7 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 38 grams carbohydrate, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 13 milligrams sodium.

Low-Fat Waldorf Salad

Apples and raisins always remind me of Waldorf salad, one of my grandmother’s favorite recipes. Here’s my low-fat version.

1-1/2 cups chopped red-skinned eating apples

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup halved seedless grapes

1/4 cup raisins

3 cups torn romaine lettuce leaves

1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 teaspoon sugar or honey, optional

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Salt, pepper

Combine apples, celery, grapes, raisins and lettuce in large salad bowl. Toss well.

Whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, sweetener, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste in small bowl. Pour over salad and toss well. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 113 calories, 0.4 grams fat (3 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrate, 1 milligram cholesterol, 288 milligrams sodium.

Cranberry-Cinnamon Applesauce

Frozen in small containers, applesauce keeps three months for a low-fat breakfast or dessert on chilly days. You can double or triple this recipe; just adjust the sweetener to taste.

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

2 cups peeled, cored and sliced cooking apples

3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed, or honey (or to taste)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (or to taste)

Simmer cranberries, apples and apple juice in Dutch oven over medium heat 30 to 45 minutes or until fruit is soft. Let cool slightly. Puree in blender until smooth. Stir in sweetener and cinnamon.

Yield: About 2-1/2 cups, 5 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 187 calories, 0.3 grams fat (1 percent fat calories), 48 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 15 milligrams sodium.

Baked Yams and Apples With Maple Glaze

Adapted from a Bon Appetit magazine recipe, this makes an excellent, low-fat side dish.

3 large garnet yams

3 cooking apples

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup apple cider

Salt, pepper

Scrub yams, peel and slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.

Peel, core and slice apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange in ungreased 9- by 13-inch baking dish, alternating layers of yams and apples.

Combine maple syrup and cider in small saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Pour over yams and apples. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover dish with foil.

Bake at 400 degrees 1 hour, then uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until yams are soft and syrup is thick.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 166 calories, 0.3 grams fat (2 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 42 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 7 milligrams sodium.