Apples : More Than Just Plain Delicious

The choice in apples used to be limited to Delicious, Golden Delicious and McIntosh, with perhaps a handful of local varieties. Granny Smith, an Australian import, joined the Big 3 about 15 years ago. These four apples still account for more than two-thirds of the country’s commercial crop. But other varieties are coming on strong. Most weren’t on the market 10 years ago. And some--Liberty, Gala, Criterion, Fuji, Akane--you may never have even heard of.

While Red Delicious apples were selling at below cost last year because of a countrywide oversupply, Fuji and other new varieties were commanding top dollar.

One beautiful apple just isn’t enough any more. Consumers are demanding quality apples and they want variety. “It’s a diverse market,” says Dr. Bruce H. Barritt, horticulturist at the Washington State University Tree Fruit Research Center in Wenatchee, Wash. “Don’t try to tell a consumer which apple has the best flavor.”

To satisfy consumer and grower demand, plant breeders here and abroad have been working on disease-resistant apples that taste better, are easier to grow and keep longer. The development process is a lengthy one, taking from 22 to 40 years or more from the initial cross to the introduction of a new variety.

An important breakthrough was the development of new disease-resistant strains. Liberty, a crisp apple now widely accepted in New England, was crossed at Cornell University’s New York State Agricultural Research Station at Geneva, N.Y., in 1955 and introduced in 1978. Freedom was introduced four years later, but it is still not yet widely available.

New apples are starting to replace McIntosh, a variety that will not ripen uniformly without Alar. Empire, also developed at the New York State Agricultural Research Station, is the most widely planted variety in the Northeast. “It eats extremely well,” says Ralph J. Baldasaro, head of the New York and New England Apple Institute. “Empire has the tang of a Mac and the sweetness of a Delicious.” Not too surprising, since it is a cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious.

Other McIntosh-type apples are gaining popularity: Jonamac in the East, and Spartan, which was developed in British Columbia, in the West. Jonagold, a Golden Delicious and Jonathan cross, was introduced by the New York Station in 1968 and is now the most widely planted apple in Europe. A large, yellow-red apple with a rich flavor, it is excellent for cooking as well as eating out-of-hand.

Fuji, the best-selling apple in Japan, may become the apple of the ‘90s in the United States. Fuji does not look like much, but appearance is secondary to its firm, crisp texture and sweet flavor. And this apple, better than any other so far, retains its crispness after several months in a home refrigerator. Grower-packer R.C. Greg McPherson and many of his neighbors in Wenatchee are grafting Fuji onto Red Delicious stock. “You can knock them around,” he says, “and they keep forever.”

Another Japanese import is Akane (pronounced ah-CON-nay). It has been dubbed the “lunch box apple” because, says Kris Merritt of Merritt Orchards near Bellingham in Western Washington, “It ripens right in the first part of September, just in time for school.” Old-timers come to Merritt’s for the Akane too; it reminds them of the old-fashioned snow apple known as Fameuse.

Mutsu is a Golden Delicious crossed with Indo, a Japanese variety. It is called Crispin in Britain and parts of the Northeast, where it is grown extensively.

“We call it the Christmas apple,” says Tom Berry, referring to the Mutsus he grows along with 40 other new and unusual varieties at his Canyon Park Orchard, north of Seattle. Mutsus can be eaten immediately, but Berry also hordes them: He wraps them in newspaper and stores them out in a shed, his own version of cold storage, where they yellow and sweeten as they mature.

Not all apples come from carefully controlled breeding programs. Criterion, a large apple with a sprightly flavor, was found in an orchard near Wapato, in Yakima Valley, Wash. It is thought to be a cross between Red and Golden Delicious or Red Delicious and Winter Banana.

Ginger Gold is another so-called chance seedling. Clyde H. Harvey, a Virginia apple grower, came across a small tree uprooted by Hurricane Camille in 1962. He replanted it and it bore its first fruit in 1975. Ginger Duncan-Harvey, Clyde’s wife, describes Ginger Gold as crisp and very juicy. “It looks too good to be true, just like a wax apple,” she says, “but the taste is real, a distinct sweet-tart flavor.”

Apples are often divided into two groups: dessert apples, which are eaten fresh, and cooking apples. A few varieties are good for both. There are three kinds of cooking apples: apples such as Empire, that get mushy when cooked, and hence make good applesauce; firm-fleshed apples that hold together, and are good for pies and tarts (Jonagold); and tender-skin varieties that hold their shape when baked (Melrose).

Here are some recipes that chefs have developed to use these new varieties of apple.

Chef Marcel DeSaulniers, of the Trellis Restaurant at Colonial Williamsburg, Va., recommends using two kinds of apples for this moist loaf cake. It makes a good take-along for a fall picnic; it keeps well.

APPLE-RAISIN LOAF CAKE

1 1/2 pounds sweet and tart apples (such as combination of Criterion, Melrose, Fuji and Jonagold)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins

1 teaspoon shortening

1 tablespoon plus 3 cups flour

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Core and chop 1 unpeeled thin-skinned apple. Place in bowl along with 1 cup water and lemon juice.

Quarter and core remaining unpeeled apples. Combine with wine, 1/4 cup water, brown sugar, salt and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in 2 1/2-quart saucepan. Cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Pour into strainer and discard liquid. Over bowl, press cooked apples through strainer with wooden spoon. Discard skins. Drain reserved chopped apples and add to strained apples along with raisins. Cool.

Lightly coat (9x5-inch) metal loaf pan with shortening and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour. Shake out excess.

Whisk together sour cream and buttermilk and set aside. Combine remaining 3 cups flour, remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.

Combine granulated sugar and butter in bowl of electric mixer. Beat on medium speed 4 minutes and scrape down sides. Beat on high speed 3 minutes and scrape down bowl. Beat on high speed 2 minutes more or until thoroughly creamed, scraping down bowl.

Add eggs 1 at time, beating on high speed 20 seconds and scraping down bowl after adding each egg. Beat mixture on high speed 2 minutes. Add cooled apple mixture and vanilla (mixture may break). Mix on low speed 10 to 15 seconds.

Add flour mixture and beat on low speed 30 seconds. Add sour cream mixture and mix on low speed 1 minute. Remove from mixer and finish mixing batter with rubber spatula until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake at 325 degrees 1 hour and 25 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center of bread comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature. Cut into 16 slices. Makes 1 loaf or 16 (1/2-inch) slices.

Stang is a Seattle writer.

Swiss-born Kaspar Donier, chef/owner of Kaspar’s by the Bay overlooking Puget Sound in Seattle, combines Northwest ingredients with classic French, Asian and regional American cuisines to create his own unique style.

KASPAR’S VEAL MEDALLIONS WITH APPLE-BRANDY SAUCE

4 cooking or all-purpose apples (such as Criterion, Jonagold or Fuji)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 pound veal tenderloin or cutlets

Salt, pepper

1 tablespoon peanut oil

3 tablespoons chopped shallots

3 tablespoons apple brandy, such as Clear Creek from Oregon

6 tablespoons Washington State semillon or other white wine

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Nutmeg

Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Core and peel apples and slice into 3/4-inch thick rounds. Sprinkle with sugar. Pan-fry on both sides over medium heat in non-stick skillet until sugar is lightly caramelized. Keep warm.

Cut veal tenderloin into 16 medallions or pound cutlets between plastic wrap until 2/3 of original thickness. Cut into 16 pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil until very hot. Add only amount of veal that fits easily into pan and saute quickly on both sides. Remove and keep warm while cooking remaining veal, adding remaining oil as needed. Add shallots and apple brandy to pan and flame.

Deglaze pan with wine and reduce sauce by half. Add whipping cream and reduce until slightly thickened. Add parsley and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Return medallions to sauce and keep warm.

Place apple slices on warm individual plates. Place veal on top and spoon sauce around veal. Garnish with thyme sprigs. Serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings.