Red Delicious Apples

[Ling]

I received a very big fruit basket last week and all I have left are these 5 really big, Red Delicious apples. I never eat these because the ones we get in Vancouver are tasteless, and as I understand they're not very good cooking apples either.

Is there anything I can do with them? I don't really want to throw away perfectly good food.

[jgm]

I received a very big fruit basket last week and all I have left are these 5 really big, Red Delicious apples. I never eat these because the ones we get in Vancouver are tasteless, and as I understand they're not very good cooking apples either.

Is there anything I can do with them? I don't really want to throw away perfectly good food.

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The only thing I can think of, is to make applesauce out of them, in combination with other varieties of apples. Or combine with 2 other varieties--tart and flavorful--and make a Waldorf salad.

[Rachel Perlow]

Slice them and spread the slices with peanut butter. Rasins on top are optional.

[Patrick S]

Cooking with sugar and butter makes almost any apple delicious. I've made plenty of apple pies with Red Delicious apples. So, if I were you, I'd make a pie. Or twenty-hour apples -- apples slow-cooked with butter and sugar, some cinnamon at 175F for 10 hours.

Edited November 23, 2004 by Patrick S (log)

[Ling]

I've tried many different varieties of apples and I think Fuji apples are the best in pies. The 24 hr apples sound like a good idea though, and I've never made anything like that before.

[Wendy DeBord]

I wouldn't bake with them. I'd probably coat them with caramel and toffee and eat as a caramel apple.

[sparrowgrass]

Find your zucchini bread recipe, and sub the apples for the zucchini. Add some cinnamon. Nice moist bread, even if it doesn't taste much like apples.

[SuzySushi]

Through no fault of my own, I am stuck with 8 Red Delicious apples (an oxymoron if I ever heard one).

They're no good for pie. We're going to a potluck and I'd like to incorporate them into a dessert recipe. Suggestions, anyone?

[GTO]

How about some Apple brownies?

Maybe as it's getting towards Winter, you could add some mulled wine type spices, that would be pretty cool.

[russ parsons]

along the same lines, i'd do a spicy apple cake ... something where you're not depending on the quality of the fruit.

[ewindels]

Red Delicious are, I believe, renowned for not being great apples to cook with. That said, they would probably work in an apple crisp, and what doesn't work under a layer of quick butter topping?

See this recipe from cooks.com, to which you could always add a little freshly grated nutmeg, cloves, or allspice to jazz it up.

[Lori in PA]

I'd go for a spice cake, as well. Grate or finely chop them -- then the texture isn't an issue. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way about RD apples.

[davecap]

they are perfect for tarte tatin

[phaelon56]

I haven't had any in awhile but I think Apple Bread would be tasty - especially if one added some nuts or raisins. Paramount is the notion of somehow using the inherent apple flavor without exposing anyone to the issue of texture. I agree about RD apples - a poor example of a fine fruit. I'm busy working off the last of my Macoun's and I'll eat every single one of them out of hand.

[lizard]

Mulled wine or even Sangria would be great, as they can just soak up the flavor of the medium, seeing as how they have little taste of their own.

Also, recipes where the ingredients overwhelm the apples would be good, too. A caramel apple tarte tatin (classic tatin with extra caramel or hard sauce drizzled over everything) would be tasty even when made with styrofoam.

Edited November 7, 2006 by lizard (log)

[LuckyGirl]

Remove the skin, chop hem coursely and toss with coursely chopped wlanuts and a little red wine. What is the name of this mix? It is serve at Seders. It is such a simple thing and so lovely.

[Sue Flay]

Remove the skin, chop hem coursely and toss with coursely chopped wlanuts and a little red wine. What is the name of this mix? It is serve at Seders. It is such a simple thing and so lovely.

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Haroset.

[petite tête de chou]

Perhaps an applesauce and gingerbread trifle?

Or an apple trifle with Calvados soaked ladyfingers?

[russ parsons]

just a little more ag-geekery: red delicious apples were at one time a very respectable fruit. but they weren't real red. breeders concentrated on increasing the color, not realizing that the pigment that gives that dark red color also has a distinctly bitter flavor. by the time they did realize it, the apple growers were selling so many red delicious apples that they didn't pay any attention. it was only when new varieties were introduced--fuji, gala, pink lady, etc.--and the red delicious market started to collapse that they decided they needed to make a change. i saw one paper from an ag economist who estimated that washington state apple growers had lost money for something like 10 straight years.

[Pam R]

I agree with Patrick. They're fine for pie, though not my favorite. We had a baker that used only Red Delicious in her apple strudel... it was very good.

I would use them in baking - but I'd mix them with something tart and firm.

[kitwilliams]

davecap is absolutely right. they are great for tarte tatin. they are so starchy so hold up very well to long cooking. give it a try...you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[russ parsons]

hmmm, in my experience, red delicious are not acceptable for cooking--they almost always have something like a musty, stale cardboard flavor. that could be poor conditioning/storage, but it has happened often enough to make me wary. golden delicious, on the other hand, are very good apples when they're grown, harvested, conditioned and stored correctly, both for eating out of hand and for cooking.

[Catherine Iino]

Russ kind of answered a question that's been in my mind a long time. When I was a pubescent foodie, in high school, many decades ago, I often went out a lunchtime and bought one red delicious apple at the local deli that catered to students seeking lunch. I loved those apples. They were crisp and clear tasting. I wonder if the whole breed has changed since then?

They were also definitely better than the red delicious apples you could get then, or now, in the supermarket. I think storage does make a huge difference; even the best apples (jonagold? braeburn?) often have that musty, cardboardy taste when I buy them from Stop & Shop. What is that taste, anyway?

Also, Russ or anyone, are there actually two breeds sold as golden delicious? I see the smooth skinned, completely tasteless ones in the supermarkets, but sometimes I find other, more russeted apples at farmstands that are also called golden delicious--and they really are.

My last two cents: everyone keeps raving about the new Honeycrisps, but so far I've been disappointed. Is is storage again? Should I keep trying?

[jackal10]

Make biffins: Put them whole is a really low (plate warming) oven at about 90C for 24 hours; you are really part drying them rather than cooking - concentrates the flavour and they end up creamy, like custard.

A Victorian delicacy

[russ parsons]

what we call red delicious and golden delicious are actually several related breeds of varying quality. sometimes you can even find old-timey red delicious (look for an apple that is tiger-striped rather than solidly colored). as far as i know russeting on golden delicious is reflective of growing conditions rather than variety (i think it has to do with too much sun). but harvest maturity is really, really important. Though apples will continue to ripen after harvest and will change color, they won't accumulate any more sugar. trust the farmer.