Apples provide an array of culinary uses, from baking pies to making cider, based on their different textures and flavors. Identifying types of apples allows you to categorize the uses of each type by taste and texture. Soft, juicy, sweet varieties offer an option for juices, sauces and fresh eating. Firmer, tart-tasting apples provide a consistency and flavor desired for pie-making and cooking purposes.
Feel the apple’s skin for a hard or soft exterior consistency. Cut the apple into a slice to feel the flesh. McIntosh, Cortland, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples offer a soft skin and tender flesh. Jonathan, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Mutso and Rome apples provide a firmer skin and flesh. Arkansas Black apples are hard in texture.
Bite into the apple to test the texture on your mouth. Fuji, Pink Lady, Winesap and York apples provide a crisp, crunchy texture. Cortland apples offer a creamy, soft feel in the mouth. McIntosh, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Gala apples are juicy versus the firmer textured apples that emit less juice when bitten.
Cut the skin off the apple and suck on the flesh of the apple to identify it by flavor. Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious taste sweet. Granny Smith, Jonathan, Rome, Braeburn and Arkansas Black apples provide a tart flavor. Empire, Cortland, McIntosh and Jonagold apples taste sweet with a mildly tart undertone. Winesap apples provide a spicy flavor.