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Apples are a staple in almost every household. Their sweet-tart flavour and refreshing crunch make them perfect for snacking and baking, along with shredded in salads, blended into sauces and even, juiced for drinks.
Here are some of the best apple varieties to keep in the kitchen.
Granny Smith
With their firm flesh and natural crunch, Granny Smiths are a go-to cooking apple for Adam Liaw, the host of SBS Food's The Cook Up. He says, “They're not great eating (raw) because they're sour and very tart, but they've got a really good structure.”
This ability to hold shape makes Granny Smiths great for baking , and . Liaw’s French-inspired apple skin cake calls for a combination of green and red Granny Smiths with the green variety adding a sour note and the red variety bringing a touch of sweetness.
Natalie Paull, cookbook author and owner of , also notes that Granny Smiths are an ideal cooking apple, as their “flesh is resistant to oxidisation (browning) in that sensitive moment between prepping and cooking”.
Adam's apple skin cake Source: Kitti Gould
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Apple skin cake
Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious apples are a crowd-pleaser thanks to their soft bite, natural sweetness and golden-yellow skin. As Paull explains, they have "a sweeter, honey flavour" compared to their tart Granny Smiths counterparts. "[It] can be mistakenly assumed they don’t keep their shape as well but they make a wonderful whole baked apple, stuffed with dried fruit, amaretti cookies and served with lashing of custard."
Beyond desserts, these golden apples work well blended into smoothies, fried into , or simmered into sweet, tangy apple sauce. Their sweet-tart flavour also cuts through the richness in meat dishes, such as or .
Porchetta with grated apple dressing Source: Adam Liaw
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Porchetta
Gala
Gala apples are a refreshing cross between Golden Delicious and Kidd's Orange varieties, easily identified by their yellow-orange, red-striped skin. Their crisp texture makes Galas a favourite eating apple for Liaw and their natural sweetness shines in cooked and baked desserts, reducing the required amount of sugar in a recipe.
Try sliced Gala apples in a or coarsely grated in .
Braeburn
Originating from New Zealand, these apples are firm, juicy and tart. Fresh Braeburn apples have undertones of honey, similar to pears, which balances their flesh's almost citrus-like acidity.
Despite not being the sweetest apple, Braeburns are a go-to for baked cakes. Their flesh, according to Paull, yields beautifully into the batter when baked from raw, and the apple slices retain their shape while cooking in the oven.
Braeburns are a go-to for baked cakes.
Braeburns also pair well with cheese so are a popular choice for cheeseboards, and savoury .
Jazz
The Jazz is a hybrid apple, which balances the sweetness of Gala apples with the tartness of Braeburns. It’s also reminiscent of a pear with subtle undertones of spice and a green-yellow base under its maroon-blushed skin.
Hard and crisp, Jazz apples hold well in roasted meat dishes and casseroles. They also lend a prominent crunch to or make a fresh breakfast topping for and pancakes.
“Jazz apples are a perfect (for me) apple…,” says Paull. “I love making a lightly sweetened compote with them to serve with clean and creamy desserts like cheesecakes. I also like an apple as complex as Jazz in a .”
