Store slightly underripe apples for 2 weeks or less in a cool place, 60° to 70° F., to ripen.
Apples that are ripe enough for eating will keep in your home refrigerator for a week or longer. Place them in the humidifier compartment or in a moisture-resistant container, such as a polyethylene bag. Fruit needs some ventilation, however. The polyethylene bags in which apples are sometimes purchased have small holes. If you prepare your own bags for storing apples, cut a few scattered half-inch holes.
Longer Storage
Most varieties of apples will keep several months if stored at lower temperatures. Freezing will lower the quality of apples.
For directions on long-term storage of apples, see Home and Garden Bulletin 119, “Storing Vegetables and Fruits in Basements, Cellars, Outbuildings, and Pits.” Send your request on a post card to the Office of Information, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Please include your ZIP Code.
RECIPES
Here are some of the many ways to use apples—in the main course of the meal, in salads, in breads, in desserts, and in other ways. Let the table on [page 4] guide you in selecting the best apple variety for each recipe. The flavor, texture, and juiciness of the finished product may vary slightly with the kind of apple used.
Commercially canned applesauce was used in developing the recipes that call for applesauce. If you use homemade applesauce in these recipes, it should be similar in sweetness and juiciness to commercially canned applesauce.
Raw apples may darken when the cut surface is exposed to air, especially if the fruit has touched the iron in a knife blade or chopper. Protect cut apples from darkening by mixing with fruit juice—lemon, orange, grapefruit, or pineapple—before adding other ingredients.