Most people pick apples by flavor. For eating out of hand, that is the only test that matters. Every other job an apple does asks a different question, and taste is rarely the right one.
For pie, the question is whether the slices hold their shape. America's Test Kitchen landed on two varieties instead of one, Granny Smith and McIntosh. The Granny Smiths stay tart and keep their edges through the bake. The McIntosh do exactly what everyone warns they will do and fall apart. They collapse into a juicy base that fills the gaps around the firmer slices.
Braeburn, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, and Honeycrisp all survive a long bake and can stand in for the Granny Smith. The principle holds either way: one firm variety for structure, one softer one to melt around it.
Sauces reverse all of it. Penn State Extension advises combining several varieties. Sweet apples such as Golden Delicious, Gala, Rome Beauty, and Jonagold need little or no added sugar, while tart ones such as McIntosh, Cortland, Jonathan, and York Imperial will need more.
Salad needs the slices to stay white. University of Missouri Extension names Cortland, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Mutsu as the varieties that resist browning after cutting.
Apples stay crisp and juicy roughly 10 times longer in the refrigerator than in a bowl on the counter.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.