How to Make the Most of Apple Season

How to pick the best, crispest apples—and keep them that way.

All good things—peach season, for example—must come to an end.

But in the life-affirming world of fruit trees, other good things tend to follow. I'm talking, of course, about apples.

Walk into a grocery store on any day in any month, and you'll find apples. But there's something about an apple in autumn, with its warmer days and crisp nights, that's just right.

"Apples are a mood thing. If it's still hot out, people just aren't ready yet," said Todd Nichols of Nichols Farm and Orchard in Marengo, Illinois who, with his dad and two brothers, tends to more than 10,000 apple trees.

People, those pies are not going to bake themselves. I know I'm ready. It's easy to get in the right mindset once you see the steadily expanding bins of apples the Nicholses bring to the market. (They grow about 250 varieties!)

Here’s what you need to know to pick apples like a pro.

Summer to fall

Fall is when apple season really sets its pace and digs in, though it gets an early jump in summer with some varieties ready to pick in July. Summer apples don't keep long, though. They're best eaten right away.

The bulk of the harvest happens from September through October. In the arid climate of Washington, the nation's top apple-growing state, the season runs into late November.

You'll find the most variety at farmers' markets right now, from the runaway hit Honeycrisp to heirlooms such as Macoun. The densest varieties, such as Braeburn and Granny Smith, tend to ripen last, Nichols said.

What to look for

Most apples start out green and develop a blush or fully redden as they ripen, according to Nichols. Still, certain varieties stay greener, so you can't go just on color.

You can tell a lot more about an apple by feeling it.

Rub your finger on the skin. An overripe apple will feel waxy, Nichols said. (This is trickier with commercially grown apples, which are coated with a food-grade wax to keep them looking pretty.)

Feel for any bruises or soft spots—you don't want those—and give the apple a gentle squeeze. While some types aren't as firm-fleshed as others, if you feel a lot of give, that apple is probably old or overripe, Nichols said.

Photos by Charles Masters, food styling by Sue Li

Does size relate to flavor?

Nope. Big and small apples can be equally delicious. Size has to do with how growers "thin" their trees of their blooms, a necessary step, Nichols said.

The more a tree is thinned, the larger the apples will be. Not enough thinning results in very small apples on an overloaded tree whose branches could snap from the weight. “It’s a balance of thinning and pruning,” he said.

Cold storage

The key to keeping apples is to keep them cold.

They give off a ripening gas called ethylene that'll ripen other fruits and vegetables around. That's helpful if you really need that green bunch of bananas to turn yellow. Otherwise, keep apples separate and refrigerate them, which will slow down the release of ethylene.

The ideal setting, according to Nichols: 32 to 33 degrees, under high humidity. Store them in a tightly closed plastic bag to trap the humidity, and then put the bag in the produce drawer. To ensure it’s humid enough, go even further by placing a damp cloth in the bottom of the drawer, Nichols said.

Stored properly, apples, especially the denser, crisper varieties, should keep for several months—past the holidays, maybe even further.

"I've had tasty, crispy apples until May," Nichols said.