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Apple Information

Maine apples and apple products are good tasting gifts of health for anyone you care about, including yourself! Maine apples:

Have no cholesterol or sodium

Are low in calories

Have no more than 1% fat

Are rich in many essential vitamins and minerals

Can even help reduce stress and fight tooth decay!

As a beverage, apple cider is always a fresh choice since it is made only by squeezing ripe apples. Served cool it refreshes, served warm it revives!

Maine Apple Uses, Harvest Times & Varieties

Maine’s apple harvesting season begins in late August and usually lasts through October. Here is what you can expect from Maine’s favorite varieties:
JerseyMac:	An all purpose, sweet/tart apple from the McIntosh family. JerseyMacs are medium firm, and have good flavor. Available from late August.
McIntosh:	The most popular New England apple....sweet and tart, tender and crisp. Good for eating, for cooking, and for longer term storage. Available from mid-September.
Cortland:	A favorite apple for cooking which is also excellent for salads and eating because its white flesh is slow to brown. A good storer. Available from late September.
Spartan:	A juicy, sweet and firm apple which is dark red in color. Good for pie making, as a snack and very good for longer term storage. Available from late September.
Macoun:	An excellent all purpose apple which is extra crisp and sweet and great for eating. Available from late September.
Northern Spy:	A slightly spicy and tart apple popular with pie makers. Very good for longer term storage. Available in late October.
Honeycrisp:	Maine's newest variety, originating in Minnesota as a cross between Honeygold and Macoun. Grown in Maine since 1995.
Other apple varieties you may find in Maine’s apple orchards during August-september include:
Paulared	With a tart flavor and which keeps well; Wealthy, an old fashioned apple, noted for making good pies and sauce.
Prima	Which is very crisp and tart and an excellent eating apple.
...and in October:
Gala	A dense tasty apple developed in New Zealand; Empire, a sweet, tasty apple that is firmer, darker colored, and a little smaller than McIntosh.
Jonagold	A large, firm, sweet-tart apple with juicy crisp flesh.
Hyslop
Crabapple	A scarlet red crabapple, used for jelly or to make spiced crabapples.
Red Delicious	Known for being hard and sweet and at its best in time for the holidays.
Golden Delicious	A sweet and juicy apple with some tartness.
Winter Banana	A hard yellow apple.
Spenser	A large, firm, late maturing red apple with a tangy, sweet flavor.
Mutsu/Crispin	An excellent, dense, juicy eating apple.

Storing Apples:

Apples remain alive after they are picked and they continue to "breathe." The higher the storage temperature, the more rapid is the respiration and the more rapidly the apple fruit spoils. One universal guideline for apple freshness is that for every 10 degrees above 32 degrees, the storage life is cut in half. As a rule, Northern Spy and Spartan are two good Maine varieties which can be stored for a long time. Here are some tips for storing apples:

Handle apples gently—they bruise very easily and should not be squeezed or dropped—even an inch

Store only perfect fruits that are free from punctures or bruises.

Do not store apples that have glassy spots in the flesh, known as "water core."

Check stored fruit periodically. One rotten apple will spoil the barrel if not removed.

Keep apples cold--close to but not below 32 degrees F. Relative humidity should be at a 90% level. (cellars and garages are usually cooler than the rest of the house but are not cool enough for good apple storage).

Store small quantities of fruit in perforated food-grade polyethylene bags to sustain humidity.

Do not seal or tie bags.

Generally, early ripeners do not store well for long periods of time