Food and Nutrition: Taste Test Apples!
By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS
Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County
GOSHEN — I wrote earlier about apples and I am writing about them again for a number of reasons. One of the most important is that they are so good for you and we all should be eating more of them. That old saying about healthy eating that I learned from my parents: ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away,’ is now supported by research. Research shows apple eaters have a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and are less likely to be obese. So please think ‘apples’ from breakfast to lunch, dinner and snacks.
Apples really are a convenience food created by nature even before we knew about convenience foods. We live in a great part of the United States where many fruits and vegetables are grown. Every summer I hear about tomato testing where gardeners come together to taste all the varieties such as the heirloom, the yellows, the plums, and the grape tomatoes. I am suggesting that all of us who prepare food have an apple variety tasting.
You can visit your local orchard and select a few of each variety, making sure to label each when you’re buying so you can have an organized taste test. Our grocery stores are also a great place to purchase a variety of apples for tasting. Apple tasting with some cheese tasting sounds really good to me. I might suggest some of our local cheese, and I know that apples go great with white cheddar, which is one of my favorites.
Creating a tray with varieties of apples could be a real time saver when you are making desserts. You could make this more inviting by also having some yogurt, caramel or peanut butter dip that could be enjoyed after tasting the apples plain. When taste testing keep in mind that apples go from sweet to tart, and come in a variety of flavors. I am sure the number of varieties changes each year and I know that some varieties come and go. Connoisseurs of apples like Tom Kercher of Kercher’s Sunrise Orchard in Goshen can taste apples fresh or baked and tell you the variety of apple without even looking at the apple. I have had this tasting experience with him more than once and he is always correct. I think he has some apple cider or juice in his blood, really.
Let’s size up apples. An extra small apple, one with a two and one half inch diameter is about 14 carbs, a small apple is two and three-quarter inches in diameter and provides 21 grams of carbs. A medium apple, with a three-inch diameter, has 25 grams of carbs, and a large apple, with a three and one-quarter inch diameter provides 31 grams. The size of the apple does make a difference when you are eating the way a diabetic is supposed to. Less than an inch difference doubles the carbohydrate count.
Many large apples or larger apples are really two or more servings of fruit. When you are preparing fruit for children keep this in mind and remember that extra small apples, or better yet, apple wedges that are dipped in lemon or pineapple juice are much easier for kids to eat. An apple slicer is a handy kitchen tool; the nicer ones with the heavy handles are well worth the money. Once apples are sliced they can be served as a snack, added to green salads, baked, cooked and prepared all the other ways that you can think of.
Plan an apple or more a day in your healthy eating and please share apple eating with your family and friends. Let me know about your apple testing. One of my favorite is the Jazz and I recently enjoyed a Tango – talk about a sweet treat. Here is to apple eating!