NOTHING BEATS A SUPERLATIVE APPLE!

Each fall, the apple trees at Chester’s Riamede Farm hang heavy with centuries-old heirlooms such as the spicy and juicy Baldwin, hard-to-find classics such as the tart Rhode Island Greening and the Northern Spy, prized by pie makers, and the staples you’d find in the bins at the supermarket — the Macoun, the Gala, the Cortland.

Half of the farm consists of “old standard” trees planted by Riamede’s original owner, “a bit of an intellectual farmer” who favored odd varieties, says current owner Deborah Post, while the other half, planted by Post’s father, has more modern varieties, for a total of nearly three dozens types.

Post says that right now, the orchard’s heirloom Paragon apple is perfect for picking (122 Oakdale Road, Chester, 908-879-5353, riamede.com). This firm-tart variety is red with a green base, juicy, and great for baking or eating fresh.

What’s her favorite? Post may be a farmer, but she’s no stranger to politics. “My favorite apple is whatever is ripe at the moment.”

More than 2,500 kinds of apples are grown in the United States, but 15 varieties account for the vast majority sold.

Consumer tastes have clearly changed, says Derrick Jenkins, the vice president of produce and floral for Wakefern Food Group. Red Delicious gave way to the tender-sweet Fujis and Galas, which, in turn, have ceded shelf space to the latest craze, the explosively juicy Honeycrisps.

More than 2,500 kinds of apples are grown in the United States, but 15 varieties account for the vast majority sold. However, heritage varieties still have their fans, and apple fanatics can seek out modern cult varieties that, for various reasons, don’t make the cut at the supermarket.

Customers at Strawberry Hill Farms in Chesterfield have been known to buy 50 pounds of the super-firm, deep red Arkansas Blacks, and when Post opens up the sweet Ruby trees for picking, there’s always a line. And you’ll find Stayman Winesaps, one of the most popular apples a hundred years ago, in some mainstream supermarkets such as Kings, which also offers heirlooms like the hard-to-find Reine de Reinette, a firm, nutty apple from France.

Food writer Amy Traverso indulged her lifelong love of apples while researching “The Apple Lover’s Cookbook” (W.W. Norton, $29.95) and she’s still discovering new varieties. She’s fond of the pale green Calville Blanc d’Hiver, an acidic French apple with a honeyed finish, and Ashmead’s Kernel, a rusty tart apple often used in hard cider.

The cookbook includes dozens of apple-centric recipes, from the classics to more unusual, savory preparations, such as apple risotto.
“Apples have so much variety in their flavors,” she says, “and in the balance between sweetness and acidity. You can go in so many directions with them. There’s no single apple flavor. There’s just a lot of sources of inspiration.”

An apple primer

In “The Apple Lover’s Cookbook,” Amy Traverso highlights dozens of delicious but lesser-known varieties, although some, like juicy Jazz and the snappy Piñata, are becoming more popular and can be found in some major supermarkets. Others require a trip to your local farm stand or pick-your-own. You should be able to find these varieties this week, but hurry — the product mix changes often, depending on what’s ripe.

Ambrosia: Tender-sweet. Yellow-pink with honeyed flavor. Eat fresh, in salads or with cheese. Not acidic enough for pies and tarts. Whole Foods, Stop & Shop.

Arkansas Black: Firm-tart. Deep red that turns almost black in storage (and will store for months), with nice acidity and cherry-spice flavor. Great in pies and for cider making. Strawberry Hill Farm pick-your-own in Chesterfield (3 Waln Road, 609-298-0823, strawberryhillfarm.org).

Ginger Gold: Firm-sweet. Yellow, with a waxy skin and lemony spicy flavor. Best in cakes and muffins, but it also resists browning, so it’s good for salads. Wegmans, Whole Foods, Valley Crest Farm in Lebanon market and pick-your-own (14 Allerton Road, 908-238-9696, valleycrestfarmnj.org).

Golden Russet: Firm-sweet. Russet and yellow, with dense texture and syrupy juice. Great for cider and applesauce. Tree-Licious Orchards (treeliciousorchards.com) at the South Orange and Montclair farmers markets.

Jazz: Firm-sweet. Scarlet red with yellow-green patches, very juicy and acidic. Delicious out of hand and good for baking, because it keeps its shape and color. Wegmans, ShopRite, Stop & Shop.

Mutsu: Firm-sweet. Also called Crispin, yellow-green with an orange-red tinge and mildly spicy honeysuckle flavor. A juicy, crispy eating apple, but can be used for muffins and cakes. Tree-Licious Orchards, Pochuck Valley Farms market and pick-your-own in Glenwood (962 Route 517, 973-764-4732, pochuckvalleyfarms.com), Alstede Farms market in Chester (84 Route 513 S, 908-879-7189, alstedefarms.com), Peaceful Valley Orchards in Pittstown market and pick-your-own (150 Pittstown Road, 908-730-7748, peacefulvalleyorchards.com), Tradition Farms market in Asbury (465 Route 614, 908-730-8303).

Northern Spy: Firm-tart. Deep red and slightly ridged, with a hint of strawberry flavor. It has long been one of the go-to apple for pie making because it keeps its shape well. Tree-Licious Orchards, Pochuck Valley Farms.

Piñata: Firm-sweet. Rosy-red stripes over orange with tropical flavor. Use in salads and in savory dishes, delicious fresh. Whole Foods, Stop & Shop.

Rhode Island Greening: Firm-tart. Green to greenish-yellow skin, sometimes russeted, with vegetal and tart flavors. Great pie apple and vibrant flavor makes tasty applesauce. Pochuck Valley Farms.

Suncrisp: Firm-tart. Yellow-green with orange blush, spicy lemon-lime flavor. Developed at Rutgers University Horticultural Research Farm, it’s a tasty eating and baking apple. Terhune Orchards market in Princeton (330 Cold Soil Road, 609-924-2310, terhuneorchards.com), Peaceful Valley Orchards, Tradition Farms.