Apple, Pear, Crab Apple & Quince

In the days when fruit was a luxury, apples and pears were the only fruits that could be stored for more than a week or two, which meant that they were available for more than half the year. Today there are numerous apple and pear varieties, some developed by accident and others by careful crossbreeding, and many dating back to the eighteenth or nineteenth century. However of these, barely a hundred are exploited commercially and far fewer are grown as a common crop.

For the cook, apples and pears divide simply into dessert fruits (sweet and fragrant when raw), and cooking fruits (tart and high in acidic tannin). Some types are good for eating raw but are still acid enough to poach or to give bite to a sauce. Varieties that remain firm when heated are good for sautéing, poaching or baking in a tart; those that cook quickly to a fluffy purée are best for plain baking or reducing to a sauce. For poaching or sautéing, the fruit should be firm, even slightly underripe, but for baking or puréeing it may be softer. Both apples and pears discolor when peeled or sliced, but new varieties that turn brown less quickly are being developed.