Pure apple pleasure

Useful tips for buying, storing and consuming apples

We love our apples and we would like you to enjoy them from the first bite to the last. This is why we wish to give you some useful tips about apples: what to remember when buying apples, how to store them to keep them crunchy and what to bear in mind before eating apples.

Recognizing quality at first sight

The first impression counts. This is also true for the apple. Apples should be firm and smooth with a peel that shows no indentations or cracks. This is a sign of freshness and good storage. If the apple is slightly wrinkled, it has probably been stored incorrectly or for too long. You can recognize high-quality apples by the stalk cavity, the so-called calyx basin, which gives you information about the apple’s ripeness. If the calyx basin is deep and wide, the apple has been harvested ripe. Furthermore, we invite you to sniff the apple because the released scent is normally quite similar to the aroma of the flesh.

Yellow, red or green?

We generally associate a shining red apple with a ripe apple. The apple’s color, however, doesn’t really give you information about if the apple has reached full ripeness. Some varieties such as Granny Smith are always grass green, even if they are perfectly ripe. Our Apple Advisor helps you to discover the characteristics of the different varieties and to choose your favorite apple!

Store apples in a cool place

Apples in a fruit bowl in the kitchen or in the living room are beautiful to look at but are not stored ideally because apples love cool (but not cold), dark and well aerated environments. Apples keep well and remain fresh for a long time when stored at temperatures between 1 and 5° C. Then the post-ripening process slows down, the apples lose less humidity and thus don’t start to shrivel fast. Cellars, garages or pantries are ideal for longer storage, whereas the vegetable drawer in your fridge is only suitable for a few days. We suggest you to bed your apples softly, for example on a few layers of newspaper or cardboard with the stalk downwards and the calyx upwards.

Mmmmh, that's how your apple likes it!

Apples are not complicated. But they do appreciate some attention.

Store well

Keep apples in a cool place and not next to other fruit.

Unpeeled

Eat the apple with the skin, there are many vitamins in it.

Cleanly washed

Wash the apple thoroughly before eating it.

Apples prefer staying alone

Apples don’t want to be close to other fruits. This is why you shouldn’t store them together with other fruit, but separately. Apples release ethylene, a ripening gas, which accelerates the ripening process of the surrounding fruits and makes them rot more quickly. Bananas, for example, turn brown more quickly when stored next to apples. Furthermore, we recommend you to check your apples once a week and to eliminate any rotten apples to avoid any further damage.

The apple peel is very precious

The apple peel is a real vitamin bomb as it contains a high proportion of vitamins, minerals, fibers and secondary phytochemicals such as quercetin. It has been scientifically proven that the vitamin content in the peel is seven times higher than the one in the flesh. Quercetin and vitamin C protect the flesh from solar radiation among others. This is why their concentration is higher in the peel and in the outer part of the apple. You can enjoy your apple with the peel without hesitation and thus profit from all its beneficial properties.

How to wash and enjoy apples

The apples’ journey from the Val Venosta Apple Paradise to the points of sale lasts a few days. This is why you should wash them thoroughly with lukewarm water before consumption. Vigorous rubbing and the warm water mist help you to eliminate germs and dirt from the peel. In addition, you can dry your apples with kitchen paper afterwards. Enjoy your apple at room temperature when it fully develops its aroma.