Reviving the lost art of self-reliance, one small step at a time

Apples are a fruit close to my heart; I grew up on an apple farm. They’re also one of my favorite fruits to bake with. These are (mostly) healthy apple recipes made from whole food ingredients. The best apple recipes start with flavorful, fresh apples. My favorite, bar none? The Gravenstein apple.

These are the apples I grew up with and one of the first apple varieties to ripen every season. Their flavor is slightly spicy and a bit tangy. They are a tender apple with thin skin and cook up beautifully when they are ripe. A perfectly ripe Gravenstein has green skin with a slight yellow tinge and red stripes.

Gravenstein apple on tree

(There is also a Red Gravenstein apple; they are sweeter than the standard variety and tend toward mushiness, though the flavor is good.)

Gravensteins are only in their prime for a few weeks, though. Overripe Gravensteins will become a bit mushy in a pie. Not to worry — Gravensteins are also the best apple for making applesauce; if you find yourself with some very ripe Gravs, they make a wonderful sugar free applesauce.

Finding Gravenstein apples will be the most difficult trick. They don’t ship well, so unless you know someone who has a tree or live in an area where farmers grow Gravensteins, you might be out of luck.

The best apple recipes

Grandma’s apple pie recipe is (in my opinion) one of the best apple recipes out there. Learn how to make a pie crust and serve this up to your loved ones. They’ll be so happy.

If you’re looking for healthy apple recipes, one of the easiest side dishes you can make is applesauce. Make it in an electric pressure cooker or cook up a big batch and preserve it for the winter.