Instructions: Whether or not September brings a nip in the air to your part of the country, this month calls to mind images of apple trees heavy with fruit, apples on the teachers desk, and apples - lots of apples - for making wonderful dishes.

The apple is Americas favorite fruit. And it is no wonder. They are available year round. There are dozens of varieties, some widely known and nationally distributed, like Red Delicious, and others far less familiar to most of us, such as Patricia, an incomparable eating apple, but limited in production due to its poor keeping qualities.

Apples are extremely nutritious, especially with the skin on. A medium-sized apple has about 80 calories, and packs moderate amounts of calcium and iron, along with Vitamins A and B. Raw apples contain high amounts of pectin (apple jelly, for instance, doesnt require the addition of SureJell) and malic acid, which promote good digestion. The skin provides essential dietary fiber (about 3 grams). Studies have revealed that fruit pectins trap and prevent cholesterol from building up in the linings of blood vessel walls, resulting in lowered blood pressure and reduced symptoms of atherosclerosis. "An apple a day" is, I believe, how it goes. Two could be even better.

The goodness of apples has inspired cooks for thousands of years, and there is a wealth of cuisine that relies upon them. Grandmas Cookbook contains many recipes with apples at their core (pun intended - I wont do it again); but here we showcase two kinds of Apple Butter, Baked Apples to perfume your kitchen and delight your palate, a moist and delicious Applesauce Gingerbread, Waldorf Salad (a study in contrasts: creamy/crunchy and sweet/tart), a main dish: Pork Tenderloin with Apples, and a bona fide American standby: Grandmas Apple Pie.

When cooking with unpeeled apples, always wash them first in order to remove any dirt acquired during shipping and any residual pesticides that may be present. Incidentally, Red and Golden Delicious apples shipped from Washington State, are coated with a harmless vegetable wax to replace the natural wax removed during the washing process.

Below is a table which reflects finished amounts that can be expected from large, medium and small apples:
***Size*****Diameter** Sliced/Chopped
**Grated****Fine Chop****Sauce**

Large****** 3 3/4"
*******2 cups
*************1 1/4 cups**1 1/2 cups****** 3/4 cup
Medium
****2 3/4"
******1 1/3 cups
**********3/4 cup
****1 cup

**********1/2 cup
Small****** 2 1/4"
*******3/4 cup** 1/2 cup**** 3/4 cup********* 1/3 cup

Over 300 apple varieties are grown in the United States; however, only about 20 are produced by the major commercial orchards. These apples are not neces-sarily chosen for the excellence of their taste but, rather, for their prodigious harvest, their suitability for shipping and long storage, and their disease resis-tance. But there are plenty of fine varieties that find their way to supermarket produce departments, not to mention Farmers Markets and the many privately-owned apple orchards that open their gates to the public during the autumn months.

It is good to have some specific knowledge about the uses for which certain apples happen to be well suited. The apples listed in the table below are commercially produced and likely to be found in most markets.

***Variety******Eating*****Salad****Sauce****Baking*****Pie***

Cortland- Good -Excellent- Good -Good - Good Golden Delicious-Good- -Excellent-Excellent-Good -Good Red Delicious-Good-Good- Poor- Poor- Poor Empire- Excellent- Good- Good- Fair- Fair Idared -Good -Good- Good -Excellent-Excellent Jonathan- Excellent- Good -Good -Excellent-Excellent McIntosh-Good- Fair- Good- Poor- Fair Paulared- Good -Good- Good- Fair- Fair Rome Beauty-Poor- Fair- Good- Good -Good Granny Smith-Good- Good- Fair- Good- Good Winesap- Excellent- Excellent-Excellent- Good -Good

Remember, too, that apple juice and apple cider can be used interchangeably in recipes.

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