Apples: Sweet & Nutritious Power Foods

How to Buy and Prep Apples, Plus Helpful Tools

Storing apples:

• Refrigerate apples 3-5 weeks in a crisper drawer. "Apples deteriorate much faster in a bowl at room temperature," says Todd Hultquist of the U.S. Apple Association.

Cleaning and eating apples:

• Eat the peel to get the most phytonutrients (plant substances tied to health benefits). "Antioxidants and other phytonutrients are concentrated in the apple peel," Liu says.
• Scrub apples gently with a vegetable brush in lukewarm water to remove wax, dirt, and any pesticide residue on the surface.

Tools that help prep apples:
1. Apple corer: Great for prepping whole apples for baking
2. Apple slicer: Easily slides through apples, quickly slicing the fruit for snaking or baking
3. Apple peeler: Help you prep your fruit for a perfect pie

Did you know? One bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. Apples give off ethylene gas, which speeds ripening. A damaged apple releases even more ethylene gas, causing the apples it's stored with to decay faster. Store bruised, injured apples away from good apples.