Apples are such a beautiful fruit. Not many people know this but it’s impossible to replicate the same apple you’re eating by planting its seed. Strange isn’t it? With many other fruits the seeds from the best tasting ones are usually used to grow plants that will bear fruit of similar (or better) quality. Pretty intuitive… Yet this does not happen with apples.
Apples are grown by grafting. You cut a branch from a tree with apples you love (technically called a scion) attach it to the roots of another tree (rootstock), give it time to heal and grow as one tree. Every apple that grows on that branch will be the exact same variety as the tree you took it from!
Which means every Honeycrisp you’ve ever eaten is basically a clone of one original tree in Minnesota. Every McIntosh goes all the way back to a single tree John McIntosh found on his farm in Ontario in 1811. This genuinely blew my mind the first time I heard about it.
Seeds for apples “don’t work” because apples are what scientists call extremely heterozygous, which is a fancy way of saying every apple tree carries two very different versions of a lot of its genes. When an apple makes seeds, all those genes get shuffled.
Most apple trees also can’t pollinate themselves. They need pollen from a different apple variety, usually delivered by a bee (we must always thank the bees!!). So every seed in the apple you’re holding is a brand new mix of two different parents. This is why when you pant it you’ll get a completely new apple. Most of the time sour and not a good one!! These types of apples are called ‘spitters’.
(When scientists finally sequenced the apple genome in 2010, they found around 57,000 genes. That’s roughly twice as many as us humans. So a lotttt to shuffle.)
Though sometimes, you get a good shuffle… John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) planted apple trees all across the American frontier, but he planted them from seed! So most of his apples were spitters. Nobody really cared because they were never meant for eating but for hard cider.
However… every once in a while, one of those seeds wins the lottery. Granny Smith started as a seedling growing out of a pile of discarded fruit in 1860s Australia. Golden Delicious (the actual delicious one) was a random seedling on a farm in West Virginia. Today both are grown all over the world!
Nowadays most new apples come from university breeding programs. Breeders cross two apples they like, plant thousands of seeds, and keep only a tiny handful. That’s how we got Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisp and SweeTango. It can take decades for a single new apple to make it to your grocery store :)
Which brings us to the matrix!! The one which divided opinion, to say the least.
Every apple on here sits on two scales. One of them is science. The other is pure opinion (ours, made collectively of course).
Sweet vs. Tart
This is science. Every apple has natural sugars and natural acid (mostly malic acid, which is what gives apples that zing). How sweet an apple tastes is about how much sugar versus how much acid it has. That’s why a Granny Smith and a Fuji can taste like completely different fruits! Also - the acid in apples fades the longer they sit in storage. An apple in March usually tastes sweeter and a little flatter than the same apple picked in October. Another reason to eat them in season!!
Underrated vs. Overrated
This is pure fun. 100% our collective opinion from us and our followers on IG :)
The further left an apple sits, the more we think it deserves a spot in your fruit bowl! The further right, the more we think it’s really more hype than substance. BUT overrated doesn’t mean bad!! Some of the apples on the right are lovely. They just get a lot more attention than they’ve earned IMO. And Red “Delicious”... well, the quotation marks speak for themselves…
Which Apple For What?
Something I wish more people knew that the best apple for eating isn’t always the best apple for baking!
Eating raw. You want crunch and juice. Honeycrisp is famous for this because its cells are unusually big and full of juice, so they literally burst when you bite in. SugarBee, SweeTango, Snapdragon, Ambrosia and Pink Lady are all beautiful fresh too.
Baking. You want an apple that still looks like an apple after an hour in the oven. The trick is pectin, the natural “glue” that holds apple cells together. Heat breaks it down, but acid helps it hold on. So firm, tart apples keep their shape while soft, sweet ones turn to mush. Granny Smith, Braeburn, Pink Lady and Jonagold are all great picks. Even better, mix a tart one and a sweet one in the same pie. Trust me it works.
Applesauce, apple butter & compote. Here you actually want the mush! Softer apples like McIntosh, Macoun, Gala and Fuji melt down into something so silky.
Salads & savory. Go for firm, bright apples that won’t brown too quickly: Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Ambrosia or Opal. Slice them thin into a slaw, roast them with pork, or eat them with a good sharp cheddar.
Cider. This is where the tart apples finally get their moment!! Old varieties like Winesap were cider royalty long before anyone cared about a sweet snacking apple.
Also really missed you guys last week but we are so back :)
It’s apple season right now, so this is your sign to go to a farmers market this weekend! Grab a few apples you’ve never tried and taste them side by side. What’s your favorite apple? 🥂
Foods that warm your soul
It's time for warmth! Make bone broth. Toast garlic bread and witness the scent engulf your kitchen in the best of ways. Try every type of pho. Banana bread maxx. Choose the beef bourguignon. Try nonna's borscht. Sip on real cacao before bed without any screens. As the days get colder, drink and eat warmer! Between me and you tho we'll still enjoy our affogato sundays hehe 🤭
Best spots to get tastefully caffeinated in Berlin 🇩🇪
Fall produce guide
Which seasonal favorite are you most excited to bring home?
❋ Vanilla Bean & Cardamom Coffee Cake by Ella Henry
“I have been in my cozyyy hot creamy cup of coffee era. Something about it when the weather starts getting a little chilly…it’s like pure warmth & nourishment in a cup.
and what goes better with coffee than coffee cake? If you need an excuse to have cake for breakfast, this is it. We’re ringing in the new season with pure pleasure.” — Ella Henry
❋ Five fall shoes I’m excited to wear this season by Sprezza
“Loafers are always tricky because my foot is dumb narrow, but these in a 40 (US 8–8.5) are money. The leather is supple and only gets softer with more wear, and the leather outsole is durable enough to last a lifetime; I wouldn’t bother wearing them in the rain or snow.
I’m not one to go sockless with my loafers because I’ve been betrayed by blisters before, so I’ll throw on a thicker athletic sock or even a wool sock—now that we’ll start to get a slight chill in the air.” — Sprezza
“This homemade apple crisp is made with a tasty base of sliced Honeycrisp apples combined with sugar and spices that are topped with the most delicious crumbly crisp ever – flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter – then it’s all baked to perfection! Top with vanilla ice cream and dig right in!”
❋ Taking My Own Medicine by Molly Reeder
“We were tasked with a project called ‘Healer, heal thyself’. The project required that each of us create a delicious herbal elixir that we would take consistently every day for eight weeks. This elixir was meant to address a particular core health issue for ourselves- whether that was physical, emotional or energetic. Everyone in my class created their own unique blends with different plants and flavorings, and this summer we all took our own medicines. Last week we had our class call and got to share our results from taking these elixirs. The way that these different formulas profoundly changed and impacted each person’s life really blew me away. The power of plant medicine is so deep and rich and all encompassing. I want to share my write up with you all below about my own elixir.” — Molly Reeder
❋ The best pumpkin spice french toast by Kiley Heard
“This Best Pumpkin Spice French toast is cozy, warm, and packed with alllll of the pumpkin spice flavor that you’ll want all fall long. It starts with thick slices of bread (preferably challah or brioche) that get soaked in a rich and perfectly spiced pumpkin custard. They get cooked on a griddle until they’re soft and custardy in the middle, yet still have that beautiful golden brown exterior. Gosh my mouth is watering just thinking about it again.” — Kiley Heard
❋ Drink good water. Eat whole foods. by Clara Sieg
“There’s a certain thrill in making a meal at the cold / hot bar, if you’ll allow me. Unlimited mixing of vegetables, raw and roasted, a couple french fries that don’t count because it’s just a couple, mystery meat in one of the corners, a random ravioli wilting the small amount of lettuce you’ve included to designate your diaspora as a salad, and a reality check from the cashier when you’ve exceeded a pound in the medium-sized box (blame tomatoes, they’re heavy).” — Clara Sieg
❋ Elevated Pantry Staples by Myles Snider
“If you read this newsletter regularly, you’ll know that I very much consider myself an ingredient-driven cook. I think that the most important factor in cooking is the quality of your inputs; when you start with great primary ingredients, you can make simple dishes that taste amazing without much effort.
Today I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite high-quality pantry staples. You’re likely familiar with all of these ingredients, but these are the brands I’ve found that do them best.” — Myles Snider
Rebuild your IG Algorithm (more fun links):
❋ Don’t cut limes directly in the middle
❋ Tips for traveling with a baby
❋ Hidden tennis court in Paris
❋ 17 things to text instead of let me know
❋ Catching up with Tom Colicchio
❋ Five interior design mistakes
Have a beautiful week!
— Rocky
❋ All our digital issues are free to peruse. Explore our latest:
❋ Winter 25/26 Coffee Table Book (Print)
❋ Explore the full WARKITCHEN archive here.
❋ Join WARKITCHEN book club here.
❋ Got an article or recipe in mind? We’d love to hear more! Please send your pitch to rocky@warkitchen.net.
We really love a batch of Spartan for apple butter and Jonathans for a flavorful applesauce with a dash of cinnamon. They cook down well in a short time, too.
Gorgeous- you brighten my inbox constantly ✨