Cooking apple

A cooking apple, also called a culinary apple, is an apple grown or chosen mainly for cooking rather than for eating raw like a dessert apple. Cooking apples tend to be larger and tarter than dessert varieties, and many have firm flesh that keeps its shape when cooked, while others have a high acid content and produce a froth that suits some recipes. Britain grows a wide range of apples specifically for cooking, although worldwide the dual-purpose varieties that serve both uses are more widely grown. Cooks simmer a wedge in water to test whether a variety holds its shape. Cooking apples are made into sauce, apple butter and preserves, baked whole with a filling of fruit, sugar and spices, and used in pies, crumbles and dumplings. In the United Kingdom cold apple sauce is a common accompaniment to roast pork.