Apple tastings are apparently an actual “thing” at some orchards, historic sites, etc. — but I could find very little information about how to actually conduct an apple tasting.  Apples make a healthy, allergy-friendly alternative to more common “tastings,” like wine and chocolate, so I pulled together all the information I could scrounge up on the subject.

Preparing for an Apple Tasting

The primary thing you need for an apple tasting is, of course, apples.

You’ll want to go beyond the basic supermarket varieties, but if it’s your first time, you might want to also include those, for comparison.  If you have an orchard nearby, that can be a good place to get less-common varieties.  A farmer’s market is another source to check out.

(I’m told that a supermarket Red Delicious and orchard-fresh Red Delicious are very different, so you might even want to get one of each and compare them by source!)

The greatest variety of apples ripens in fall or winter, so that might be the best time to do a tasting.

If the apples have been sprayed or waxed, be sure they’re washed.  Have a sharp knife and small cutting board on hand, as well as something to cleanse the palate in between — like water and bland crackers.

The Actual Apple Tasting

You’re going to be examining the apples for appearance, texture, aroma, and flavor.

Appearance is the first thing you’ll observe.  Note the color.  Is the apple deep red, golden, light green, etc.?  Even red apples aren’t all the same shade of red!  Is the color uniform, or is it streaked, mottled, or otherwise variegated?  Is it very glossy/shiny, or more matte?  What about the shape?  That might seem like a crazy question if you’ve never paid attention before, but some apples are very round and others are more heart-shaped.

Texture is next.  How thick is the skin?  What about the flesh?  Is it crisp, crunchy, creamy, soft, juicy, dry, smooth, grainy, mealy, etc.?

Leaf.TV tells readers to:

• “Feel the apple’s skin for a hard or soft exterior consistency. Cut the apple into a slice to feel the flesh.”
• “Bite into the apple to test the texture on your mouth.”
• “Cut the skin off the apple and suck on the flesh of the apple to identify it by flavor.”

This has rolled right from texture into flavor — but they’ve skipped past aroma.

I would recommend smelling the apple right after cutting off a slice, to get a sense of the aroma.  Then, of course, go ahead and bite in to finish experiencing the texture, and suck on a slice to get a stronger feel for the flavor.

There can be a surprising variety of flavors in apples; Switzerland has an apple tasting wheel that can provide a good starting point for identifying flavors.

Apples of Uncommon Character: Heirlooms, Modern Classics, and Little-Known Wonders

What About Kids?

You might be wondering why the title of this post specifies that it’s for adults.  Can kids not participate in an apple tasting?  Yes, kids can absolutely participate!  Most of the apple tasting information I found when I was looking was at a very basic level geared toward kids.

This post is aimed at creating a slightly more sophisticated type of tasting that adults will enjoy, but the kids can definitely join in!

Need Help?

I created a simple printable kit you can use for your first tasting.  It’s not super-sophisticated; it’s more of an in-between, but it includes printable instructions that should be less awkward for offline use than a blog post!  It also includes a printable tasting mat and sheets of tasting notes to make it easier to jot down notes and keep straight which apple varieties they go with.

Get the apple tasting kit.