Honey Crisp apples are very popular in the "You pick-em" apple orchards at the C.N. Smith Farm in East Bridgewater, Mass., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. The unusual weather of the spring and summer has produced a record apple crop this year. (AP Photo/Robert E. Klein)

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Them Apples

By Heather Ray

With 2,500 varieties of apples growing in the United States, what kind keeps the doctor away? But more importantly, what kind makes the best-tasting apple pie?

As you make way through the apple orchards this season (click here to find out where you can go apple picking), here’s how to tell if you’re picking the best apple for you.

Pickyourown.org suggests the following apples for mid to late October:

For everyday eating and snacking (to keep the doctor away): Stayman Winesap, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, and Fuji [One medium apple contains about 80 to 90 calories and 4.4 grams of fiber]

For Cooking: Stayman Winesap, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, and Fuji

For Apple Sauce: Stayman Winesap, Pink Lady, and especially Fuji

For Pie: Pink Lady, Suncrisp, and Fuji

For Apple Butter: Pink Lady and Suncrisp

Core Facts:

* Which apple varieties made the top 10? Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, McIntosh, Rome, Idared, Jonathan, and Empire. Runners-up include York, Cortland, Northern Spy, Rhode Island Greening, and Stayman.
* Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and California are the top five apple-producing states.
* Planting an apple seed from a particular apple will not produce a tree of that same variety. The seed is a cross of the tree the fruit was grown on and the variety that was the cross pollinator.
* Apples are a member of the rose family.
* When bobbing for apples, remember that fresh apples float because 25 percent of their volume is air.

Check out these delicious apple recipes!