Depending on what you're going to cook, there are a few ways you can freeze them.
For most uses, I find the simplest method is just to peel, core, and slice them. First, you want to keep the slices from browning using one of the following methods:
- Dip them in lemon juice.
- Dip in a salt water dip (2 tbsp salt to 1 gallon water)
- Quickly steam/blanch (1-2 minutes) to stop the enzymes that cause browning,
- Pack them in a sugar syrup (usually used when you plan to serve the apples as-is after defrosting, see link referenced below). A good ratio is 2 cups sugar to 3 cups of water, plus 1/2 tsp of ascorbic acid to prevent browning. You'll want to make about 1 cup syrup per quart of apples.
Personally, I prefer the lemon juice method, it's proven to be quite effective for me and I always have lemons in hand in the house.
Freeze apple slices on a single layer on a cookie sheet (in the bottom of the freezer) then transfer to a Ziploc bag when solid. The sheet method allows them to freeze as fast as possible in the typical home freezer, and prevents them from sticking together so you can portion them as you need them. If you're going to be storing for a long time, wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil before putting in the bag.
Some people just wash and freeze them whole, though I prefer do to the prep before freezing so I can just pull them out of the freezer and use them. They will freeze well whole, however I find that the ruptured cell walls cause them to be harder to peel/core after defrosting using this method.
If you're going to make a pie, you can also freeze them with sugars and spices etc (prepared just as you would make a pie filling) in a pie pan. You can then take them out of the freezer like that, drop the prepared, shaped mixture right into a pie crust, and bake your pie with a slight increase in baking time.
As far as how long they'll last, they'll be safe indefinitely, but will lose flavor after a few months, I wouldn't recommend going past 6. Stilltasty says 2-4 but I've pushed it further than that and there wasn't a ton of flavor loss. Might depend on variety of apple as well.
The suggestions on this page are in line with my personal experience (and expand upon them!)
Looking through recipes suggests a variety of apples. Gala showed up the most, with Fuji in second, and McIntosh and Delicious tied for last.
If you want to go with the "source" of the recipe for Charoset, though, you'll want a sweet apple. The recipe has its roots in Song of Solomon/Songs, and the verse that refers to the apples reads as:
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
So, for authenticity, go for a sweet apple, but Gala is the most mentioned apple in recipes online.
Best Answer
I went to the farmers' market last week and bought a variety of apples.
After cooking, here's the order from softest to firmest:
McIntosh, Cortland, Winesap, Yellow Delicious.
The McIntosh of course practically dissolve. If you want to make quick apple sauce, or if you like really squishy pie, they're the best.
I typically prefer Cortlands for pie, b/c they don't totally dissolve but neither do they keep their shape. I think I'm going to try Winesap, though; I think they'd work great for pie.
The Winesap apples I used got very soft, but they still held their shape. Think of it like a ripe banana or pear - it has shape, but you can squish it really easily. After 30 minutes in the oven (making apple crisp), they got soft enough that lightly pressing with a fork would squish them down. They did not stay as firm as the Yellow Delicious did and definitely not as firm as Granny Smith would.