Learn About Apples

Press gently near the shoulder of the fruit. A good apple feels firm with no give. Pass on anything with soft spots, wrinkled skin around the stem, or a dull, tired looking finish. Color tells you less than most people think, because it reflects how much sun the fruit got rather than how ripe or sweet it is.

Growing conditions. Sunlight, night temperatures, tree age, where the fruit sat on the tree and how long it has been in storage all shift the balance of sugar and acid. That is why the same variety can taste sharper from one region and sweeter from another, and why Michigan Honeycrisp and Washington Honeycrisp are not the same eating experience.

Start with sweetness. Our sweetness chart ranks every variety we pack from 1 to 10, so you can find where your current favorite sits and try the ones next to it. If you already have two in mind, the variety guides put them side by side on flavor, texture and what they do in the oven.

The refrigerator, every time. Apples ripen far faster at room temperature, so a bowl on the counter costs you crunch within days. In the crisper drawer they hold their texture for weeks and often months. It looks less charming and it tastes considerably better.

Better not. Apples release ethylene, a natural gas that speeds ripening in whatever sits nearby. Stored next to bananas, avocados or leafy greens, they will push all of it to ripen and spoil sooner. Give apples their own drawer if you can.

Yes. Rinse under cool running water and rub the skin with your hands, then dry with a clean towel. Skip soap, detergent and commercial produce washes, none of which are recommended for fresh produce. If you are asking because of the shine, that is explained in the glossary.

Shelf space has not grown but the number of varieties has. When a new variety earns a slot, an older one usually loses one. Some classics have also shifted toward processing, going into sliced packs, sauce and juice rather than the produce department. Farmers markets are often the best place to find them fresh.

Yes. Riveridge ships across the country and to international markets year round, so Michigan fruit turns up in produce departments a long way from the Great Lakes. It is not always labeled by state on the display. The where to buy page is the place to start looking.

Yes. Riveridge runs a certified organic program alongside its conventional fruit. Which varieties and pack sizes are available shifts with the season and the crop. Details are on the organic page.

Riveridge sells to retail and wholesale buyers rather than direct to households. If you are trying to find the fruit near you, start with where to buy. If you are a buyer, the sales team is the right first call.

More than 150 family farms across the Midwest and East Coast. Our growers farm in Michigan, Wisconsin, New York and New England. Riveridge is a grower, packer and marketer based in Sparta, Michigan, on the Fruit Ridge, and a large share of the fruit is grown close to our packing facility. You can meet some of the families on the growers page.

Contact the sales team with your volume, pack sizes and delivery windows. Programs get built around harvest and storage timing, so the earlier in the season the conversation starts, the more flexibility there is on both sides. Start on the contact page.

All three are on the site. PLU numbers and UPC codes have their own reference pages, and every apple variety page carries a downloadable spec sheet with pack sizes, grades and storage detail.

Yes. Private label is available and the options vary by commodity, pack format and volume. The packaging page covers the formats we run, and sales can walk through what is possible for your program.

Yes. Riveridge runs a dedicated international apple program with grades and pack formats built for export markets. The international page has the detail.