Whatever Happened to the Fried Apple?

I have never met a fried apple I didn't like.  Here in the Appalachian mountains we have the amazing benefit of delicious apples.  This season has been particularly good-- perfect climate for this food that purports to your eating one per day keeping the doctor away.

Even though Fall is a great time for getting apples, the best apples to cook with are June apples.  These apples are picked green and their sourness adds to the perfect flavor of fried apple.  The types of apples we love around these parts are the following, but not limited to Granny Smiths, Winesaps, Macintoshes, Jonathans and Rome Beauties.

Fried apples are eaten as a side dish as a vegetable.  This is where the Yankees get it all mixed up.  They are not dipped in butter and fried in a pan.  Fried apples are not candied or glazed.  You don't want to caramelize the apples or slow cook them.  They are, for lack of a better term, braised.  Most cooks fry their apples at low heat on top of the stove in a covered cast-iron skillet.  Cooking the apples covered releases moisture, steams them, and melts the sugar.  Because apples release liquid after they start to cook, many cook them covered first and then uncovered.  Covered cooking draws moisture while uncovered cooking evaporates it, and for fried apples both steps enhance the dish.