Not only is there an ‘apple season’ but there is a ‘season’ of the apples.  Currently we are in the ‘early apple season’.  September is ‘mid apple season’ and October/November is ‘late’ apple season.  Why am I distinguishing between these periods?  It tends to make a difference in the storage of the apples.

The early apples don’t tend to store very long.  And by very long I mean not for months and months.  If you refrigerate your apples they typically will store for about 2 to 3 weeks.  Again this will depend on the variety … the Duchess, even when refrigerated will go soft fairly fast … but considering these are meant to be a good apple for cooking sauce and pies that doesn’t matter too much. 

As we move into later seasons, the refrigerated storage life of the apples tend to be longer.  Certain apples will store for months and months.  Later in the season – stock up on Idareds, empire, golden delicious and red delicious for refrigerated storage life into the spring months. 

Have you noticed that I’ve been emphasizing ‘refrigerated’ storage for the apples?

I found a really interesting article about the storage of apples here. 

Apples ripen 10 times faster on the counter … so if you prefer a softer apple this would be the way to store them.  If you want your apples to keep there crisp – put them in the refrigerator loose and away from other fruits.

I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion about the storage life of apples … or at least maybe you discovered a few fun facts!