Skip to main content
Menu
Search
Our Sites Our Sites
Menu
Close

We make mistakes so you don’t have to.

Try CooksIllustrated.com Free for 14 Days

Email is required
How we use your email address

How to Core and Peel Apples

By Andrea Geary Published

Prepping apples for cooking or eating isn’t hard, but a little strategy can make the work go faster and minimize waste.

Whether we core an apple before peeling or vice versa depends on whether or not we use an apple corer. And although it’s always fun to see if you can remove the peel in a single unbroken strip, we find that removing vertical swaths is more efficient—especially when prepping lots of apples for something such as applesauce.

With an Apple Corer

Removing the core with a good apple corer minimizes waste. When using this tool, we prefer to core before peeling to ensure that no bits of skin remain on the apples’ tops or bottoms. Here's the best way to do it. 

How to Core an Apple with an Apple Corer

1. Use corer to remove apple core. 

Peeling a Cored Apple

2. Peel cored apple in wide vertical strips, working from top to bottom.

Without an Apple Corer

 

If you don't have an apple corer, we don't recommend wasting time digging out the core with a paring knife. Here's a better way:

1. Peel apple around top and bottom, then peel remainder of apple in wide vertical strips. 

Cutting off Apple Core with a Knife

2. Cut into quarters, then cut away core from each wedge.

Recommended Equipment

Cuisipro Apple Corer

Our Favorite Apple Corer

This corer’s large handle, sharp teeth, and wide two-part barrel help push through even large, crunchy apples with ease.

Buy the Winner
See the Chart
Vegetable Peelers

Our Favorite Fruit/Vegetable Peeler

Small but mighty, this Y-shaped peeler is razor-sharp and rides smoothly every time.

Buy the Winner
See the Chart

Try These Great Apple Recipes

Try These Great Apple Recipes
Deep-Dish Apple Pie

Recipe Deep-Dish Apple Pie

We wanted mounds of tender, juicy apples in our deep-dish pie, but first we had to wade through half-baked apples, soupy fillings, and sodden crusts.

Get the Recipe

Recipe Cider-Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

The unique properties of a Bundt pan can help produce an apple cake that’s wonderfully moist and not soggy. Ensuring lots of true apple flavor is another story.

Get the Recipe

Recipe Apple Strudel

Unless you’re a skilled pastry chef, wrapping ultrathin, delicate dough around a wet filling is usually a recipe for disaster. We wanted a strudel recipe for the rest of us.

Get the Recipe

French Apple Tart

Recipe French Apple Tart

Classic form and good looks are compulsory for a holiday centerpiece, but they don’t matter if the dessert falls apart when you serve it. We wanted integrity with the beauty.

Get the Recipe

Leave a comment and join the conversation!

0 Comments
Read & post comments with a free account
Join the conversation with our community of home cooks, test cooks, and editors.
First Name is Required
Last Name is Required
Email Address is Required
How we use your email?
Password is Required
JC
JOHN C.
16 days

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.

MD
MILES D.
JOHN C.
9 days

Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!

CM
CHARLES M.
11 days

John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.