I have always had a love affair with apples. To me they are the perfect fruit. They store very well, they can be used in hundreds of ways, they are very portable, and they taste great!

While fall is the perfect time to capture the just-ripe apples at their peak, with apples being available year round, any time is the perfect time to enjoy an apple. Or apple pie, apple crisp, baked apples, or any of the hundreds of apple recipes that you can enjoy.

Visit these great apple sites to get some useful information about apples, awesome recipes, and even have some fun. Enjoy!

One of the best informative pages about apples, Dole's Apple Adventure offers a great resource for adults and children to learn more about apples in a fun and informative way. Basic facts, history, apple games, and much more. I especially liked the description of how apples make it from the tree to your local store.

The Washington Apple Commission Apple Web Site offers a bushelful of great apple items. This is a great resource with marvelous recipes, information, unique facts, fun things for kids (and adults) to do, and much more.

Interested in apples from a botanical sense? Botanical.com highlights the history and background of the apple, with unique information about the medicinal uses of the apple.

Visit Appleseed Alley to learn the real truth about Johnny Appleseed, from information about his life, true stories about him and what he really did, and even the original magazine article that started the legend!

Learn about the most popular Apple Varieties, and find out which apples are best used in which dishes. Also includes some interesting history and other information about many of the varieties. Most fascinating is the origin of each of the different types of apples, including some of the folklore behind the unique names that apples have.

Let Fine Cooking's An Apple A Day show you the best apples for "baking, cooking, and snacking". Includes practical information about different apple varieties, how to choose apples, which apples are best in any season, and storage tips.

Try these Old Fashioned Apple Treats, such as apple butter, apple crumb, and chunky applesauce. All of these recipes have been developed to make easily with children, so include the whole family when you are busy in the kitchen.

While I must admit to a little bit of bias, I think this collection has the best apple recipes anywhere. That is most likely because I developed and taste tested all of them numerous times. This is a nice collection of sweet and savory apple recipes.

Stop by North Carolina Apple Recipes for a great selection of apple recipes, including a wonderful recipe for Apple Rum Baklava. Make sure to also visit the main North Carolina Apple Page for other great apple information, including some very good handling information and lots of interesting facts about North Carolina apples.

Epicurious, the online presence of Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and House and Garden Magazine, offers some excellent recipes, all containing apples. With over 120 great recipes to choose from, you will find plenty of uses for your apple crop.

Apple Recipes from MyMenus.com makes finding the perfect apple recipe easy. You can sort through the recipes and find the best recipe for you to make, given the amount of time you have available and get complete nutritional information on each recipe.

Star Chefs offers this great Apple Tasting Guide which helps you learn about all of those apple varieties at your local store or orchard. They have also described in detail how each variety tastes. Make sure to also check out their great recipes from some of the world's best chefs.

Enjoy over 800 Apple Recipes from Sara's Kitchen in the popular MasterCook format. Includes great recipes for salads, main dishes, sauces, and much more. Make sure to visit her quotes page and apple facts page.

Try this collection of great Apple Recipes for unique ways to use up all of your apples. Includes very useful processing and canning tips as well.

Wen Zientek-Sico is a freelance writer, recipe developer, web designer, and devout apple lover. She lives in the heart of one of the best apple regions in the country, Upstate New York, with her husband, two cats, a dog, and a plethora of fish. She is already planning her strategy for hitting all of the local orchards and stocking up on apples for pies, canning, applesauce, and other goodies to make and freeze.