Grab your bushel basket, it's apple season

Fresh apples are really fabulous eating out of hand, as they say in the apple biz. Or, you can toss them into a salad, bake them stuffed with dried fruit, or include them in a crisp or pie.

At the drop of an apple Canadians are up for a good apple festival.

• Take in the annual UBC Apple Festival and taste up to 60 varieties of new and heritage apples grown in British Columbia.
• Go to the Blue Mountain Apple Harvest Festival in Ontario.
• If you are interested in discovering the apple's roots visit the Apple Capital Museum in Berwick, N.S.

And of course they're healthy, too
Eating an apple a day is great advice; they can help reduce your LDL cholesterol, protect your brain as you age, and reduce the risk of asthma and allergies. Those highly touted antioxidants are in the peel so scrub them well and start munching.

Photo by Eric Michaud for iStock

Read more in Food & Entertaining and In Season