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Cinnamon apple fritters. Photo / Annabel Langbein Media

Near the end of the Hollyford Track, about 5km inland from Martins Bay in the bleak lingering remains of Jamestown, there remains an old apple tree. It's more lichen than tree, proof of the excessive and endless rain that doomed this paper village of the gold mining years. Nothing else that was brought in here seems to have survived — the visions of fishing, timber, farming and shipbuilding that led to the town's creation in such an inhospitable location failed to take into account the atrocious weather and the formidable bar at the mouth of Hollyford River.

I don't know if this tenacious apple tree has ever borne fruit but its mere existence here in this godforsaken place is testimony to the incredible genetic diversity of this pome, such that it can survive in so many different climates. If you'd placed a bet on anything when Jamestown was founded, perhaps it should have been for an apple tree.

Some plants grow true from seed, the apple does not. If you were to plant the five to eight seeds found in the core of an apple, you would end up with as many kinds of apples. Some of these might taste good, but they could equally be sour or floury, tiny, crinkly or not even look like an apple. Some apples have a naturally waxy skin and so store well, others like the glorious Golden Delicious, which are very thin-skinned, are best straight off the tree, as they lose their crunch very quickly.

In my Wānaka garden I have a beautiful and prolifically producing early season Akane apple, also known as Tokyo Rose (Akane is the Japanese word for red), which has the deepest red skin and firm, sweet, whiter-than-white flesh. Until I discovered it was an Akane apple I used to call it a sleeping beauty apple, it's just so perfect to look at and so good to eat — but only at the exact point of ripeness. You're best to pick the entire tree and give the fruit away, as even after just a few days it loses something.

Depending on your taste, whether you like your apples crisp or tender, sweet or tart, or a mix of both, almost all apples are good to eat fresh (old-fashioned cooking apples are the exception, they tend to be too firm to be juicy and are super-sour).

For an apple with lots of flavour and tang to use in baking that will hold its shape, go for a Braeburn, Granny Smith or Golden Delicious. For crisp sweetness to enjoy as a snack or in a salad, you'll want a Red Delicious, Gala, Jazz or Envy — or any of the new table apple varieties on the market — all of which are designed for their premium eating qualities.

Granny Smith and Braeburn are also good to munch on, and as mentioned above, both Golden Delicious and Akane are superb apples to eat when they're really fresh.

For an apple that will collapse to a fluffy puree, go for Bramley, Gravenstein or Ballarat and, if you can find them, the giant Peasgood Nonsuch apple (yes, that really is its name). This is a great eating apple when it's fresh but also cooks to an airy fluff. I bottle jars and jars of these in the autumn, a single apple will fill a whole 1 litre jar.

Here are some simple ways to enjoy this fabled fruit — the symbol of love, beauty and wisdom.

These are such moreish little fritters. I prefer to cut the fruit into matchsticks so it cooks quickly and makes delicate fritters rather than big slabs. They're best eaten hot, as soon as they are cooked. You could also drizzle them with runny honey or sprinkle with icing sugar.

Ready in 35 minutes Serves 6-8

1 cup flour 2 Tbsp sugar 2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp cinnamon Zest of 1 orange, finely grated 1 pinch of salt 1 egg ½ cup milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 apples, such as Granny Smith, Braeburn or Golden Delicious Neutral oil, for deep-frying

CINNAMON SUGAR 2 Tbsp sugar 2 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, orange zest and salt.

Lightly whisk the egg, milk and vanilla in a small bowl, then whisk into the dry ingredients until evenly combined. The batter should be thickish but should drop easily from a spoon.

Add a little more liquid if it feels too thick. It can be covered and refrigerated for a few hours at this stage.

To make the cinnamon sugar, shake together sugar and cinnamon in a small jar.

When ready to cook, core the unpeeled apples and cut into matchsticks. Stir into the batter. Heat about 3cm of neutral oil in a pot. Using two forks, lift about 5 or 6 apple matchsticks from the batter, allowing the excess batter to drip back into the bowl (you want the fritter to have an irregular shape, with a very light coating of batter). Drop into the hot oil.

Cook several fritters at a time without crowding the pan. Fry until golden on the base (about 2-3 minutes) then flip to cook the other side.

Use a slotted spoon to lift cooked fritters out of the oil, shaking off excess oil, and transfer to paper towels. Fry the remaining fritters in batches. Stack in a serving bowl, sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar and serve immediately.

This traditional French salad is so simple, yet never fails to deliver.

1-2 handfuls radicchio, torn 8 handfuls endive, chopped 6 radishes, thinly sliced 3 apples, thinly sliced ½ cup walnuts, chopped Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp water 1 tsp mustard ½ tsp honey

To make the dressing, place all ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine.

To assemble the salad, arrange all ingredients on a serving platter. Dress just before serving and season to taste.

A tender-baked apple filled with spiced dried fruit is such a timeless dessert. The sweet, spicy filling offsets the tartness of the apples, and a scoop or two of cool, creamy icecream is the perfect partner.

Ready in about 1¼ hours Serves 4

4 tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn ¼ cup raisins or sultanas or 8 pitted dates 2 Tbsp soft brown sugar 1 tsp ground cardamom or ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground cloves ½ cup boiling water ¼ cup golden syrup 4 tsp butter Icecream, to serve (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C fan bake.

Remove cores from apples in a neat plug. Use a paring knife to enlarge each cavity to 2½m diameter. Score the skin around the circumference of each apple with a sharp knife (this allows them to split neatly around the middle when they cook).

Combine dried fruit, sugar and spices. Stuff into apples and arrange in a shallow oven dish. Drizzle hot water and golden syrup around the apples, dot the tops with butter and bake until wrinkly and soft and starting to puff around the middles (45-60 minutes depending on size of apples).

Serve with icecream, if desired.

Apple fritters Soljans Fusion Sparkling Moscato ($19)

If the cork pops on a bottle of this and you're an apple fritter, I'd be very afraid. With its creamy, silky mousse and taut, tangy freshness, this wine should be given national treasure status. Not only because it's deliciously sweet, but also because the fruit intensity is so clean, defined and pure. Fans of spritzy moscato and asti styles will love this ultra-tasty "sherbert-like" wine. Crafted from 100 per cent muscat grapes grown in Gisborne, I'm always majorly impressed by its lifted aromatics, fresh fruit and refreshingly long finish. And at a demure 8.4 per cent, it won't send you sideways. Soljans.co.nz

Apple and radicchio salad Forrest Estate Marlborough Chenin Blanc 2022 ($28)

Radicchio can be a tricky one to pair with wine because of its inherent bitterness — but no sooner do you add some apple sweetness, and it begins to soothe and smooth the situation. Then you may wish to wash it down with the zesty twang of green apple and lime that a glass of this chenin blanc injects and suddenly you have a thing of great balance and talent. Think of this salad and chenin combo as the Hudson and Halls, the Jason and Thingee or the Jools and Lynda of springtime food and wine. Forrest.co.nz

Nonna's baked apples Scoundrels and Rogues Cold Shoulder Ice Cider 2019 375ml ($14.50)

If there's more salubrious thing to sip with these fluffy fritters than this luxurious, toffee apple-tastic treat crafted from freeze-concentrated Fuji, Braeburn and Jazz apples, then I'll be dipped in donkey drops. The intensely sweet juice is then fermented and matured in old oak wine barrels for 6 months, to inject smoky complexity and the result is essentially a 10 per cent apple liqueur or apple dessert wine — you get the idea. A sip or seven of this luscious thing will only add fabulousness to your baked apple game. Liquorland Forest Hill, regionalwines.co.nz or scoundrelsandrouges.com -Yvonne Lorkin