Can the pips tell you whether an apple is ripe? Your cut fruit shows a useful clue

Pip colour is a useful ripeness signal in apples: pale, white or cream pips usually mean the fruit is not quite ready, while brown to dark brown pips generally indicate readiness for picking. Most pips in your photograph are pale, so the apple still looks slightly unripe.

Pips are only one clue, though. A ripe apple comes away fairly easily when lifted and twisted, its flavour becomes less green and harsh, and the flesh develops from hard and only slightly juicy to firm with a fuller character. As you have already picked them for cooking or pressing, they do not need to be perfectly ripe for eating straight from the tree. Slightly unripe apples often work very well for those uses and can add refreshing acidity.

How to assess them now

• Cut open a few more apples from the same tree, ideally from both sunny and shaded sides.
• Expect more advanced ripeness when a noticeable proportion of the pips are brown.
• Taste them too: if they are mainly sharp and slightly green-tasting, they are still on the way.
• If already picked, let them ripen for a few days indoors and test again.