Although they have a limited nutritive value, apples are widely used as food. The are composed mostly of water, but they also contain fruit sugars, some vitamin A and C, and small amounts of minerals. Most apples in the United States are either canned, usually in the form of applesauce, or eaten fresh. Applesauce, which is usually eaten as a relish or dessert, is prepared by cooking apples with sugar and water. Apples are also canned after they have been sliced. These sliced apples are used in baked goods, such as pies. Some apples are dried, frozen, or made into specialty products such as "apple butter" (a spread prepared by stewing apples in cider, sugar, and spices).

Apples are also crushed for their juice. The juice is marketed fresh as apple juice or sweet cider, or is allowed to ferment and become hard cider or vinegar. Unfermented apple juice is sold canned, bottled, or frozen. It is sometimes blended with other fruit juices and is used to make apple jelly. Applejack is a liquor distilled from hard cider.