How do I know when apples are ready?

[BeaBoo]

I've moved in to a house in the past year and have never had a garden before. I'm totally clueless!

We have a pear and an apple tree. The pears have already been picked (they were delicious) but there's tonnes of apples on the tree. They have started going red, and the reddest ones are mostly on the top and the side which gets the sun. They are quite small. I have no idea when they are supposed to be ready.

Can anyone tell me what kind of apples they are? Are they edible? When would be the best time to pick them?

Definitely edible!
If you can reach up to cup one in your hand, then lift gently away from the branch, the stem will snap away easily if they are ripe - you shouldn't need to tug :)

When the pips are dark. Unripe apples have white pips.

Thanks for the help. None of them easily pull off so that's why I've been reluctant to pick them yet, but I wasn't sure if they would end up going bad! Will keep trying them every so often. Just need to work out how to get the ones at the top as most of the branches are really high up and I don't have a ladder

I use a floor brush to pull down the branch and then grab hold of it. Or someone even taller to grab hold of it. Apples into a handy bucket and stew and freeze them.

A lot of the gardening websites sell long-handled apple pickers.

Ooh I didn't know that was a thing. My DP is 6ft 4 but it really is a very tall tree. I hope they are nice after all of this!

Its better to twist the apple gently. If it is ready it will come off the branch very easily with minimal damage.

So glad you posted this - what does everyone do with their surplus apples? Recipe hints and ideas would be good to share.

Well, firstly I wrap in newspaper all the ones without any bruises/marks/knocks and put them in a box in the shed to store. Then its....
apple crumble
apple chutney ( usually with something els eg plums)
poach and then freeze
in desperation give away
:)