Apple Pie

[chromedome]

Cortlands are my favourite general-purpose baking apple. For adding tartness I prefer Gravensteins to Granny Smiths, as I find that Grannys have tartness and texture but no flavour to speak of. Mind you, good Gravensteins can be hard to find and Grannies are ubiquitous, so you do what you gotta...

I don't like Macs for apple pies 'cuz I find them too soft and mushy. By the time the crust is nicely browned I've got applesauce pie. Not that that's all bad, but it's not what I'm shooting for. I use them for applesauce, but nothing else really. Don't care for 'em as an eating apple.

Red Delicious I find utterly useless. Golden D are a decent eating apple, a little bland for pies but good in cakes. Fuji, when they're good, are a solid all-round apple; Galas I don't find hold up as well when cooked. JonaGold is one of my favourites for all-round eating.

When I was a kid, I had a book that centred around a young girl and her Winesap tree that she brought West with her as a sapling. Ever since then I've kept my eyes open for Winesaps, but I've yet to see one in a store in Canada. Oh well.

[rlibkind]

When I was a kid, I had a book that centred around a young girl and her Winesap tree that she brought West with her as a sapling.  Ever since then I've kept my eyes open for Winesaps, but I've yet to see one in a store in Canada.  Oh well.

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Winesaps do make a pretty nice pie, too.

[CanadianBakin']

i make a single crusted pie with a crumb topping - dutch apple? from my mother's recipe. her recipe calls for a frozen crust, and while i have, on occasion made my own crust, it never really matters - because the pie is always loaded with liquid...which sogs up the crust and just isn't too appeeling (hah - sorry

Something besides what's been suggested that might help, if you're not already doing this, is to bake your pie on a lower rack in the oven. I have found that has greatly improved my pie-making attempts.

[janeer]

Most reliable all-around excellent: Cortlands, Macouns, Winsaps. Jonathans OK, Norhter Spys nice, any Delicious is awful and inappropriate for pie. Love macs for applesauce; my mother used them for pies and they were tasty but very soft. RI Greenings very nice but hard to find--even in RI! Granny Smiths are not flavorful and I find them dry, not juicy when ripe; sometimes they are watery, but that's from storage, not the way they should be. Don't know the Arkansas, I'll look for it. I've been making apple pies for 30 years--it is my absolute favorite thing in the world to have for breakfast.

[Wendy DeBord]

i'm not intending to hijack the thread, but i've been struggling with a problem that several of you allude to...        ..........what can i do to elevate my pie?

Here is a recent thread on pie making, that you might find helpful. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=47036&hl=

[Wendy DeBord]

I think every crop varies from year to year and orchard to orchard that I can't answer your question. I recall a couple years back where every apple type I bought turned to mush when baked (including granny smiths). None were juicy, nothing all winter long worked with apples. You couldn't saute' them either. I think it was 1999 or close to. I have a couple apple trees in my yard and some years they're better then others due to conditions.

I agree with combining different apples in the same pie. Using a granny smith for texture and a golden delicious for flavor is a good compromise in general. But I don't want any apple thats too moist, nor too dry or soft..........and mealie-yuk.

Apple pies are not an easy baked item to master! Theres alot of bakers finesse needed.

[helenjp]

Bump!

Any particular apple varieties that you particularly like to use in certain apple dishes?

[rlibkind]

Northern Spy or Rhode Island Greenings for pie. Not the easiest apples to find, but they are available in the Northeast.

[Squirrelly Cakes]

Northern Spy, Macintosh, Granny Smith, Courtlands in pies with a bit of lemon juice, flour for thickening, brown and white sugar and cinnamon only. Cannot stand even a hint of nutmeg in an apple pie. Don't like the apples cut thickly as they they don't soften. Haha, don't mess with the weird spice or herb combinations in my apple pies, no siree, keep them old-fashioned, the way Grandma used to make them.

As Canadian er American as apple pie. Oh yes and pass either the cheddar if the pie is cold or the vanilla ice cream if the pie is served warm and I will be your friend for life.

Macs and Granny Smith apples produce a lot of juice so it is best, I find, to use in a mix with some Courtlands or Spys. Not to use at least some Macs would be "Un-Canuckish"...

[CanadianBakin']

I usually use a mix of Granny Smith and Galas. No spice at all please, not even cinnamon. Just white sugar, potato starch and a dash of salt.

[Ling]

I use a mix of Fujis and Granny Smith. The last one I made with Honeycrisp and Granny Smith was also very good.

[Toliver]

When we were kids, my mom used to use green Pippin apples for all of her apple pies. They were extremely tart but the sugar-spice mixture added to the apples for the pie provided a nice balance. As a little masochist, I used to bring them in my school lunch bag and, man, were they ever tart.

Alas, Pippins can't be found anymore. The sweeter (but still a little tart) Granny Smiths have replaced Pippins in the grocery stores.

[barolo]

Gravensteins! Although mostly I just make applesauce from them. The fragrance alone of cooked Gravensteins is swoon-worthy.

Of the readily available supermarket apples I usually use a combination of MacIntosh and Braeburn.

[duckduck]

http://www.foodsubs.com/Apples.html

Toliver, Pippins are also called Newtowns. I've seen them in the stores.

[Toliver]

http://www.foodsubs.com/Apples.html

Toliver, Pippins are also called Newtowns. I've seen them in the stores.

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Thanks for the info and link. I will have to keep an eye out for Newtons and Pippins. So far the only green apples I've encountered have been the Granny Smiths.

I'm hoping the local Farmers' Market may bring some apple surprises with the arrival of the autumn/winter months.

[MGLloyd]

In light of the apple varieties readily available in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, I like to use Granny Smiths, Braeburns, Golden Delicious and Jonagolds. I planted Golden Delicious and Jonagolds in my back yard specifically for use as pie apples and other cooked apple dishes. I like to spice my pies with cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of clove and allspice.

[rlibkind]

It's not usually thought of as a pie variety, but Winesaps/Staymans work pretty well. Hold their shape quite reasonably.

[WhiteTruffleGirl]

Another Northern Spy and Winesap fan here...hard to find, but both are amazingly great pie apples.

[Pam R]

Not a huge selection of apples around here. When I'm baking I like to use a mix of any of the following: Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji, Granny Smith - and occasionally Spartan or Macintosh.

[lapasterie]

The farmers market suggested Mutsu. I have not tried them yet. It is a nice large green apple.

[K8memphis]

...I like to use ... and Jonagolds.  I planted Golden Delicious and Jonagolds in my back yard specifically for use as pie apples and other cooked apple dishes...

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Wow, be still my heart, planted in the backyard! I love Jonagolds with inordinate amounts of hot spicey cinnamon, dots of butter, a few squirts of lemon. Love Jonagolds!

And I brush the top crust with milk & sprinkle with sugar a la the old red Betty Crocker Cookbok. Bakes off so pretty.

Edited October 9, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[Art]

Personally, my favorite apple is the Black Arkansas. It is the most dense of all the apples giving it a particularly long shelf life. It is both sweet and tart allowing it to be used in both types of recipes and it holds up to baking. It is a heritage variety so it can be a bit difficult to find (that is why I planted my own tree this year).

On NPR the other day, they had an interview with someone from the University of Minnesota. He helped develop a relatively new variety called the Honey Crisp (not to be confused with Golden Crisp). About a day after the interview, I found some and it is very nice as well. He also mentioned a variety called Sweet Sixteen that I'd love to try. It is supposed to have the flavor of a cherry Life Saver.

As far as apple pies are concerned, I've always felt the trick to the best apple pie is to substitute a quince for a single apple. The quince infuses the pie with its floral flavor and just makes it incredible.

As it works out, I made a tart tatin using quince just yesterday and here's a picture.

Hope this helps,

-Art

[merstar]

...I like to use ... and Jonagolds.  I planted Golden Delicious and Jonagolds in my back yard specifically for use as pie apples and other cooked apple dishes...

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Wow, be still my heart, planted in the backyard! I love Jonagolds with inordinate amounts of hot spicey cinnamon, dots of butter, a few squirts of lemon. Love Jonagolds!

And I brush the top crust with milk & sprinkle with sugar a la the old red Betty Crocker Cookbok. Bakes off so pretty.

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I just tried Jonagolds yesterday for the first time - they are soooo good! - the best apples I've had in a long, long time. I can't wait to bake with them.

Edited October 10, 2006 by merstar (log)

[helenjp]

lapasterie, Mutsu is a Japanese apple - we get them once or twice a season in our monthly 10kg apple order .

My sons like them to eat fresh, and I use them for cooking. They are pleasant enough but perhaps a little bland.

[Toliver]

http://www.foodsubs.com/Apples.html

Toliver, Pippins are also called Newtowns. I've seen them in the stores.

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Thanks for the info and link. I will have to keep an eye out for Newtons and Pippins. So far the only green apples I've encountered have been the Granny Smiths.

I'm hoping the local Farmers' Market may bring some apple surprises with the arrival of the autumn/winter months.

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I was delightfully surprised to find Newton's in a local grocery store. I bought a couple to taste.

They are quite firm and very crisp but are sweet like Granny Smiths. Unfortunately, there wasn't a trace of the tartness I've always associated with Pippins. Overall, they seemed to be smaller in size than Granny Smiths while the green skin looks about the same color as a Granny Smith. Pippins, if I recall correctly, are a vivid deeper colored green (more of a green-blue-green as opposed to a green-yellow-green like a Granny).

Still, the Newtons are a firm sweet apple that should hold up quite well in baking.