Best apples for baking?
What kinds of apples would go well in an apple pie? Does mixing different kinds of apples work for this?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
10 Comments:
i like mixing. i prefer a tart apple like granny smith, but they dont grow here much, so i combine with the local macs which is an excellent baking apple.
blizcheetah at 8:51PM on 10/03/09
Rule #1: Always bake pies in the fall or early winter with this year's crop of apples, not in the spring or summer with last year's crop.
Rule #2: Do not use Red Delicious for anything other than taking pictures for a magazine ad or for feeding to livestock. They are not suitable for human consumption, raw and especially cooked because they turn flabby and become even more tasteless. They were bred for their color and their ability to ship well, not for their taste. I should start packing my bags--the WA State Apple Patrol will probably try to deport me now, even though everything I said is true.
Julia Child had two on-air accidents involving the use of the wrong type of apple in recipes, for an apple Charlotte and a tarte Tatin. She has whole sections in a couple of cookbooks devoted to apple selection.
My experience is: Jonathan and McIntosh are great for applesauce because they are very apple-y and they disintegrate when heated. Granny Smiths are wonderfully tart, but they don't have a lot of apple-y flavor and they won't keep their shape (they crumble) if they're old. For pies, I use Red Rome, Rome Beauty, Cortland, Gala Gravenstein, Pink Lady, Paula Red or Cindy Red. I use the Romes most of the time. I've mixed apples before, but it's like eating two different pies at the same time because the flavors and textures stay separate.
We have a produce and wine market that sells a minimum of 10 varieties of newly-picked apples year 'round. On their price signs, they write things like "Best for Baking!" or "Great for Sauce!" or "Kids Love These!" so that you have a frame of reference if you're not familiar with a variety. And they'll write "This year's crop" on signs in March for apples from the southern hemisphere to differentiate them them from last year's local crop (see Rule #1). They let you taste before you buy, too. Shout out for Tacoma Boys! You guys rock!
betteirene at 2:38AM on 10/04/09
If you have them available, Cortlands now and Northern Spies in a couple of weeks. I think Spies are the very best pie apple - they're spicy and hold their shape. The only reason they're not grown more now is that they're not particularly an eating apple and it takes too long for a tree to mature and start producing. They also make my favorite apple sauce. And Cortlands are great for sauce or jelly, too, besides being a good eating apple.
I agree that a mix is a great solution and makes a very interesting pie. We've become so accustomed to the very sweet and flavorful apples of recent years that some of the old favorites can seem insipid when eaten out of hand, but often they have better qualities when cooked than the modern crosses. I agree with betteirene - if you've got a farmstand available ask what their varieties are best for.
I've just started a new blog (yesterday!) and my first entry is apple pie - but I haven't made one since winter and need to do that for pictures. I've got suggestions about crust making and filling as well as the apples. I'll add a comment if I get a pictures up later today, but am working til 2, so it won't happen for 12 hours or so. Here's the URL: Ihttp://verfoodie.blogspot.com/
lemonfair at 7:03AM on 10/04/09
oops. had a stray letter in the URL:
http://verfoodie.blogspot.com/
lemonfair at 7:05AM on 10/04/09
The Boston Globe food pages has a timely article on this topic ... it has a section on apple varieties and their best uses.
kjgibson at 1:44PM on 10/04/09
New this year at a local farm are Golden Crisps. I've used them in a Polish Apple Cake, and an apple tart. They kept their shape & baked up well.
whoot at 4:28PM on 10/04/09
Cortlands are delicious and slow to brown once peeled. They were delicious in last week's apple pie.
Bumblebutton at 10:04AM on 10/05/09
I've made an apple pie and crisp recently, and I used Fuji apples. They worked great, keeping their shape very well. I decided to go w/ that since they are sweeter and I can cut back on other sugar as a result.
Alm25 at 11:04AM on 10/05/09
McIntosh has always been my go-to pie apple in the fall, but that's just me.
@BetterIrene - Great info! So the Red Delicious name was just a marketing ploy - I'd always wondered why they were not so delicious...
@lemonfair - Congratulations on your new blog! I always enjoy visiting Vermont and your blog offers a nice window into a lovely state. Your friend's poem is beautiful. I have the same feeling this time of year - to get as much as we can from the harvest.
yayfood at 9:37PM on 10/05/09
I have to say red delicious is mediocre in taste. it does have a good crisp feel for a food to wake you up though. fresh apples are scientifically shown to wake you up. so 2 uses - pictures and a pick-me-up. macs, while chemically doing the same thing, miss the crunch that instantly energizes.
blizcheetah at 12:31AM on 10/06/09