Cooking Apple pie

[RumpleMom]

What kind of apple do you use when making an apple pie?

I have always used 5-6 Granny Smith apples, but I'm rethinking this choice because sometimes the apples are still a little hard, while the crust could not be baked any longer or it would be burnt.

Do you use a mixture of several kinds of apples?

 

[MazdaUK]

I use Bramley for cooking - not sure if you can get them. They are THE cooking apple Otherwise something like Cox, but if you can't get those either then Discovery or Braeburn would be good - not quite as hard as Granny Smith and with a better flavour IMHO

 

[greeneeyes]

I learned many years ago as a child to use 2 types of apples when making a pie and my grandmother never used a granny smith. I love to use fuji, cortland, gala, delicious, just about any type really. The granny smith are great for long cooking (like when I make pork chops with apples) where I don't want the pieces to fall apart. Another secret she taught me was to shave the apples and not chunk them up; the filling comes out more "solid" in one piece instead of chunks like a commercially baked pie

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I agree with shaving the apples rather than chunking them. Basically it's long thin slices of apple, and then you kind of layer them in concentric circles in the crust, it makes for a much neater and easier to serve pie. I like the Good Eats recipe, which uses a mix of apples like Granny Smith, Braeburn, Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp. Some are for structure, some are for sweetness, some are for tartness. Honeycrisp can be hard to get, they have a somewhat short season but are great if you can get them, they're very sweet.

 

[RumpleMom]

Interesting to see that no one is voting for Granny Smith. I have been using MIL's recipe and thought I must be doing something wrong.

I know I can find Braeburn, Fuji and Gala at the store, so I will be using a mixture.

Thanks so much. I love the Dis.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

You'll also find by using a mixture of apples that you can avoid the crust bubble. If you've ever made an apple pie where you've stacked the apples sky high but when you cut into the pie you have a big gap between the top crust and the filling, it can be because you've used an apple that breaks down too much in cooking. Using a mix of apples that includes one that doesn't break down so fast will help with that.

 

[lovesmurfs]

What kind of apple do you use when making an apple pie?

I have always used 5-6 Granny Smith apples, but I'm rethinking this choice because sometimes the apples are still a little hard, while the crust could not be baked any longer or it would be burnt.

Do you use a mixture of several kinds of apples?

Interesting responses! I've always used Granny Smith, with rave reviews, and never considered anything else -- I'll have to try it.

I brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. If the crust is browning too much, I cover with foil. I use a fork in one of the slits to test for tenderness.

 

[shalom]

I use Granny Smith pretty often and we all like those. Never had a problem with crust burning but I usually cover my crust with a strip of tinfoil. Have also used Red Rome and Braeburn, or a mix of one of those and the Granny Smith, and no one complained. I like the Granny Smith best but also like a variety.

I have a recipe that specifically calls for Golden Delicious that some of my kids like best (I think it's too sweet and the apples too soft), and it is prone to the crust bubble LockShockBarrel describes.

Honeycrisp are so good raw and so rarely available that I don't think one has ever made it into a pie of mine!

I do thin slices but they are never in neat concentric circles!

 

[RumpleMom]

I baked the pie using 6 apples- 2 Braeburn, 2 Fuji and 2 Cortland.

It had a crumb topping.

Two of the apples produced the consistency that I was looking for- not too hard, not too mushy.
One apple was too hard, but I'm not sure which one. I'm thinking it was the Cortland.

After cutting the first slice there was a lot of juice in the pan that I removed with a spoon. Which apple produced the over abundance of juice?

Overall, I was pleased with the results and thought it was better than a pie made only with Granny Smith apples.