what are the best apples for making apple pie

The best apples for apple pie are firm, tart varieties with a complex depth of flavor that also hold their shape well when baked in the oven. Great apple varieties for apple pie filling include Northern Spy, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Braeburn

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Full Answer

How do you make a homemade apple pie?

To make pies by boiling apple cuts and soaking them for ten minutes, some experts suggest par-baking them, then topping it with raw apples to serve. Roasting them for a limited time will make them less water-expensive. Some experts claim the cut apples should be sat for 30-40 minutes, to preserve their natural juices.

Do Gala apples make a good pie?

Red Delicious and Gala are two apples that won’t withstand cooking temperatures and should not be used for apple pie. Many new apple varieties, including Honeycrisp, have a flesh that fractures when you bite it. This is so appealing for snacking on an apple, but not the best feature for a good apple pie apple.

What are the best apples for baking pies?

Top Apple Varieties For Mouthwatering Pie

1. Golden Delicious. Many apples look good in the grocery store, but a Golden Delicious apple pie on the menu is tough to beat.
2. Red Delicious. Like Golden Delicious fruit, the firmer and fresher Red Delicious apples are, the better. ...
3. Granny Smith. ...
4. Pink Lady. ...
5. McIntosh. ...
6. Jazz. ...
7. Honeycrisp Apples. ...
8. Braeburn Apples. ...
9. Cortland Apples. ...
10. Roxbury Russet Apples. ...

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What is the best apple variety?

The Best Tasting Apples: 25+ Delicious Apple Varieties

1. Honeycrisp Apples. The Honeycrisp Apple is a sweet-tart, incredibly crisp, all-purpose modern apple variety. ...
2. SweeTango Apples (Minneiska Variety) SweeTango (Minneiska cultivar) is a sweet-tart, incredibly crisp, all-purpose modern club apple. ...
3. Pink Lady (Cripps Pink) Apples. ...

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What apples should not be used for apple pie?

Red Delicious and Gala are two apples that won't withstand cooking temperatures and should not be used for apple pie. Many new apple varieties, including Honeycrisp, have a flesh that fractures when you bite it. This is so appealing for snacking on an apple, but not the best feature for a good apple pie apple.

Which kinds of apples are best for baking a pie and why?

Granny Smith Apples This ubiquitous green variety is one of the most tart apples and a favorite apple among professional bakers. It boasts a bright, citrus-like aroma, with substantial acidity that complements the added sugar in pie recipes. The flesh is firm and crunchy and holds up well under long bake times.

What are the best apples to use for apple pie or apple crisp?

The firm and crisp Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties are popular apples to use in apple pies and apple crisps. Golden Delicious is another great choice for a crisp. You can use just one variety or, for added depth of flavor, use an assortment of varieties when baking your apple crisp.

What is the best baking apple?

Which apples bake best? For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

Why are Granny Smith apples good for baking?

1. Granny Smith. The Granny Smith apple is my go-to apple for any baked or cooked recipe. The tart apple helps to keep the end product from being overly sweet, and it keeps its shape beautifully when baked.

Are McIntosh apples good for pies?

McIntosh. This classic fall apple has a soft white flesh and sweet flavor that's hard to beat. They're actually better for snacking on and making applesauce than pie—it can get mushy pretty quickly.

Are Gala apples good for pies?

Gala: If you want extra sweetness without the soft texture, choose Gala apples for your pie. As with Golden Delicious apples, bakers sometimes reduce the sugar in their recipes due to this variety's extra-sweet flavor.

Are Granny Smith apples good for apple pie?

If you're looking for the best apples for apple pie, and you don't want to dig too deep, go ahead and pick up a bag of Granny Smiths. They are everyone's go-to apples for baking (mine included) because they're tart and firm, keeping their shape while providing a perfect balance to the sweet ingredients.

Some apples are good for snacking, and others are better suited for baking. These are the best apples for apple pie (and other apple-packed bakes)

Some apples are good for snacking, and others are better suited for baking. These are the best apples for apple pie (and other apple-packed bakes).

Macaroon Apple Cobbler

Especially when I'm just serving a dessert, I like to prepare this. I'll usually make it with fresh apples, but I've also sometimes used home-canned ones. —Phyllis Hinck, Lake City, Minnesota

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After years of working in professional kitchens, Lindsay traded her knives in for the pen. While she spends most of her time writing these days, she still exercises her culinary muscles on the regular, taking any opportunity to turn local, seasonal ingredients into beautiful meals for her family.

Granny Smith Apples

For whatever reason, Granny Smith apples have long been considered the favorite for apple pies. This is likely because they are extremely firm, and do not mush under almost any amount of cooking. A mushy pie is widely considered a bad apple pie, so this may explain why many people refer back to the Granny Smith for their pies.

Honeycrisp

The Honeycrisp apple is one of the sweeter varieties, so it definitely is not lacking in the flavor department. They stay relatively firm, although less so than the Granny Smiths, and this makes them a great combination of flavor and texture for your pies.

Golden Delicious

Not to get confused with Red Delicious, Golden Delicious apples are distinct in their yellow color and should be pretty easy to find most times of the year. They are a nice blend of sweet and tart, making their flavor profile perfect for an apple pie.

Rome

Commonly referred to as the “most beautiful” apple, the Rome apple has a very regular spherical shape to it and a nice red skin. The texture of a Rome is nice, but the flavor is a little bland, which is not exactly what you want for a pie. Mix this one with a more flavorful apple for the best results.

Jonathan or Jonagold Apples

Jonathan apples are pretty much your classic apples, with a nice red skin and a pleasant blend of tart and tangy flavor. Jonagold apples are slightly rarer and are the cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathan apples. Together, the two produce a new variety that has both a firm texture and a flavor with hints of sweetness and tartness together.

Braeburn

The Braeburn is a unique apple which has almost a citrus-y aroma to it. The Braeburn is very firm, which is perfect for baking apple pies, and some have said that it almost tastes like a pear after baking.

Northern Spy

Now we are getting into the rarer apples. The Northern Spy apple is perfect for baking, but they only grow biannually, so they will be tougher to come by. If you are really dedicated to your apple pie, however, this will definitely pay off! Contact a local grower to see if you can come across some Northern Spy apples, and you will not regret it.

Top Apple Varieties For Mouthwatering Pie

Before diving into the best apples for apple pie, there are a few key things you should look for. These rules apply whether you’re growing sweet apples in your backyard or picking up a few from local grocery stores when you’re short on time. Basically, taste and texture are what make a good apple for apple pie.

Simple Apple Pie Recipe

Apple pie is perfect year-round with complex flavor profiles as long as you have the best apples for apple pie. Whether you make it from scratch or take a few shortcuts in the kitchen, you can ensure a mouthwatering pie that’s even better than one from the grocery store.

More Creative Apple Pie Recipes

You don’t need to commission a world-class baker to produce the sweet tart pie you and your friends or family are craving. While of course you can keep it simple and sweet, there are ways to dress up your apple pie and make it fancier.

Apple Pie Filling With Homegrown Apples

Making apple pie is even sweeter when you grow the apples yourself. If you’re interested in growing the best apples for apple pie in your own backyard, just do a close search on our website to find a wide range of apple guides and home growing tips for a bountiful season. You or someone you know might want to try each one!

Tart apples to use in apple pie

Why we love a good ol' granny: It's easy to find year round, has a strong tart flavor, and when combined with any sweet apple, makes the perfect, iconic, windowsill-cooling apple pie.

Sweet apples to use in apple pie

If there was a candy of the apple variety, this would be it. Fuji apples are so sweet, we recommend balancing them with the much-tarter Granny Smith.

How Many Apples for a Pie

Figure that you will need 2 1/2-to-2 3/4 pounds of apples per pie. A lot of recipes call for a specific number of cups of peeled, cored, and chopped apples, and that can make it tricky to know how many pounds of whole apples you need to buy to arrive at the prescribed number of cups.

More Things to Make While Apples Are in Season

Apples aren't just for pie. You can also make apple crisp, apple fritters, apple loaf, baked apples, applesauce, and crockpot apple butter, among many other choices. Don't forget you can always just eat an apple fresh off the tree!

Best Apples for Baking

The best apples for baking are crisp, firm, sweet-tart and can stand up to the heat of the oven or stove without turning mushy.

How to Prep Apples for Baking

Prepping apples for baking involves a few simple steps. Peeling, (called paring in the old days, hence the name of the knife), coring and slicing are the first steps; the last step is holding them in water with acid before baking to keep them from browning and to strengthen their naturally occurring pectin.

Baked Apple Recipes

With three pounds of apples in this pie, you can pick three from our list and mix it up every time you bake it.