what kind of apples are best for apple pie

How many apples should go in an apple pie?

It depends on the size and variety of the apple. Generally six to eight apples should do it. Remember that even Granny Smiths will shrink a bit while the pie bakes and some of the water in the apple slices evaporates; other varieties of apples will shrink even more.

What is the best apple for making a pie?

• Golden Delicious Apple Pie – cornstarch, apple pie spice, and vanilla extract make for a wonderful crust.
• Salted Caramel Apple Pie – homemade salted caramel sauce adds a new dimension of flavor to a trusted favorite.
• Bacon-Bourbon Apple Pie – brown sugar and two tablespoons of bourbon add a rich flavor, combined with crispy bacon pieces.

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Why you should cook your apples for Apple Pie?

What is the best apple to bake with?

• Granny Smith. The Granny Smith apple is my go-to apple for any baked or cooked recipe.
• Jonathan or Jonagold. These apples are very similar in flavor and how they behave when baked.
• Cortland. Don’t push this small apple to the side.
• Braeburn.
• Honeycrisp.

Does apple pie taste like apples?

The original recipes for cracker pie likely mimicked the flavour of apples because of the acidic qualities of early soda crackers. Apples contain malic acid, which makes them sour. The lemon juice and grated zest combined with the soda in cracker dough would have mimicked the flavour of cooked apples.

What kind of apples make the best apple pie?

Best Apples for Apple PieGranny Smith Apples.Honeycrisp.Golden Delicious.Rome.Jonathan or Jonagold Apples.Braeburn.Northern Spy.Apple Varieties.More items...•

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?

Gala apples have a nice mellow sweetness to them and they don't get too soft in the oven. They're a great multi-purpose apple and a delicious pick for apple pie. Best of all, this variety of apple is usually available year-round.

What are the worst apples for apple pie?

Avoid these: McIntosh, Gala, Fuji or Red Delicious. These apples are a little too soft or just don't have the right flavor punch for the long baking time pies and tarts require.

Are Gala apples OK for pie?

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.

What makes a good apple pie?

4 Tips for Making a *Much* Better Apple PieUse firm apples — some sweet, and some tart. Texture and taste are both important when choosing apples for your pie. ... Toss the apples with sugar, then drain. ... Brush the inside of the crust with egg wash. ... Don't dump the apples in.

What's a good apple for baking?

The Best Apples for BakingJonagold. Tart with a honeyed sweetness, Jonagolds hold up exceptionally well in the oven. ... Honeycrisp. This is our desert-island apple. ... Braeburn. ... Mutsu. ... Winesap. ... Pink Lady (or Cripps Pink) ... Now, let's bake some apples!

Can any apples be used for apple pie?

What are the best apples to use for pies? Try to find a firm apple to use in this recipe. I like a mix between sweet and sour apples. You can use Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Winesap, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, Gala, or Rome Beauty.

Honey Crisp

Honey Crisp apples are nice and sweet, and they're a fan favorite in apple pie. They're also relatively firm and hold their shape well when baked, making it the perfect combination of flavor and texture. With Honey Crisp apples, you'll get nice clean slices of pie without too much juice.

Granny Smith

These green-skinned apples are Ree's favorite pick for apple pie. Their signature tart flavor is delicious on its own, but if you prefer a pie that’s a little sweeter, Granny Smith apples are great when paired with some of the sweeter apples on this list.

Gala

Gala apples have a nice mellow sweetness to them and they don't get too soft in the oven. They're a great multi-purpose apple and a delicious pick for apple pie. Best of all, this variety of apple is usually available year-round. Look for the red and yellow striped apples at most grocery stores and farmer’s markets.

Pink Lady

We love Pink Lady apples: They have a nice, rosy color (hence the name!) and they're super crisp, so they're ideal for getting that picture-perfect slice of pie. Pink Lady apples have a sweet-tart flavor that’s refreshing when eaten raw as a snacking apple, but that also works well in baked goods.

Golden Delicious

Golden Delicious apples stand out on the shelf thanks to their sunny yellow color, and you can usually find them throughout the year. These apples are pretty mild in their flavor, so they work well in pies that have some extra sweetness and spice.

Northern Spy

These large, round apples aren't always readily available throughout the year, but when they are, they're one of the very best for pie! They have a mostly sweet, very lightly tart flavor and they're nice and firm. Look for them in the later months of fall and you’ll be baking apple pie for all the cold-weather holidays.

Jonagold

Jonagold apples are a cousin of Golden Delicious and they have some of the same pretty golden hues in their skin. They're a nice mix of sweet and tart, so they work well on their own in a pie. The firm-fleshed apple is a great choice for baking in all forms. They're mostly found at farmer's markets during apple season.

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!

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

Popular Videos

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.

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.

What Are the Best Apples for Apple Pie?

To avoid a mushy apple pie, you’ll need a mix of what Amy calls firm-tart and firm-sweet apple varieties. All baking apples should be firm so the fruit will hold its shape throughout the cooking process, and a combination of tart and sweet varieties will give your apple pie the best flavor.

Best Firm-Tart Apples for Apple Pie

The classic “green apple” is firm, slightly sour, and definitely one of the best apples for apple pie. Since it’s a lunchbox staple, it’s available at supermarkets everywhere.

Best Firm-Sweet Apples for Apple Pie

This delicately sweet and crisp variety is not only one of the best apples for apple pie, it’s also great in muffins and cakes. You can find it in most supermarkets near the fall season.

What, No Macs?!?!

McIntosh apples are a popular pick for many bakers, but our advice is to not use Macs in apple pie. Here’s Amy with the reason why, but also how to make McIntosh apples work if you’ve just gotta have ’em:

For an apple pie filling of tender but intact chunks of fruit, balanced perfectly between tart and sweet, not all apples are created equal

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

What Makes the Best Apple Pie?

Like burgers and pizza, I believe pie to be one of the truly perfect foods. A culinary endpoint that can be improved incrementally, but not fundamentally. The true beauty of a pie comes from that magical interaction between crust and filling.

Apple-Picking

Some apples just don't make good pies. They're too sweet, too mealy, or too tart. They disintegrate when you cook them, they release too much liquid, they just taste funny.

The Results

Here are all of my tasting notes. Afterward, I'll discuss how flavor is a factor.

Are In-Season Apples Better?

You may think that the whole "local, seasonal" movement is getting a bit out of hand, and oftentimes, I tend to agree. But there are certain foods for which it truly makes sense. Apples for pies are one of them.