When one picks the correct apples to make an apple pie, a mediocre dish is turned into a show-stopper masterpiece.
Years of experimenting with and trying dozens of varieties led me to the ultimate decision of the right type of apples to produce a perfect texture, flavor and consistency that will earn people seconds on their plate.
The Reason Why Apple Selection Is Important to Perfect Pies
It is not only about the taste of the apples in making pie but also their behavior in the heat. At the beginning, I baked anything that the apples happened to be selling.
The result? Sticky tasteless meat that was not a hit with anybody. After I changed to strategic combinations of apples, everyone came to see my pies as a point of attraction.
Good apple pie apples must possess four important features:
- Balanced sweet-tart taste
- Ability to maintain their form during baking
- Full taste that improves with heat
- Smooth texture that never becomes grains or mealy
Which Apples Are Used Best in Apple Pie? My Top Picks
Having tried almost 100 pounds of apples of several seasons, the following are my best apples to make pies:
Golden Delicious: The Foundation Apple
Golden Delicious is my first preference of apples used in apple pie. It is also richer in butter, classic apple taste when baked and the slices retain their shape, yet attain that most desirable soft, tender texture.
I blend 50% of my apple mixture in all my pies with Golden Delicious due to this consistency in terms of structure and unbelievable depth of flavor.
I began to use Golden Delicious as the foundation of my pies rather than just using Granny Smith, and the outcome was astonishing–since the guests couldn’t get enough of the complex gratifying feeling of the apple that was not overpowering with acidic taste.
Northern Spy: The Taste Powerhouse
Northern Spy apples introduce outstanding cider based aromas which include pear hints. Such pie-apples are firm in baking and are able to provide us with that sweet-acid flavor that professional bakers pursue.
I use Northern Spy because it is 30 percent of my apple blend to add lusciousness and texture.
Braeburn: The All-Rounder
Braeburn is a winner in terms of the question of what apples are best to make apple pie when working with a single variety.
They are shaped well, become soft enough and are packed with strong tasting apple and cider overtones. Late season apples are also very good in storing and hence are suitable to make pies on thanksgiving and during winter holidays.
Honeycrisp: The Grocer Store Winner
Farmer markets to Honeycrisp are not available, and so I use Honeycrisp as my preferred apples to make pies out of.
Their sweet honey-like taste (occasionally rose- or melon-scented) does not lose in baking and they are very easy to shape. They are more costly than other types, but due to their consistency, it is worth it.
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Good Apples For Apple Pie: Supporting Cast
McIntosh: The Flavor Bomb
McIntosh disintegrates, but there is no substitute to their cider-like quality. I add McIntosh which is 20 percent of my mixture to get the amazing taste of apples. They form that somewhat saucy stuff that some people are fond of, but not grainy.
Jonagold: The Middle Ground
Jonagold apples have the genetics of Golden Delicious; they have a good taste and sweet-sour balance. These are good apples to use in apple pie that are soft and retain their structure- an ideal mid-season apple that can be used in September till October.
Pink Lady: The Premium Choice
The apples (CRRIPS Pink quality apples, also known as Pink Lady apples) are sweet and firm in texture. They cost a lot, but are sure and difficult to brown. I save these to special occasions when it really counts to be presentable.
Fuji: The Sweetness Champion
The apples of Fuji are extremely sweet with a fair texture. To make balanced apple pies, I combine Fujis with other much more flavorful apple varieties such as McIntosh to suit different tastes.
What Apples Are Best For Pie? The Winning Combination
Can you please stop using single-variety apples? The trick of pies in a bakery is to use best apples to be in a pie strategically:
My Proven Formula:
- 50% Golden Delicious (buttery taste, tenderly textured)
- 30% Northern Spy or Braeburn (tart, firm)
- 20% McIntosh or Jonathan (tasting like cider, like sauce)
This mixture brings intricacy, which individual varieties cannot accomplish. The Golden Delicious offers the basic flavour, the Northern Spy/Braeburn offers support and tartness, and the McIntosh offers the same indescribable apple flavour.
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What Are the Best Apples For Pie? Attributes That Matter
Knowledge of what best apples to use in pie entails knowledge of these characteristics:
Balance in the Acid
Apples with a high acid level retain their structure throughout the baking process and do not produce over-sweet filling that is one-dimensional. Pies are made interesting with tartness.
Stability in Texture
Good pie apples are not supposed to become mealy, grainy or mushy. The meat must become soft with clear cuts.
Flavor Retention
A lot of apples lose their flavor upon heating. The most suitable apple in pies does not lose its flavour but makes the pie more flavorful.
Moisture Content
Excessive moisture causes sloppy bottom crusts. Excessive scarcity brings about parching. Balance is critical.
Best Apples For Pies: Varieties To Avoid
Granny Smith: The Over Rated Classic
Old-fashioned Granny Smith apples when an evening comes and fails to satisfy. Farming has adopted a system of farming that lays more emphasis on long storage instead of quality, which makes them mushy upon baking.
Granny Smith’s Fresh farmer market can do better yet have no complexity of flavors. I found this out personally when several batches became grainy even after doing the recipes to a dot.
Gala: Pretty But Problematic
Gala apples are delicious when fresh and they become unbearably gritty when baked. None of the techniques can cure this texture problem–I have used store-bought and farm-fresh Galas.
Red Delicious: See No More
Beautiful without, tasteless and mealy inside. Do not make your apple pie with Red Delicious, they are nothing but decorative apples.
Other Disillusioned Types
Rome Beauty, Mutsu, Envy, and Rave apples do not work in pies because of their bland taste, gritty texture or strange artificial taste when baked.
What Apples Are Good For Pie? Shopping Strategy
First Choice Markets of Farmer
Local orchards are the best sources of apples to make pies when fresh. Quality is ensured by seasonality–early season (August-September) apples are Golden Supreme and Ginger Gold, and late season (October-November) ones are Northern Spy, Braeburn and Golden Delicious.
Grocery Stores: 365 Shopping
When you do not find farmer’s markets, look at Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Fuji and Pink Lady. Purchase at high seasons when it is of highest quality even in commercial avenues.
Storage Considerations
Months of storage of apples result in the loss of flavor and texture. The kind of apples used in a pie will be determined in part by freshness- recently picked apples of any good apples used in apple pie out of old “premium” apples.
Best Apple For Pies: How to Make Them
Slicing Consistency
Cut apples into even slices of 1/4-in. thickness. Irregular sizes will result in uneven cooking- some of the pieces will become mushy whilst others remain crunchy.
Sugar Ratios
Apples that are sweeter are Fuji or Golden Delicious that require less sugar added. Tart varieties require more. Depending on my combination of apples in the apple pie, I will first taste the apples prior to adding sugar.
Preventing Soggy Bottoms
The most ideal apples to be used in pie have natural moisture that may sabotage crusts. To fill pie shells, I pre-cook the filling to allow excess liquid to drain out, strain it and then fill into shells.
Spice Balance
Apple pie apples are brilliant not lost in the spices but gleam. I put the least cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice which is just to impart flavor to the apples.
What Apples To Apple Pie? Seasonal Timing
- Early (August-September): Golden Supreme, Ginger Gold, Pristine
- Mid Season (September-October): Jonagold, Cortland, Jonathan
- Late Season (October-November): Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Braeburn, Fuji
Purchasing apples at the time when they are in harvest will ensure that the good pie apples you are purchasing are of the taste you want.
My Game-Changing Discovery
I would also go all the way to rely on Granny Smith apples since that is what everybody suggested. My pies were sharp and hard yet shallow.
Next I put a test of the Golden Delicious and Northern Spy ratio and the outcome was wonderful. The intricacy, the sweetness-tartness balance, the soft-but-still-textured filling- all of it brought to a new level immediately.
Previously described guests who had already mentioned that it was a nice pie began to ask me to give them the recipe and send the dessert to all parties.
Best Apples to Make Pies: Expert Testing Technology
Need to know the best apples to your taste? Test this muffin tin with this easy way:
- Chop the varieties of apples
- Season each variety separately, with little sugar and salt
- Add into muffin tin
- Wrap with foil (punch some holes)
- Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes
- Compare the texture, flavor, and the moisture
This technique allows you to consider the most suitable apples to use in apple pie, without investing in recipes. Even the failed tests are still tasting good with vanilla ice cream.
Best Pie Apples: High Technology
Layering Strategy
Firmer apple varieties (Northern Spy, Braeburn) are to be placed in lower levels where they can get more direct heat. Place softer varieties (Golden Delicious) at upper layers to cook evenly.
Maceration Process
Combine apples in a pie with sugar and leave to rest after 30 minutes. This attracts moisture that can be removed, condensing flavours and avoiding wet pies.
Blind Baking
Blind bake pie shells and fill with apples in order to have extra-crispy bottom crusts and juicy fillings of apple pie filling.
Temperature Control
Bake at high temperature (425°F) and at this point the crust should be set; then decrease the heat to 375°F until the baking period is completed. This eliminates raw bottom crusts and does not produce burnt tops.
Finding: Your Ideal Pie is Waiting
The process of picking the best apples to make an apple pie is not that difficult as long as you are aware of the rules: mix hard and soft surfaces, equalize sweet and sour taste, pick the apples that are in season, and prevent the ones that go mealy with heating.
My combination of known Golden Delicious, Northern Spy or Braeburn, and McIntosh makes my pies always outstanding and is able to please different tastes.
Test with ratios to suit your palate, but never forget–good apples to apple pie should be blended of several kinds, rather than of one.
Begin with these rules, and do your own experiments, and you will get to know what apples in the pie please you the best. It is only a single correct apple choice away between mediocre and magnificent.