Which Types of Apples Are Best for Baking Pies, and Why? | America’s Test Kitchen
With apple season upon us, Jack Bishop explains which apples are best to use for baking pies, making applesauces, and anything in between.
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Thx u
I was not surprised, but still disappointed, that this did not mention the Northern Spy apple. It’s lamentably rare in markets, but is a superb pie apple, and also excellent for eating out of hand.
One that I have enjoyed for applesauce is the Gravenstein, but that has been extremely hard to find for a long time. I understand that they are difficult to grow, owing to poor disease resistance.
Gala is always the answer
Northern Spy when I can find them. Gets more and more difficult to do so, but when I do!!!
Jack Rocks Apples 🍎🍏 🎉
When was this filmed?
For my no sugar added apple pie I use slices of Granny Smith layered with fine diced Golden Delicious apples dusted with a bit of cornstarch and cinnamon. The Goldens form a sweet glaze around the firm more tart slices as it bakes. .
You are a very knowledgeable about everything! Thank you for this great information 👌
with all the other sweetness going on in the pie, granny smith is perfect. The crunch is a nice texture too compared to most other apples which make gummy pie
Thank you!!!
Northern Spy makes the best apple pie.
An old buddy of mine that made the best apple pie would buy Matsu Crispin when he would go salmon fishing near Lake Ontario. Perfection in a pie. Miss you Howard Kirsch.
I use five Cortlands and 1 1/2 Macintoshes in my pie with about 3T of flour. This makes a large pie and the right consistency for the filling, not too watery and not too solid. I also use nearly a cup of sugar. I can't stand a bland pie from the store that has not nearly enough sugar and hard pieces of apple.
Pink lady, Honeycrisp? Ick! Just sweet nothing else. Most of the popular apples (Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Gala, Fuji) are darn near worthless. I like to mix Granny Smith or Pippin with a flavorful red apple. The best red baking apples are very hard to find these days. I used the old fashioned variety of Jonathans for years, before the became "extinct." Braeburns are another favorite, but they also (unfortunately) have become very difficult to find. Such a nice spicy (cinnamon/clove) quality once they are baked. I'm experimenting with Gravensteins currently (a local late summer apple). Unfortunately they don't last into the holiday season so you have to cook you pie filling well ahead of time.
Granny Smith apples are my favorite, but I also love Gala and Fuji apples.❤
In my opinion, New England (Vermont specifically) Cortlands are the best for cooking and eating. Cannot find them in the South which breaks my heart.😢
I bought some Ambrosia apples 🍎 one day and seems like 6 months they were in the fridge, I looked it up online and it said they last quite awhile, tasty too! ♥️🙏
I love Rome apples for their unique texture and flavor, which make eating them when ripe a delight. Unfortunately, I can only find them in New York, where I no longer live.
I will try a mixture this year.
What is your take on apples for pies? The traditional baked Apple pie that is.
Golden Delicious is my favorite all-around apple. It's perfect for apple cobbler with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Slightly old and bruised Macs make the most amazing applesauce. Just quarter them, steam them until soft and press them through a food mill, absolutely nothing else needed.
We like using Mutsu (iirc aka crispin? could be wrong lol) apples for baking, though they're good all purpose too. They're crispy,, juicy, sweet/sour, and hold their shape fairly well – not mealy or anything. They can get pretty big too, so a lot of bang for your buck lol. Might be hard to find though, I've only been able to find them at farms (michigan btw), not at grocery stores etc.
I avoided honeycrisp after trying some from a grocery store that tasted like chemicals but the same farm that I get my mutsu at convinced me to try theirs and I should've known better WOW. Yeah, camp honeycrisp snacking apples now 😛
My Mom always said Spys for Pies. The Empire is nearly the perfect apple
Applesauce made from McIntosh apples is far and away the best applesauce I’ve ever had. Because of the texture of the flesh of a McIntosh it makes applesauce that’s almost creamy, It’s so smooth.
Why did you ignore the cosmic crisp?
i always get a bushel of empire they last mnths and months in my fruit cellar
I find it interesting that the kind of apple that my mother and grandmothers always recommended to use in a pie was Cortland, and it’s not mentioned here at all. In my own experimentations with apple pie, I found the Cortland was more of the fall apart type apple, so I don’t know why they recommended it for a pie. I will give Pink Lady and Macintosh and possibly Empire a try if I can find them this fall. Thanks for the recommendations.😊
i use Fuji apples for everything, by far the most well rounded apple.