From vegnews.com
Protect yourself from a mushy tragedy. These are the best, and worst, apples for making apple pie
The fact of the matter is that not just any old apple will do. Some can take the heat of the oven without turning into a mushy tragedy while others … well, they’re just not suited to baking.
“The most important thing when picking apples for pie is the texture,” Hannah Kaminsky, cookbook author, food photographer, and the creator of the vegan recipe website, BitterSweet, tells VegNews. “That’s why I’d never go for something with a softer bite, like Empire or McIntosh. These are better suited for making applesauce or apple butter instead.”
Thankfully, the best apples for making apple pie don’t change when you’re making the dessert vegan. The perfect apple pie features a filling that is sweet but tart and intact yet tender, with a buttery, flaky crust. Not every apple is up for the job.
What’s the best apple for apple pie?
When it comes to baking, not just any old apple will do. Here are the best apples to use for apple pie.
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1Granny Smith
If you ask a baker what their favourite apple for apple pie is, chances are that Granny Smiths will be at the top of their list.
“Granny Smith apples are typically listed as the best apples to use for pie,” Emily Frigon, founder of the vegan recipe website Garlic Head, says. “Their tart flavour plays well with the sugar in most recipes. If you’d like, you can mix the apple with something sweeter, like a Honeycrisp or Pink Lady, for a nice balance of flavours.”
This spring green apple is probably the sourest variety available. It has a citrus-like aroma and an acidity that complements the sugar and spice that you coat it in for pie. It also has a firm, crunchy texture that holds up when it bakes. When you use Granny Smith apples in vegan baking, you’ll find that they generally stay in whatever shape you cut them into.
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2Honeycrisp
With a name to match its flavour and texture, Honeycrisp apples are another superior baking fruit. This variety comes in hues of red and yellow.
“Personally, my favourite apples for pie are Honeycrisp, since they have a firm, crunchy texture that holds up well to baking without becoming mealy, and a nice sweet-tart balance,” Kaminsky says. They also have a sweet, honey-like flavour.
While Honeycrisps make good apples for apple pie, Kaminsky notes that they can be on the expensive side. “So, a good alternative is a mixture of Granny Smith and Fuji apples to get a really satisfying range of flavours,” she says. Be warned: while Fuji apples pair well with Granny Smith apples in pie, the Fuji variety doesn’t do well on its own. More on that later.
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3Braeburn
You can easily spot Braeburn apples by their streaks of orange and red on a Granny Smith green background—fitting since this variety is a crossbreed of Lady Hamilton and Granny Smith.
Braeburns are low-acid apples that are juicy and crisp with a sugary citrus flavour. They soften up a little when they bake but remain firm and flavourful enough to not get lost in all of the spices and sugar.
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4Crispin
Crispin apples, also called Mutsu, are a cross between Golden Delicious and Indo, a Japanese cultivar. These light green apples with an orange blush have a light, sweet flavour with a crunchy texture that can stand the oven’s heat. They’re also known for being extremely juicy. Crispins tend to be much bigger than other apple pie-worthy apples, so you won’t need to buy as many for baking.
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5Pink Lady
Also known as Cripps Pink, its official cultivar name, Pink Lady apples have a reddish-pink blush colour. This jack-of-all-trades apple has a good balance of acidity, sugar, and crunch, making it good for snacking, salads, cooking, and baking. It has a crisp bite and intense, sweet-tart flavour that holds up even when it’s baked into a pie.
“These are all on the sweeter side, so if you chose to focus on just one apple, I’d suggest adding some lemon zest for contrast,” Kaminsky suggests.
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6Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious is one of the most popular cultivars in the US. This classic apple has speckled skin and a green-ish gold hue, sometimes with a faint orange blush. Although it’s implied in the name, it’s not a cousin of Red Delicious. It has a mild sweet-tart flavour with a crisp, juicy texture that makes it a popular apple for apple pie.
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7Jonagold
A cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathan apples, Jonagolds look the part. They have a golden yellow skin with flushes of muted red and a crisp texture with a flavour that’s sweeter than it is tart. But, it still contains enough acidity to make it a good apple for pie apple. In terms of size, Jonagolds are substantial, so you won’t need to buy too many—or, you can buy a lot and save them for snacking. It’s a pleasant eating apple, too.
Worst apples for apple pie
The apples to avoid in apple pie are ones where the flavour and texture don’t match up to what, in our opinion, the perfect vegan apple pie needs.
The apples below don’t work for pies because they usually can’t handle long cooking times, Frigon explains. “If you try baking a pie with these, it could become overly soft and gummy,” she warns.
They become a grainy and flavourless mush that gets lost between the crusts. That isn’t to say that these are bad apples—they shine in other ways. Along with Rome, which Kaminsky recommends for apple butter instead, the apples you don’t want to use are:
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1McIntosh
These thick-skinned apples are often ovular and lop-sided with a colouring that consists of green and muted blush. It is dense and juicy with a mealy, but crisp texture. But because of this, it tends to turn to mush when used in baked goods and its sweet and tangy flavour is lost.
McIntosh apples are good for snacking, salads, oatmeal, vegan stuffing, applesauce, and puréeing. Use the apple purée in vegan baked goods like this Spiced Apple Cake, which features warming notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
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2Red Delicious
Say the word “apple,” and most Americans likely picture Red Delicious in their head. Red Delicious apples have tough, vibrant red skin, long shelf-life, and a tall, conical shape. They have a firm bite and a mild, lightly crisp flesh.
Unfortunately, its popularity is declining. Many people complain that it lacks flavour. Still, Red Delicious has its fans, who enjoy it for snacking and salads. However, it gets lost in baked goods—so skip it if you’re making vegan apple pie.
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3Fuji
Green with pink speckles, crunchy, refreshing, and juicy, Fuji is considered one of the best eating apples. But, as previously mentioned, when it’s on its own, Fuji tastes watery and sad in vegan apple pie.
Mix Fuji with a crunchy apple, like Honeycrisp—Kaminsky’s personal favourite—if you want to cut down on costs. Otherwise, save Fuji for snacking, salads, and pairing with vegan wine and cheese.
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4Gala
Gala is one of the most popular varieties in the US. It has speckled red skin and yellow spots, plus a complex flavour that’s sweet with floral and vanilla notes. This makes it an amazing apple for snacking, juicing, and salads, but it tends to get a little too grainy when it’s baked. However, that texture is wonderful in these doughy vegan maple apple cinnamon rolls.
Now, you’re armed with the knowledge of what makes a good apple for apple pie. Use that when you next bake an apple pie or these shortcut apple pie turnovers, which are made with accidentally vegan puff pastry. Of course, no vegan apple pie is complete without a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
