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Favorite Apples For Applesauce? Pies?

15 years ago

Okay everyone, what are your favorite apples for these two items? Bought Late Lodi for pies because a friend always brags they are the best. Well, flavor is excellent, but they are too soft after baking. I didn't mind that much, but DH didn't like the "mushy" texture.

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Comments (4)

Linda_Lou
15 years ago
Granny Smith for pies. For applesauce I use a variety. Whatever is free or cheap ! Mixed together you get a nice flavor. Golden Delicious makes good applesauce, too.
I like brown sugar applesauce, but I am diabetic, so I don't do that any longer. I would if I could eat it.
The brown sugar blend with Splenda is still half sugar, so more than I can handle.
Have you made the apple pie jam ??? Really tastes like apple pie. Good over icecream, too.
annie1992
15 years ago
I agree with Linda Lou, I use a variety for applesauce, but my favorite is MacIntosh, it "mushes up" well and easily when cooked and still isn't too sweet.

For pies I usually use Ida Red or local Jonathans but my favorite is something called Northern Spy, an old fashioned and very hard late apple that is getting harder to find.

Annie
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G'Day Marian. Here are a few thoughts on frozen apple pies. The only time I need a frozen pie is for camping or hunting when it is not feasible to bake a pie. I have tried baking a pie (cherry works better than apple for me) and freezing it and taking it in a cooler and then defrosting it at camp. The apple pie is marginal that way (cherry works better) but welcome with a hot cuppa after a morning of walking the hills. I have experimented and the following method works a bit better. I bake an apple pie and let it cool and then slice it. I then take my vacuum sealer bags and form 8 bags large enough for each slice. I place the slices on waxed paper and then on a cookie sheet and freeze solid. Then I vaccum seal the slices and back into the freezer (labelled and dated). This works fairly well. For camping, I pack the individual slices in my cooler and I don't have to worry about transporting a pie plate back and forth and the slices take less space. They stay fairly frozen until needed, but this does depend on time of the year. At home, if Leslie and I have a hankering for an apple pie and we don't want a whole pie to temp us, we take a couple slices out of the freezer. Dang, now I want an apple pie. I will have to check to see if the Johnathons are out yet--those are my favorite as I can't find pippens around here. Based on my experience, peach pies and cobblers don't do well frozen and thawed. I have not tried pumpkin pie. Cheers, Gary
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Like Sandy I line the pie pan but I use foil instead of plastic (but plastic sounds like a better idea) put in the apple slices and add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, cover it with more foil and freeze, then I put it in a plastic bag. I've never had any trouble with the apples turning brown or mushy apples when they thaw or cook but I use mostly Ida Red apples which are great keepers and are fairly hard. I live in NYS so don't know if those apples are available everywhere or not. They are one of the last to ripen, if fact I just got two bushels so now have to start making applesauce for the grandkids.
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Comments (13)
My mom always uses MacIntosh, so that is the apple of choice for me. I like the apple slices to bake down, not hold their shape. I really don't like an apple pie that has apple slices that are firm. I made a pie with Gala apples once and they turned out similar to Macs. The best apples for just eating, for me, are Honeycrisps. Too bad they have such a short season and cost a fortune.
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I think actually any apple will make good applesauce. My grandmother always used Rome apples because they are so mealy but I actually prefer a crisper, more tart apple. I have a yellow delicious and a red delicious in my back yard garden and both are good for all kinds of things, including applesauce. I think the kind of apple you pick for applesauce is just a matter of personal taste. And yes, freezing is fine if you're cooking the apples to soften them and not just whirring the raw apples around in a food processor. I freeze apple slices and the way I keep them from darkening in the freezer is that I slice them into water that has about a tablespoon of canning salt to about a gallon of water. Before I freeze I strain off the water and then I pack them in gallon freezer bags. They are great for cooking or for eating frozen. They do turn light brown and watery if thawed completely, but the water is apple juice, so if you had an abundance of apples and wanted to make juice, you could probably freeze apples and then thaw them and get juice quite easily that way.
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belindach
15 years ago
I like my applesauce to taste like my favorite apple. I will use a specific apple per sauce or pie such as Winesap or Pink Lady. I don't like the generic taste.
bcskye
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks everyone for your input. I use a lot of Granny Smith for fresh eating and use to make pies with them or Jonathons. Looks like I need to go back to them. I'll have to try the Northern Spy. I think we've had some of the Pink Lady for fresh eating, too.

Your Apple Pie Jam was the first jam I made after many years of not canning, linda lou. I think I used the Granny Smiths for it and DH and I really liked it a lot. Need to make another batch of it. We are both diabetic so I made it with Splenda and Pomona's and it turned out perfect. Gee, I wonder if the Lodis would work for it. I've still got half a peck minus five so I need to use them for something. They really do have great flavor.

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