The best apple pie I ever made was a recipe from Food network. It called for a mix of 3 different kinds of apples. Suggestions were Granny smith, gala, and mcintosh but you could use what ever you wanted.

I have a Fuji apple tree, and so that's what I use. The best apples for pies are ones that are tart and crisp, as they hold up during baking. Granny Smith is supposed to be a good choice, and I used to use Winesap with good results.

Lars

I like Empire, but it's not available very often any more, an old fashioned variety.

MacIntosh is better for sauce, IMO, it mushes up a lot. I've used many varieties successfully, including Ida Red, Granny Smith, Empire, Northern Spy and Jonathan.

Annie

Went to the orchard yesterday and got a peck of Idared. I wanted Granny Smith, but they didn't have any. These Idared are huge!

Cortland. It's all I use for pies. They hold their shape and have a wonderful flavor.

What a great question, Kris. Like previous posters, I tend to use a mix. Usually, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Jonathans and, if I can get to them before my crew eats all of them, Honeycrisp. My goodness, that is one good apple.

Hmmmm, I'm going to have look for Idared -- haven't ever seen them.

Let us know how your results turn out. Good luck!

Cathy in SWPA

Hi,

I use a combination of Granny Smith and Cortland.
MJ

Empire, Courtland, Granny Smith and Spy...or any combination thereof.

Like Anne I find Macs get too mushy but I love them for sauce and cooked with sauerkraut and pork.

Love Cortland, Spartan and Empires for baking. I bought 10 lbs of Cortlands from our apple guy, and I didn't see any Empires there. He always had them in the past. I don't like McInstosh, either for eating or cooking. They get too soft, too fast for me.
They make great applesauce, though.

Macoun is another great apple.

I actually prefer MacIntosh for pies but I'll use whatever I find for cheap on Craigslist. This year it was Granny Smith and Golden Delicious which I'll mix with some of the Macs I have left in the freezer.

My favorite varieties for pies or crisps are Cortlands or IdaReds.

I am a Jonathan lover....but sometimes they are hard to find during the winter......so I have had to adjust....have learned Jonagold are very nice. Last week we went to the nearby orchard, came home with Jonathans (they were so fresh), and a
peck of Jonagolds with the intentions of comparing the two closely. Also bought a peck bag of Honey Crisp, and was I impressed, none of them made it to the freezer.
I will buy them again.

I peel, slice, bag and freeze. Use for pies and I cook the slices also just to eat. My Mom use to fry the slices, fried apples bring back kid memories.

Will be going back real soon for another round of apples from the orchard. This year I will prepare a batch of apples to make mince meat.

Old fashioned 20 Ounce Pippin!

I wanted to know this same thing. One year I made several pies with different types and found Granny Smith to be the best IMO. I don't remember what the other types I tried were.

The best looking apple was a Braeburn so that is what I bought. Won't get a chance to use them until tomorrow.

There was an interesting article in today's Washington Post by Adrian Higgins about heirloom apple varieties and a man trying to preserve and bring some of them back. He said the best pie came from a mix of Grimes Golden for the sugar, Idared for the sugar acid, and Jonathan for acid tannin. Higgins said it made a pie foro the ages.

Cortland or Macintosh. I like the apples to get mushy in a pie.

Jonagold, Fuji, Mutsu, and Cortland. Or other mixtures of apples for a lively apple taste and I use much less sugar. I also use store-bought apple juice with regular ClearJel for canned apple pie filling since I do everything gluten free. For fresh pies I use the instant ClearJel. Gives a nice smooth "goo" without an aftertaste like some other thickeners give.
Nancy

The trouble with Texas is that Granny Smith is about the only pie apple we get around here. I've never seen a Cortland available. I think I've seen Empire occasionally, but didn't know it could be used for pie.

Sally

This is so funny because one year I made a pie with Empire apples (which I love) and in my mind it wasn't "mushy" enough so it was a failure, more or less. Then I took it to work and my co-workers raved about it, with one of them saying, "I like this because you can see and taste the individual bits of apples. That's the best kind of apple pie." So it's quite a matter of taste. I made applesauce last weekend for my mom with McIntosh, which gives you the standard type of applesauce like you get in the store bought jars. She loved it, I hated it. I like mine chunky and thick, with individual pieces of apple still left, so I use golden delicious or Empire for mine. I had never heard of Cortland or Empire apples until I had moved out east, but then out east you hardly ever see Jonathans, although now they have Jonagolds, which I guess are a cross? Now I am seeing both Cortlands and Empire in Michigan. Nowdays I have to limit my apple consumption to Gala and Fuji and Pink Lady, mostly. I cheat though, for pies and the like. Plus I really love Empire apples. They are the sassy offspring of red delicious I think. That apple aint what it used to be, although it is BF's favorite still.

I love this thread. This weekend I visited my local orchard and picked up quite a few varieties for taste testing and pie making. I purchased:

Suncrisp (new variety)
Stayman Winesap
Northern Spy
Northwest Greening
Connell Red
Spencer
Arkansas Black
Pumpkin Sweet
Wolf River

I prefer to make a mixed apple pie, but my overall favorite apple for everything is Northern Spy.