Szarlotka (Polish Apple Pie) (2024)

FAQs

What apples not to use for apple pie? ›

There are a few apples that don't make the cut. While great for snacking, Gala, Fuji and Red Delicious are the most common apples that won't hold up in the oven and will give you a watery-mushy pie, tart or cake.

The Spartan is an excellent cooking and dessert apple. Its firm flesh holds its shape, and maintains its sweet flavour when baked into pies and crisps. In addition to baking, the Spartan is also a great apple for juicing and eating fresh!

Empires are a cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious apples. Firm-textured and sweet-tart, the Empire is a fine all-purpose apple good for juice, sauce, pies, baking, salads, eating fresh, and drying.

Golden Delicious: If you prefer a sweeter, softer pie, Golden Delicious apples are the way to go. This variety is so sweet that many bakers actually use less sugar in their recipe when baking with Golden Delicious apples. Gala: If you want extra sweetness without the soft texture, choose Gala apples for your pie.

At the end of the day, choosing the best pie apples is a personal decision. My best apple pie would include a combination of these three: Cortland, for flavor; Russet, for texture; and Granny Smith, for its combination of the two.

Pectin is the biological glue that holds together plant cells, giving fruits and vegetables their shape and structure. When apples are cooked, this pectin breaks down, and the apples turn mushy.

Ontario Northern Spy Apples are hard to beat in this recipe. However, you may use Ontario Spartans, Idareds, Cortlands, Crispins (Mutsu), Golden Delicious and Empire Apples which all hold their shape when baked.

Today Spartan apples have faded from commercial production due to the influx of improved modern varieties and have become specialty apples grown in home gardens.

For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

All-purpose flour is an easy solution, as you're sure to have it in your pantry. Since it's lower in starch, you'll use more of it than you would higher-starch thickeners. Quick-cooking tapioca makes filling bright and clear, but also gives it a stippled and somewhat sticky texture.

How many apples for one pie? ›

It's hard to know exactly how many apples you'll need for an apple pie, but for one 9-inch pie, you probably won't need more than 10 apples. If your apples are smaller, you'll probably need 10; if they're really big apples, you'll use fewer of them.

The Winesap fruit is small to medium with a deep, cherry red skin and a crisp, yellow flesh. It has moderate disease resistance including to mildew and blooms a few days later than other late varieties. It is all-purpose, being used for fresh eating, cider, apple butter, and pies.

One of the chief reasons bakers end up with apple soup under the crust is failure to bake their pie long enough. There's almost no such thing as over-baking an apple pie; I've baked apple pies for 2 hours and longer, and they turn out just fine.

The variety was grown in home gardens and commercial orchards, but over time, modern varieties overshadowed the apples, leading them to disappear from commercial production. Today, Jonathan apples are not commercially produced and are only grown in small quantities in the United States as a specialty apple.

Some, however, have unique health benefits. Red Delicious apples are the healthiest from an antioxidant standpoint, Crumble Smith says. The darker the color of the apple, the richer it'll be in antioxidants.

Overall, crunchy (or crisp) apples are best for baking because they will soften but not turn to mush when heated. There are a few common exceptions, namely Red Delicious and Gala, whose flesh aren't dense enough to do well when baked, orchard owner Mark Toigo said.

Honeycrisp. One of the sweetest apples around, this Midwestern favorite is good for anything—including baking. It boasts a distinctive juicy crispness and is firm enough that it won't cook down much. It complements just about any other apple variety to make a stellar pie.

Which apples bake best? For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

The late-season cultivar was bred in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, in 1985 and was released to commercial markets worldwide in the early 21st century. Envy™ apples were selected for their balanced, sweet, and tangy taste, crunchy nature, and thick skin, allowing the apples to be shipped long distances around the world.