From Eve's hand in creation's garden, to the teacher's desk, and on to any number of small electronic devices, the apple rules the fruit world as the icon for all that is good and sustaining.  Evidence of apples extends back to 6500 B.C.E., so they've had a while to build their stellar reputation.

Apples are one of the few fruits that we buy by variety.  Bananas are bananas, but apples come as Red Delicious, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, or one of the other 7500 varieties.  From this vast diversity, about 300 varieties are grown commercially in the U.S.  Interestingly, over time, both politics and economics have influenced the apple varieties available to us and where they're grown.

Until the 1990's, U.S. orchards provided the world with apples with over half of the apples sold being Red Delicious. Research efforts around the Red Delicious variety, aimed toward larger apples with darker red coloring.  Ironically, those cosmetic characteristics were delivered at the expense of great apple taste.  Other varieties, such as Granny Smith, Gala, Honeycrisp, and Braeburn, have recently gained shelf space pushing the Red Delicious to less than a quarter of the apple offering. Pacific varieties, such as New Zealand's Gala and the Japanese Fuji, grew popular in U.S. orchards primarily for exporting purposes.  In the 1990's came the "apple crash."  Between 1980-2000, spurred by newly opened trade policies, Chinese orchards grew by 750 percent and began to supply apples to the foreign markets previously serviced by U.S. growers.  The upside of this situation was that the previously exported Pacific varieties were now marketed domestically bringing more choice to the local market.  (For more on the fascinating politics and economics of apples and other fresh produce, check out Russ Parson's book, How to Pick a Peach, the Search for Flavor from Farm to Table).     

Apple Profiles:
Experiment with some of the common apple varieties easily available in today's markets:

Cameo® - Small white spots on the skin distinguish the Cameo. This sweet, yet crisp apple is used for eating, salads, cooking and baking.

Honeycrisp - This newer variety is also crisp and sweet.  Shows red on a golden background, and holds its shape during cooking.

Cripps Pink (a.k.a. Pink Lady) - Crisp, firm, with a unique tartness.  Harvested late in the fall and great for eating and baking.

Jonagold - A juicy apple derived from a cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathan varieties.  Good for eating, cooking, and baking.

Granny Smith - Green and tart with a juicy crispness.  Versatile for eating, salads, and baking.  With Australian origins, its roots originate from a French crabapple and a grandmother's, (Maria Ann Smith), tree.

Gala - a crisp apple with stripes of yellow, pink, orange, and red.  Perfect for eating and for use in salads.  New Zealand in origin.

Fuji - Full of flavor and sweetness.  Ideal for eating, salads, and baking.  Holds its texture when cooked.

Braeburn - A firm, aromatic apple with a sweet tartness. Ideal for eating, salads, and baking.

Red Delicious - a classic apple for eating out of hand.  Bright red with darker red stripes.  Good in salads.

Golden Delicious - an all purpose apple.  Great for eating, salads, and baking.  Does not brown as quickly as other varieties.

To experiment with some local varieties, follow this link for a list of Iowa Apple Orchards.  If you plan to visit, call ahead to verify the latest orchard information.

Apple Trivia:

 -- The Guiness Book of World Records notes the largest apple was picked from a tree in Caro, Michigan and weighed in at three pounds, two ounces. (An average apple weighs about 6 oz.).
-- The Red Delicious variety was "discovered" on a Peru, Iowa farm in 1874, and was originally named "Hawkeye."
-- Modern orchard farming uses "high-density" planting with up to 500 trees per acre.
-- Washington, New York, and Michigan rank the highest in apple production.
-- Michigan is the largest supplier of apple slices used in commercially prepared apple pie filling.
-- Apples are still harvested by hand.
-- One medium apple contains 5 grams of fiber, or 20% of the recommended daily intake of fiber.
-- The type of dietary fiber in apples is noted to have a more positive impact on health than fiber from cereal/grain sources.
-- Apples contain the essential trace element, boron, key for strong bones.
-- One gallon of apple cider results from 36 apples.
-- Within 8-10 years of planting, an apple tree will produce fruit.  A dwarf tree will produce within 3-6 years.
-- A medium apple has about 80 calories.
-- Pomology is the science of growing apples.
-- It takes 50 leaves to support the production of one apple.
-- Americans eat 19.6 pounds of apples every year, i.e., about 47 apples per year.
-- One-quarter air by volume, the apple floats easily bedeviling many a bobbing contest participant.

Apple Care:

Choose apples that are firm, without any bruising. They are best stored in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, because apples will deteriorate ten times faster if not kept cool.  Apples emit ethylene gas which when packaged with other fruits, such as bananas, kiwis, peaches, plums and pears, will hasten their ripening.  This same gas may damage certain vegetables including broccoli, cabbage, cucumber and leafy greens; store apples separately from these items.

Resources: Washington Apples, Michigan Apples, New York Apples.

The season's harvest inspires the pie baker in all of us.  And, a homemade pie is always, let's say that again, always better than a purchased pie or a prefab crust.  The freshness of the crust, your special hand in determining just the right spices, and the abundance of mounded fruit distinguish your own pie from lame commercial imitations.

If there's an obstacle to overcome in becoming a homemade pie baker, it's mastering the crust.  But, a few secrets and a few simple rules will allow mastery of the common crust.  Our definition of the perfect pie crust is a tender, flaky crust that compliments the flavor of the pie contents.  To be avoided is a tough crust that requires chiseling or that projects an objectionable taste.

Making the Perfect Pie Crust:
Secret #1: The ingredients for crust are simple:  flour, salt, sugar, water, and a fat source.  Most experts recommend a combination of butter and shortening.  The butter brings great taste, while the shortening creates a desirable fine texture.  Experiment with different ratios of butter to shortening; some recommend 1:1, others 3:2, and the recipe below calls for 7:1.
Secret #2:  Cut the butter and shortening into half-inch cubes.  Chill the butter, but freeze the shortening pieces. (Shortenings with zero trans fats are now readily available).  Keeping everything at a cold temperature throughout the crust-making process is key to achieving great results.
Secret #3:  Place dry ingredients in a food processor, add the shortening pulsing until the mixture has a sandy texture.  Then add the butter and pulse just until pea-sized pieces form.  Do not overmix. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Secret #4:  Use water chilled with ice cubes.  Add liquid one tablespoon at a time.  Mix the water in with a folding type motion.  Do not overmix.
Secret #5:  Gather the dough into a ball; flatten it into a disc (two discs if a double crust).  Wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes.
Secret #6:  After the discs have chilled, remove them from the refrigerator and let set at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling out.
Secret #7:  Roll out on a cool surface, chilled marble if you have it. Flour-dusted parchment paper also makes a good surface for rolling. For a round result, shift the pie crust one-quarter turn as you roll.  Lift the crust often to lightly dust the rolling surface and avoid sticking. Don't use too much flour in the process; just enough to prevent sticking.
Secret #8:  Roll up or drape the crust loosely on the rolling pin to transfer it from the flat surface to the pie dish.
Secret #9:  If mixing the pie crust manually, don't use your hands - they're too warm.  Use a pastry blender and work quickly, always maintaining a cold temperature.
Secret #10:  For a picture-perfect golden crust, brush heavy cream on the top crust and edges prior to baking.  A sprinkle of sugar on top makes for a sparkly crust.

If you've mastered a single crust, a double crust pie is half the effort.  In the "olden days," the vent holes cut into the top crust became a personal signature of its maker.  Develop your own personal signature for your double crusts and carry on the tradition!

Pieware:

Pie plates range from metal, to glass, or ceramic.  Each one will produce a great pie.  We like plates with high sides that leave space for plenty of filling.  When you select a pie dish, notice the shape of the rim and how easily the slices can be removed. 

Our favorite pie tools include:
(1) Oven Guard - this ring holds the pie plate, catches any spillovers, yet has a hole in the center that allows the heat to access the bottom of the baking dish
(2) Pie Wedge - bury this wedge underneath the crust, for flawless removal of the first piece
(3) Shortening Measure - eliminate messy measuring techniques with a telescoping shortening measuring tool
(4) Crust Shield - several variations of crust protectors exist, any of which will beat manipulating little strips of foil
(5)  Silicone Brush - delicate tendrils paint the crust with the cream and cleaning is easy
(6) Rolling Pin - new rolling pins are longer and often come with a series of rings when paired and placed on the roller yield the right dough thickness

Endorsements don't get much better than in the phrase, "mother and apple pie."  Apples, in pie form, place the iconic fruit in an iconic position - the result is a slice of heaven!  Imagine juicy wedges, layered atop each other, cradled in a delicate crust browned to golden perfection.Early fall is a great time to make an apple pie, before any competition arises from the pumpkin and pecan pies that share the Thanksgiving table.

Choosing the Apples: The best secret for a great apple pie is to use two types of apples, one that keeps its shape, and one that becomes more sauce-like when cooked.  The less firm apple creates a juicy context for the crunchier apple and doubles the apple impact.  Eating Well.com, in their Apple Buyer's Guide, identifies a few apple varieties that fall into these two categories:

Saucy Apples:  McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Crispin, Paula Red, Empire
Shapely Apples:  Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Jonagold, Northern Spy, Ida Red

Apples have inspired a whole realm of tools designed to make coring, peeling and slicing easier and faster.  Check out our apple peelers, apple corers, and of course, the perfect paring knife.

As with all fruit pies, wonderful juices appear once mixed with sugar (maceration), and certainly once the baking begins.  Apples have a natural thickener with their pectin content, but still may require additional thickener.  Flour, corn starch, or quick tapioca all work their magic on the apple juices binding the goodness around the apple wedges.  Determining the amount of thickener to use is a bit of an art form based on the type and quantity of apples used.

Baking the Pie:  Parchment paper lining a jelly roll pan provides a safe platform for baking your apple pie.  Any bubbling juices will be caught by the paper before they drip to the oven floor.  Halfway through the pie baking, be prepared to tent the pie with a piece of foil, or a crust shield to slow the crust browning.

Serving Apple Pie:  When the once-steaming pie is just two notches above room temperature, the perfect serving moment has arrived. On your best dessert plates, serve your masterpiece plain, with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or Vermont style, with a healthy slice of sharp cheddar cheese.

Variations on the Theme:  As if apple pie was not perfect in and of itself, a variation might suit you one day:
Mix-ins:  Add to the apples some dried or fresh cranberries, dried apricots, maybe some walnuts, any type of berry, or some rhubarb.
Crust Change:  Substitute half of the crust's flour with a nut flour of pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts.  Make your own nut flour by pulsing toasted nuts in a food processor until all nuts are very finely chopped.
Flavor Lift:  Add a splash of Calvados (an apple brandy), or Frangelico (a hazelnut liquor).
Accompaniments:  Serve apple pie with your favorite coffee, or a lovely dessert wine.

Q:  I know apples begin to brown once cut, but why?

A:  Apples, like bananas, pears, potatoes and other fruits and vegetables, contain an enzyme and iron-containing phenols that react with oxygen when exposed to the air producing a brown color on the surface.  The browning can be slowed by (1) reducing the pH with an acidic component such as lemon juice, (2) submersing the fruit or vegetable in water reducing the air exposure, or (3) stopping the reaction through cooking. 

Q:  My crust shrinks when baked.  Why and how can I stop this?

A:  The mysterious shrinking crust is primarily the result of glutens in the flour becoming activated when moistened adding an elastic quality to the dough.  This elasticity is preferable in bread, but not in a pie crust!  Several actions will help to address shrinking:  (1) use pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour; it is made from soft wheat that contains less gluten, (2) refrigerate the pie dough before rolling or baking; the chill relaxes the gluten decreasing the elasticity, (3) cut the butter or shortening with the flour well enough to "moisture-proof" more of the flour; the less water the flour absorbs, the less gluten that is formed, (4) some bakers add a bit of cider vinegar to the pie dough retarding the formation of glutens.  If baking a pie shell without a filling, use pie weights to hold the crust in place for the first 10-12 minutes of baking.

Q:  What is the fastest way to peel an apple?

A:  Most of us learned to cut an apple in half starting at the stem running through to the blossom end, pivoting a knife tip around the core half, cutting "V's" around the stem and blossom, then shaving the peel off each half with a paring knife.  This method preserves a maximum amount of apple flesh but may be time-consuming and awkward.  Alternatively, cut the apple just to the right and left of the core, and then either side of the remaining core piece.  Peel the chunks.  If you're competitive, try removing an apple's peel in one strip.  The record to beat for the longest continuous apple peel is 172 feet and 4 inches!

Q:  Why are apples waxed?

A:  Apples have a "natural" wax that is partially removed in the packing process of washing and packaging apples for shipment.  The wax helps to reduce moisture loss from the apple and improves their appearance.  The wax used is a natural plant-based, non-petroleum coating, such as, carnauba from palm tree leaves.  The United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association reports that one pound of wax will coat up to 160,000 pieces of fruit implying that very little is used on each piece.  It is rare to find wax on organic apples, though it is possible and still be labeled organic based on the type of wax used. For more on this, check this website.

Baking, From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

This cookbook is a gem!  Lavishly photographed, this book could live happily on your coffee table, but its contents are too good to be just admired; they beg to be tried, savored, and repeated.  Dorie Greenspan is the recipient of the prestigious James Beard Award for authoring another worthy cookbook, Baking with Julia, (as in Julia Child).  Ms. Greenspan continues her run of top-notch cookbooks in this her ninth book.  In Baking, From My Home to Yours, Greenspan presents over 300 recipes ranging from breakfast goods, to cookies, cakes, and pies.  Her instructions simplify the most complex desserts into something manageable, and more importantly, reliably successful.  A beautiful gift for someone, maybe yourself!

This pie recipe, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From My Home to Yours, gets a five-star rating in our opinion.  It has just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg avoiding the common sin of "too much spice" that otherwise might overshadow the protagonist, the apples!  The lemon zest adds some brightness, again without getting in the way of the wonderful apple flavors.

Access a printable version of the recipe - PDF Format.

All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough (see below)
4 pounds (about 6 very large) apples
3/4 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (or dry bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits 

For the Glaze:

Milk or heavy cream
Decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar

Instructions:  (adapted for length; Ms. Greenspan offers many more tips throughout her instructions)

(1) Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
(2) Roll one portion of the pie dough into a circle about 1/8-inch thick.  Fit into the pie plate for the bottom crust leaving 1/2-inch overhang.  Refrigerate the pie plate with fitted crust.
(3) Roll the top crust similarly; transfer to a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes while the filling is prepared and the oven preheats.
(4) Center the oven rack in the middle of the oven; Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
(5) Peel, core, and slice the apples into a large bowl.
(6) Add the sugar, lemon zest, tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Toss everything together well and let sit for 5 minutes until the juices begin to accumulate in the bowl.
(7) Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with the crumbs.
(8) Fill the pie shell with the apple mixture and the juices. Pat and settle the apples into place.  Dot the top with dabs of butter.
(9) Very lightly moisten the edges of the bottom crust.  Place the top crust over the apples.  (If the crusts are too cold and begin to crack, let sit for 5 minutes or until just pliable).
(10) Crimp the top and bottom crusts together using fork tines, or a finger pinch.
(11) With a sharp paring knife, cut 6 slits in the top crust to vent the steam.
(12) Brush the top crust and edges with a little milk or cream; sprinkle it with sugar.
(13) Bake the pie for 15 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake the pie for another 50 to 60 minutes (total baking time is between 65 and 75 minutes), or until the crust is gorgeously browned and the juices bubble up through the top crust. After about 40 minutes in the oven, if the top crust looks as if it's browning too quickly, cover the pie loosely with a foil tent.
(14) Transfer the pie to a rack and let it rest until it is only just warm or until it reaches room temperature.

Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough (for a 9" double crust)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2-1/2 sticks (10 ounces) very cold (frozen is fine) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
1/3 cup very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
About 1/2 cup ice water

Instructions: (also adapted for length)

(1) Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine.
(2) Drop in the shortening and butter pulsing only until cut into the flour.  Don't overdo the mixing.  The pieces will range from pea-size to barley-size.
(3) Gradually add about 6 tablespoons of ice water pulsing the machine on or off (or, as recommended above, add water manually, mixing with a folding motion).
(4) Scrape the dough from the food processor; form into two discs about 1/2-inch thick.  Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
(5) Proceed to roll out the dough and continue with your apple pie as above!

Recipes from Baking, From my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  Copyright (c) 2006 by Dorie Greenspan.  Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.  All rights reserved.

Remember, an apple a day . . .