The best apples for apple pie

Which apples are best for apple pie? It’s an especially timely question during harvest season here in Washington, since our state produces more than half the nation’s fresh eating apples.

The good news: No one apple is “the best” for apple pie. Actually, the key is using more than one apple.

A balance of sweet apples and tart ones is key for great apple pie. Mixing textures is also important.

Local chef Zephyr Paquette recommends a half-and-half mix of apple varieties, “something that’s gonna fade away to sauce like a Macintosh” balanced by one with “stability and bigger flavor like the Honeycrisp or a Granny Smith, depending on if you want to go sweeter or more tart.” The Washington Apple Commission recommends much the same, mixing Granny Smith and Honeycrisp for its “Washington Apple Pie” recipe.

It’s fine to keep it simple, but with so many varieties available, you can also add depth and character by going broad.

Master pie teacher Kate McDermott prefers a wider mix of apples, “one or two Granny Smiths, a couple of Cosmic Crisps, a Honeycrisp, a Braeburn, a Gravenstein or two.” If you can get heirloom varieties in the fall, McDermott’s favorites include Newtown Pippin, Roxbury Russett, Ashmead’s Kernel and Bramley’s Seedling. Some experts even sneak a related fruit like a pear or a quince into the apple mix.

Are Modern Apples Better?

PCC cooking instructor and writer Zola Gregory  notes that “most modern apple varieties are extremely sweet and crisp, which can be nice for snacking but is less ideal for baking.” Besides Granny Smith, Gregory suggests using Mcintosh and Jonathan/Jonagolds, and said many heirloom and older varieties do well.

“My great grandmother always said that Gravenstein apples are the best apples for making pie (she was a pie master). Unfortunately, they have a very a short season in early fall and they can be hard to source,” Gregory said. “Generally, I believe that Granny Smith are the best for pie. I like to lean into firmer, more tart apples for baking as they add balancing acidity and hold some texture without becoming applesauce (some people prefer that texture though!).”

PCC cooking instructor and local baker Lisa Crawford isn’t a Granny Smith fan, and favors but looks at descriptions in the produce department to mix up tart/crisp apples with sweet ones. PCC produce manager Elliott Lamoureux adds that Pink Lady’s also have nice tartness and texture for pies.

Don’t be afraid of that tartness, says “Pie School” author Kate Lebo. Lebo once told Sound Consumer readers to look for “the bliss point” when making pies, a depth and balance of sweet and sour. She wrote that “if, when you take a bite, the fruit makes you flinch, it’s probably a pie apple.”

Great Apple Pie Recipes

Best of all? Once you’ve got those apples together, we have an all-star recipe for putting them into a pie. Lynne Vea’s Old Fashioned Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Apple Pie, created by the co-op’s former culinary innovation chef, is — for good reason — PCC’s most popular online recipe. Vea chooses applies from a mix of favorites that include Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Braeburn and Fuji, but says the best apples are a personal choice: “Feel free to experiment!” If you want to branch out, try PCC’s Caramel Upside-Down Cameo Apple Pie, an Upside-Down Maple Praline Apple Pie, or these handy Handheld Apple Pies.