Read these baking tips to find out what the best apples for baking are. It’ll make all the difference when baking apple pie, apple crisp, apple muffins, and apple cake!
Whether you’re in the midst of apple season and just picked a bunch of apples at the orchard or you’re craving apple pie in the middle of Spring, you need to know which apples are going to be the best for baking and which apples won’t hold up in the oven.
I did quite a bit of research on this topic because I want to make sure you and I both bake the best baked goods with apples as the star ingredient. I’ve shared a synopsis of some of the top sources below and I’ve also included an easy to follow list of apples (with apples from additional sources) for quick reading.
According to New England Today, the best apples for baking are firm-tart apples, and firm-sweet apples. Firm-tart apples are apples like Granny Smith, Esopus Spitzenburg, Northern Spy, Ida Red, and Pink Pearl. Firm-sweet apples are Ginger Gold, Golden Delicious, Jazz, Jonagold, and Pink Lady.
Bon Appetit says the best apples for baking are Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Mutsu, Winesap, Pink Lady (Cripps Pink) but they also use Granny Smith often. They’ve listed several apples that have already been mentioned that are crisp and either sweet or tart.
The Kitchen prefers Granny Smith, Jonathan or Jonagold, Cortland, Braeburn, and Honeycrisp. Again, all the apples they’ve chosen are crisp and either sweet or tart.
Cook’s Illustrated said their preferred baking apples are Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Empire, and Cortland.
With so many options, how do you choose what apples are good for baking?
Consensus is that there is one major factor in picking good baking apples – they need to be crisp. You can use tart apples, sweet apples, or a combination of tart and sweet as long as they’re crisp.
This rule of thumb is a great one to follow whether you’re looking for the best apples for baking pie, apple crisp, apple cake, apple muffins, apple bread, or any recipe that calls for apples as an ingredient in baked goods.
The best apples for baking are apples that hold their shape and don’t get mushy when baked or cooked. It’s important to choose apples that keep their structure, which is what you’ll get when you start with crisp apples.
I happen to love the combination of firm-tart apples and firm-sweet apples. I used that very combination, using Granny Smith Apples and Golden Delicious Apples, in my Gluten Free Apple Pie Bars. They hold their shape beautifully when baked and stay firm once cut into bars.
See my complete list of Firm-Tart Apples and Firm-Sweet Apples below. Use this list to help you pick a combination of apples that are available to you when baking!
Did you like this baking tip? Let me know in the comments! You can also pin this post for others to see.
Crisp Sweet Apples for Baking
Honeycrisp – our all time favorite apple for eating. It’s actually THE ONLY kind of apple my youngest will eat. Ever. 🙄
Ginger Gold
Golden Delicious
Jazz
Jonagold
Jonathans – These apples are grown in the Midwest and are a combination of Jonagolds and Golden Delicious. They’re firm with a sweet-tart taste.
Fuji – Fuji apples are very large! They’re nice and crisp and sweeter than Honeycrisp. Fun fact, Fuji apples used to be one of my favorites for the sole reason that they were enormous.
Gala
Pink Lady
Braeburn
Mutsu/Crispin
Crisp Tart Apples for Baking
Granny Smith Apples
Esopus Spitzenburg (an heirloom variety)
Northern Spy
Ida Red
Pink Pearl
Melrose
Cortland
Empire
Rhode Island Greening
Rome Beauty
Melrose – This breed of apple is grown in Ohio. They’re a cross between Red Delicious and Jonathans and are a firm-tart apple.
Can I Bake with Macintosh Apples?
A reader recently told me that they prefer baking with Macintosh Apples even though they know that goes against most advice. They prefer the soft, mush texture that Macintosh Apples produce in baked goods.
While I highly recommend following the advice of using crisp apples when baking, if you truly prefer the flavor and texture of Macintosh Apples, go for it! Just know, Macintosh Apples do not hold their shape when baked.
This advice goes for baking with other soft apples too.
Gluten Free Apple Recipes to Try
Caramel Apple Crisp
Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
Gluten Free Apple Pie Bars
Gluten Free Apple Pie
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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
baking apples
A cooking apple or culinary apple is an apple that is used primarily for cooking, as opposed to a dessert apple, which is eaten raw. Cooking apples are generally larger, and can be tarter than dessert varieties. Some varieties have a firm flesh that does not break down much when cooked.
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.
Gala: If you want extra sweetness without the soft texture, choose Gala apples for your pie. As with Golden Delicious apples, bakers sometimes reduce the sugar in their recipes due to this variety's extra-sweet flavor.
Crunchy and sweet-tart, Jonagolds are a cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples. They're one of pastry chef Paola Velez's favorite apples to use in pie along with Granny Smith and Honeycrisp.
When it comes to finding the best apple for your crisp, go with a crisp, tart variety that stands up well to baking, like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. Or, go for it – try mixing the two together if you've got both on hand. Golden Delicious is another great choice for crisp hausarbeit schreiben lassen kosten.
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 best apples for apple pie that are widely available include Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. Others to look for at your local market that will be excellent in apple pie are Cortland, Crispin, Ida Reds, Jonagold, McIntosh, Northern Spy, Pink Lady, Rome and Winesap.
Gala apples have a sweet flavor, a good crunch and has been the top apple at Kauffman's Fruit Farm for a few years. Yet Clair Kauffman, orchard manager, can see other apples soon rising to the top. Take the Honeycrisp, which has a more complex flavor than a Gala, he says.
Honeycrisp: You might be able to tell by its name, but Honeycrisp apples are where it's at when it comes to loads of juiciness and honey-like sweetness! One unique feature of this sweet apple is its cells fracture perfectly when you take a bite out of it, resulting in the perfect crunch.
So you can put away your Granny Smiths and Red Delicious if you think you can just whip up McDonald's signature dessert at home. Instead, Mickey D's makes their pies with six different types of apples — Jonagold, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gala, Rome, and Ida Red, all of which are homegrown in the U.S.
Gala are great multi-purpose apples and a delicious pick for apple pie. They have a mellow sweetness to them and they don't get too soft in the oven. Best of all, this variety of apple is usually available year-round. Look for the red and yellow striped apples at most grocery stores and farmers' markets.
Storage quality also varies by cultivar. The best apples to store long-term have thick skin and tend to be crisp and tart. Apple varieties such as Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji, McIntosh, Winesap, Honeycrisp, Northern Spy, and Rome are known to store very well given the proper conditions.
The preferred use for Honeycrisp apples is for eating and salads, but these apples are also good for applesauce and baking. They are also an exceptionally good keeping apple, and can be stored for up to three to four months in the refrigerator. The health benefits from eating apples are numerous.
If you have a sweet tooth, you're going to want to head over to the other end of the scale where you'll find the Fuji, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia™, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious apples. These sweeter apples contain more natural sugars and can hide any tart flavors even if they are more acidic!
While there is an extremely wide variety of apples, all with varying flavors, the sweetest-tasting apple is fuji, followed by gala, honeycrisp, and Red Delicious apples. These apples are great for snacking and eating as is. Granny Smith, McIntosh, and Pink Lady fall on the tart end of the spectrum.
The EverCrisp® is an apple that is flavorful, juicy and crisp, and can weather unpredictable winters. It has dense flesh and light crispness and juiciness, combining the best features of its parent varieties, the Honeycrisp and Fuji. While it is an great snack, its firmness makes it an ideal apple for baking.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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