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My wife swears by pippin apples. In fact she waits in gleeful anticipation every year around this time for them to come out. Every time we go do the grocery store she bugs the produce guy, "Are the pippins in yet?"
They're like cherries... the ones you like to eat raw are not the best to cook with, and the ones that are best to cook with are not the ones you like to eat raw.
So yes, tart and firm apples make the tastiest pies.
On a side note, this is not well known, but the apples that Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) planted all over tarnation were not apples for eating. They were cider apples. Until beer became widely available after the Civil War, hard apple cider was the most popular alcoholic beverage in America.
I just made an apple crisp with Grannies and Honey Crisps and it was delicious! I don't usually mix the apples, but I didn't have enough grannies so I used four of each. I will do it this way on purpose next time.
For pies, I like to use one of the more tart varieties, and I much prefer the firm-fleshed types to the softer ones. I've used Granny Smiths in the past, but now I generally get my apples from the vendors at our local Farmers' Market, and I just ask them which are the tartest and firmest varieties available. The type I come home with depends on what happens to be on offer at the time.
Wish we had a good market for local apples, especially the tart ones, but we don't.
I LOVE granny smith's either in pie or just for munching. Remember the apple grove on my grandparent's farm where we would climb up eat the green apples. What a good time........until the pigs surrounded the tree and we were afraid to climb down!!!
I used to use only Granny Smith also. I think it is a popular variety for pies because the relatively low moisture content keeps the pie filling firm and the consistent tartness allows one to control the sweetness with sugar. My new favorite eating variety is ginger golden (like golden delicious but tarter and crisper and a ginger-honey aftertaste), so I use those when I can get them.
Granny Smith's here also, If I could just figure out how to make a decent pie crust i'd be set.
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