Post by hushnel on Jan 2, 2020 20:12:15 GMT -5
On Thanksgiving in 2010 mom told me that in every restaurant that she went to, from Europe to Alaska, she always ordered apple pie. She was hoping to find an apple pie as good as her mother made. She was always disappointed.
Mom said the only thing she wanted for Christmas from me was to discover how grandma made her apple pie.
Wow, OK, I’ll give it a shot. The first thing I did was contact an Apple Orchard that was in Washington County PA . I told the woman who answered the phone what I was attempting to do. She was laughing as she told me the boss was going to love this and got him on the phone.
He was laughing when he picked up the phone. He said have you never heard of Johnny Apple Seed, I replied yeah, I know Pennsylvania is like the apple capital of the world. I told him the burrow and the street she lived on in Bethel Park Pa. Just south of Pittsburgh. I asked him what are likely the common apple trees people would have in their yard. Not apple growers but a couple common trees that would be most likely planted in the later 1800 early 1900s. He thought about it for a few moments and gave me five common residential apple trees. Some of this was based on what would easily be pollinated, no exotics.
He came up with Gala, Honeycrisps, Jonagold, Fugi and Grannysmiths. Then I considered the recipes. Grandma was born in the later 1800s, well, I knew that the most common cookbook of that time was the Fanny Farmer Cookbook, often given to brides in the 19/20th century. I found an older used version on ebay and ordered it.
I was really surprised when I read the apple pie recipe. The ingredients were fairly common but the technique was very different than the lazy modern ones often found today.
There was a few major differences, they used two different types of apple. One holds up better the other is a softer apple that gets mushy when cooked. Equal weights of these two types are skinned, cut up, then sautéed in 1/4 cup butter with 1 cup of sugar. Then cooked until the apples gave up most of their moisture, more than you might imagine. The apples are then drained, reserving the liquid. The liquid is then sautéed until reduced about 50%. I used all fresh spices like cinnamon sticks, vanilla, and fresh grated nutmeg. The pie shells are glazed with egg white mixed with a little water. Put it all together and bake.
I ran 3 test pies and settled on one I considered the best. My poor wife probably gained a few pound in the taste testing.
So its Christmas Day and I give Mom two apple pies. Latter that evening she tells me she sorry, she’s too full to try the pie but would try it first thing in the morning.
4:00 am the phone rings, it’s Mom all excited, telling me she didn’t think I could pull it off but I did, she says it may even be better than Grandma’s. I’ve been making them for Christmas ever since, even though we lost her on my birthday in 2018.
Filling:
1 Juice of fresh lemon
1&½ lb sliced and skinned Golden Delicious apples * (thinner & more consistent slices}
1&½ lb sliced and skinned Fuji apples “
1 cup sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ tsp cinnamon
Grated nutmeg
1 to 2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 egg white with tsp water Egg wash
Filling: Melt the butter in a pan large enough to hold all the apples and sugar. Sauté the apples and sugar until the apples start giving up their juice, lower heat and continue to cook until they start to soften. You can tell by the edges of the apples starting to look ragged and soft. Drain the apples reserving the liquid. Set the apples aside so they continue to cool. In the same pan add the liquid, cinnamon and nutmeg, reduce the liquid until it caramelizes and thickens, to about half of what you started with, set aside to cool. When the apples and reduced liquid have cooled add them together, mixing in 1 to 2 tbs all-purpose flour and refrigerate. Take the larger chilled ball of dough from the refrigerator, on a floured board roll out in a circle large enough to fit in the pie pan with ½ or so overlapping the edge. Fit into pan and do not trim. Glaze the pie shell with an egg wash; this keeps the pie crust from getting soggy. Fill with prepared apples. Remove smaller ball from the refrigerator and roll out to a size that will cover the pie. Egg wash the edge of the bottom pie shell, place the top shell on the apples and roll top shell edge under the edge of the bottom pie shell, press to seal and shape. Slice the top shell so steam and escape during baking. Wash top with egg and sprinkle with sugar, return to the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pie on a cookie sheet in case the filling boils over. Bake for 50 minutes until the top crust is a golden brown. Cool and serve.
*If either of these are not available substitute with your choice of other baking apples, see note below. Note: Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold and Pippin apples are other excellent sweet-tart choices. Gravenstein, Braeburn, Fuji and Pink Lady Apples are all crisp and sturdy, as well. Red Delicious and Golden Delicious do not stand up well to baking but as you know from his recipe they can work well in a mix.
Mom said the only thing she wanted for Christmas from me was to discover how grandma made her apple pie.
Wow, OK, I’ll give it a shot. The first thing I did was contact an Apple Orchard that was in Washington County PA . I told the woman who answered the phone what I was attempting to do. She was laughing as she told me the boss was going to love this and got him on the phone.
He was laughing when he picked up the phone. He said have you never heard of Johnny Apple Seed, I replied yeah, I know Pennsylvania is like the apple capital of the world. I told him the burrow and the street she lived on in Bethel Park Pa. Just south of Pittsburgh. I asked him what are likely the common apple trees people would have in their yard. Not apple growers but a couple common trees that would be most likely planted in the later 1800 early 1900s. He thought about it for a few moments and gave me five common residential apple trees. Some of this was based on what would easily be pollinated, no exotics.
He came up with Gala, Honeycrisps, Jonagold, Fugi and Grannysmiths. Then I considered the recipes. Grandma was born in the later 1800s, well, I knew that the most common cookbook of that time was the Fanny Farmer Cookbook, often given to brides in the 19/20th century. I found an older used version on ebay and ordered it.
I was really surprised when I read the apple pie recipe. The ingredients were fairly common but the technique was very different than the lazy modern ones often found today.
There was a few major differences, they used two different types of apple. One holds up better the other is a softer apple that gets mushy when cooked. Equal weights of these two types are skinned, cut up, then sautéed in 1/4 cup butter with 1 cup of sugar. Then cooked until the apples gave up most of their moisture, more than you might imagine. The apples are then drained, reserving the liquid. The liquid is then sautéed until reduced about 50%. I used all fresh spices like cinnamon sticks, vanilla, and fresh grated nutmeg. The pie shells are glazed with egg white mixed with a little water. Put it all together and bake.
I ran 3 test pies and settled on one I considered the best. My poor wife probably gained a few pound in the taste testing.
So its Christmas Day and I give Mom two apple pies. Latter that evening she tells me she sorry, she’s too full to try the pie but would try it first thing in the morning.
4:00 am the phone rings, it’s Mom all excited, telling me she didn’t think I could pull it off but I did, she says it may even be better than Grandma’s. I’ve been making them for Christmas ever since, even though we lost her on my birthday in 2018.
Filling:
1 Juice of fresh lemon
1&½ lb sliced and skinned Golden Delicious apples * (thinner & more consistent slices}
1&½ lb sliced and skinned Fuji apples “
1 cup sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ tsp cinnamon
Grated nutmeg
1 to 2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 egg white with tsp water Egg wash
Filling: Melt the butter in a pan large enough to hold all the apples and sugar. Sauté the apples and sugar until the apples start giving up their juice, lower heat and continue to cook until they start to soften. You can tell by the edges of the apples starting to look ragged and soft. Drain the apples reserving the liquid. Set the apples aside so they continue to cool. In the same pan add the liquid, cinnamon and nutmeg, reduce the liquid until it caramelizes and thickens, to about half of what you started with, set aside to cool. When the apples and reduced liquid have cooled add them together, mixing in 1 to 2 tbs all-purpose flour and refrigerate. Take the larger chilled ball of dough from the refrigerator, on a floured board roll out in a circle large enough to fit in the pie pan with ½ or so overlapping the edge. Fit into pan and do not trim. Glaze the pie shell with an egg wash; this keeps the pie crust from getting soggy. Fill with prepared apples. Remove smaller ball from the refrigerator and roll out to a size that will cover the pie. Egg wash the edge of the bottom pie shell, place the top shell on the apples and roll top shell edge under the edge of the bottom pie shell, press to seal and shape. Slice the top shell so steam and escape during baking. Wash top with egg and sprinkle with sugar, return to the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pie on a cookie sheet in case the filling boils over. Bake for 50 minutes until the top crust is a golden brown. Cool and serve.
*If either of these are not available substitute with your choice of other baking apples, see note below. Note: Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold and Pippin apples are other excellent sweet-tart choices. Gravenstein, Braeburn, Fuji and Pink Lady Apples are all crisp and sturdy, as well. Red Delicious and Golden Delicious do not stand up well to baking but as you know from his recipe they can work well in a mix.