Washington State University has an extensive chart on what to do with the apple variety you've got with 48 different varieties listed. You can even see which are specifically good for cooking and for sauce making.

Listed are their apple suggestions for pie: Arkansas Black, Baldwin, Braeburn, Bramley's Seedling, Calville Blanc d'Hiver, Cortland, Redcort, Cox's Orange Pippin, Elstar, Empire, Esppus Spitzenberg, Fugi, Golden Delicious, Golden Russet, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Idared, Jonathan, Newton Pippin, Northern Spy, Northwest Greening, Rhode Island Greening, StaymanWinesap, Winesap, York Imperial.

PennState Extension suggests firm, crisp apples for pies, and if the apples that you are using lack tartness then use an additional 1/4 cup of lemon juice for every 6 quarts of apple slices when canning apple pie filling.

Their suggestions: Stayman, Golden Delicious, Rome.

From the Extension Service of the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture's Cirucular 1222 "Apples: Uses and Values", it suggests apple varieties for cooking and baking. It also has great recipes to try.

Apples For Cooking: Stayman, York Imperial, Rhode Island Greening, Northwestern Greening, Arkansas Black, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, McIntosh and Winesap. Excellent for Baking: Rome Beauty, Stayman and Arkansas Black.

The Old Farmer's Almanac lists their picks for apple pie as:

Jonagold, Newtown Pippin, Rhode Island Greening, and Winesap.

From The Apple Cookbook, here are some good varieties for apple pies and for cooking with because of their ability to hold their shape during cooking and/or flavor:

Bramley's Seedling, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Jonathan, Lord Derby, Malling Kent, Melrose, Newton Wonder, Newtown Pippen, Northern Spy, Reine des Reinettes, Rhode Island Greening, Rome Beauty, Sturmer Pippin, Winesap.

From The Perfect Recipe, the author Pam Anderson suggests a mixture of apples (ones that keep their shape during cooking and ones that go soft but help to thicken the pie).

Her suggestions for both apples that keep their shape and soften during baking: Apples holding their shape during cooking: Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Rome Beauty, Winesap. Apples that do not hold their shape, that go soft during cooking: Cortland, Empire, Macoun, McIntosh.

From Cook's Illustrated library series, How to Make a Pie, they tested apples and found the worst and best in their kitchen. This book had a great suggestion on finding a good apple for pies - one that I have since adopted after first reading it - and that is to taste it first. If the texture is firm, flavor is good and is juicy, then it will most likely make a good pie. What a great suggestion!

According to this book: The best: Golden Delicious, Baldwin, Macoun, Northern Spy, Ida Red. The worst: Rome Beauty, Red Delicious, McIntosh, Granny Smith.

Classic Blue Ribbon Winner Apple Pie Recipe

If you're looking for a great, basic apple pie recipe, here is the PA Farmshow's 2016 Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest 1st Place Winner - simply titled "Apple Pie." It calls for 5 to 6 cups of tart Pennsylvania apples, and uses half lard and half butter - gives great flavor from the butter and excellent flakiness from the lard.

Classic Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

Pie Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup lard
• 1/3 cup butter, unsalted
• 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Blend in the lard and butter until pea-sized and smaller. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time mixing well until the dough almost cleans the side of the bowl. Divide in half, shape into flat disks. Roll out one to fit an 8 1/2 or 9 inch pie pan. Reserve the other for the top crust.

Filling:

• 5 to 6 cups tart Pennsylvania apples (cored, peeled, thinly sliced)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon butter

Mix apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl. Transfer to the pie crust-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Cover with reserved pie crust. Seal edges by crimping, and vent the top.

Topping:

• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon sugar with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon)

Brush the top of the pie crust with the milk and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Cover edges of crust with a pie crust protector or with foil strips to prevent over browning. Bake the pie in a preheated 425 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes, removing the edge protectors the last 15 minutes of baking. If the pie looks like it is browning too much before it's done, cover the pie loosely with foil.

This article was first published on pastrysampler.com on Febrary 19, 2006. It was updated on October 1, 2020.

Sources:

Anderson, Pam. The Perfect Recipe: Getting It Right Every Time-Making Our Favorite Dishes the Absolute Best They Can Be. Boston: Houghton, 1998.

"Best Apples for Baking." Best Apples Baking Cooking. Old Farmer's Almanac, n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2014.

Editors of Cook's Illustrated. How to Make a Pie: An illustrated step-by-step guide to the secrets of making the perfect pie. Brookline: Boston Common, 1996.

Hill, Nicola, ed. Basic Ingredients, The Apple Cookbook: More Than Sixty Easy, Imaginative Recipes. Philadelphia: Courage, 1995.

Images: Image by Matthias Böckel from Pixabay. Image of an apple pie courtesy Flickr, user Benimoto, via a CC license.