If you guessed the sassy, green-skinned Granny Smith apple as the favored one for apple pie fillings, then you’re on to something. Countless culinary and industry professionals choose it for pie-making, from a field of 7,500-plus varieties cultivated across the globe, per the University of Illinois Extension. The reason primarily comes down to composition.
The Washington Apple Commission serves growers of the leading apple-growing state in America, notes the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Washington State produces billions every year with names like Honeycrisp, Jazz, Golden Delicious, Sweetango, Kanzi, Gala, Braeburn, and the pie-queen herself, Granny Smith. The Commission reveals that Granny Smith was an actual person, an Australian grandmother named Maria Ann Smith who tenaciously cultivated the varietal roughly 160 years ago. It’s now their all-time top pick for apple pies, noting how the fruits maintain structure and texture throughout the cooking process. The tarty twang also makes it stand out amongst the sugary sweetness in most pie recipes.
There’s some baking science at work with the consistency of Granny Smith apples, explains Southern Living magazine, and it involves biology at the cellular level. Sweeter apples such as Golden or Red Delicious lose structure faster than acidic ones like Granny Smith. That keeps them firm within your pie filling, even as they bubble and bake to perfection. You can always toss in a few small chunks of a sweeter apple to tame the tartness.
