Apple pie

Gravenstein apples came into the store last week, so I made a pie.
Halfway through baking, the power went out for an hour and a quarter. I had taken the pie out of the oven when the power died and put it on the counter (no point in putting in the dead refrigerator.)
When the power came back on, I put it back in the oven. No problem.
My grandfather had Gravensteins at his house in Guerneville when I was a boy in the mid 40s. My love affair continues.

First apples of the year? I guess you must really love apples/Gravensteins, especially given the history, as it's summer in CA and you could be making peach pie!!

Oh, that looks awesome...good work

You did yourself (and the apples) proud by the looks of this picture, John. Yum!

[Jenise]

Gorgeous pie, John!

I've given up on baking apple pies. The Macintosh apples (and Jonathans as a 2nd choice) I prefer have disappeared. All the apples seem to be eating apples. Or apples favored for staying crisp and chunky in a pie, where I want them to practically dissolve.

@ Rahsaan - I usually make peach crisp, for no particular reason. My other favorite 2-crust pies are pear pie, and mince pie for the holidays. Pear pies are best with ripe d'Anjou pears.

... pear pie... Pear pies are best with ripe d'Anjou pears.

Don't think I've ever seen/eaten a pear pie.

I was mainly joking because I consider apples a less exciting fruit. They can certainly be delicious, and I eat LOTS of them in the fall. But mainly because that's the best thing to eat in the fall. In the summer, there are so many other exciting fruit options. (I consider peaches much more exciting, although it's trickier to get good ones)

But that is just my joking preference, obviously we all have our own tastes!

[Jenise]

Pears are very common in open-faced tarts, which are just single-crust pies, but I haven't seen them in 2-crust pies either.

I'm with you, Rahsaan. Apples have their place, but it's not during stone-fruit season.

Gravensteins are good apples. Whenever I'm in Russian River Valley, I look for them (and go to Mom's Apple Pie, in Sebastopol).
I'm still getting good cherries here.
I recently bought some apricots; meh. I think they're better later in the season.
Peaches are very hit or miss now.
Little round plums are terrif, however.
Cantaloupe smell good.

I recently bought some apricots; meh. I think they're better later in the season..

Maybe you have a good source but I don't think I've ever had a good apricot in Nyc (or the East coast in general). Such a delicate fruit.

[Jenise]

Interesting re late season, Jeff. Depends on where they come from. A few weeks ago we had excellent apricots; best supermarket apricots I've ever had. I bought a few one day and went back for several pounds twice before they were gone--they were most likely Californian. Now we have the larger ones (likely Washington) that don't have the same color (bright red sun spots are a strong indication of goodness), acidity and sweetness.

I want them to practically dissolve.

I haven't heard of the apples mentioned in this thread. Over here 'cooking apples' is the name given to apples that dissolve when cooked, and the king of them - and usually the only one to be found in shops - is Bramley. The other thing they are good for is making apple sauce.

Our neighbour has an old Bramley tree, and I asked for a bag of windfalls last autumn and made* a lot of apple sauce which I put in portions and froze.

* which is a grand name for gently simmering the flesh in a little water till turned to mush.

"Over here 'cooking apples' is the name given to apples that dissolve when cooked"
And that was what gravensteins were called when I was a kid. In the 1950s there were hundreds of acres of apple trees here in Sonoma County, and lots of "apple sheds". Gravensteins were made into apple cider (hard and soft), apple juice, applesauce, and dried, as well as being sold fresh. Now there are only a couple of apple orchards left; most of the rest has become vineyards.
There were also a lot of hop farms, and there used to be a number of old hop kilns. Now there's only one left that I know of, and it's a tasting room for a winery.

Here in New England "cooking apples" is the term for the more tart apples used in cooking vs. being eaten raw. They don't show up in supermarkets very often anymore. All we tend to get are Macintosh and Golden Delicious.

-Paul W.

I recently bought some apricots; meh. I think they're better later in the season..

Maybe you have a good source but I don't think I've ever had a good apricot in Nyc (or the East coast in general). Such a delicate fruit.

I recall a stand in the Union Square green market, only comes in August, heaped high -- literally, heaped high -- with delicious apricots.

Apricots in supermarkets are totally hit or miss.

I recall a stand in the Union Square green market, only comes in August, heaped high -- literally, heaped high -- with delicious apricots..

Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen (or remembered) local apricots in Nyc.

I'll be back later in August and go to Union Square market 3x per week, so will keep my eyes peeled!

Here in New England "cooking apples" is the term for the more tart apples used in cooking

Most people here will say that cooking apples are tart, but that's not true. When ripe they're sweet.

[Jenise]

Back to peaches, why always peaches? Does anyone ever make a nectarine pie? Nectarine ice cream?

Back to peaches, why always peaches? Does anyone ever make a nectarine pie? Nectarine ice cream?

It's a good question! You see apple pie and pear tart. You see peach pie and nectarine tart. Why? Presumably something about the structure of the fruits. I guess pears and nectarines don't really melt the way apples and peaches do. Although Germany has a bunch of pear mousse/sauce alongside the apple mousse/sauce in the grocery stores, so they make that work.

Presumably that same structure would play a role in ice cream as well.

Back to peaches, why always peaches? Does anyone ever make a nectarine pie? Nectarine ice cream?

I can guess. I've poached peach halves and nectarine halves for dessert; the nectarines have more fiber in them than the peaches. However, I don't know why I've never made nectarine pie. Maybe I'll try it.

Interesting reading up on this: peaches and nectarines are genetically identical except for one gene. That gene is responsible for the lack of fuzz and for a slightly firmer texture.

Texture seems to be the key thing. If you want the fruit to 'melt' then you want yellow peaches; both white peaches and all colors of nectarine will remain firmer when cooked.

So, if a fruit tart is 'chunks on top of a slab of pastry' and a fruit pie is 'a concave pastry filled with goop' that would seem to explain it.

[Jenise]

Thanks for investigating Jeff, all that makes sense.

I love peaches but I might love a good nectarine even more. The small early smooth-skinned shiny nectarines are not what I'm talking about. They're virtually flavorless. The larger ones later in summer with the dull skin but lots of deep reddish/black areas and sugar dots are my absolute favorites. I probably like the firmer texture better too.

I went grocery shopping this morning and I remembered (a feat in itself) this thread, and I found some nectarines for "only" $3.99/lb, so I bought a few and made a nectarine crisp for dessert. Nectarines are (imnsho) tastier than peaches, a bit tarter, and they do have a bit more fibrous texture.
Mostly they taste like peaches to me. I'll have to keep an eye on them. Dunno why i got off looking at them when I'm shopping.

Speaking of apple pies, I'm making another sharlotka as I type this.