Last Updated on July 21, 2022 by
When it comes to baking, not all apple varieties can endure the intense heat of an oven. Therefore, choosing the best apples for baking is a challenging process. Generally speaking, Granny Smith apples are all-purpose fruits that may be used for many purposes. But are granny smith apples good for baking?
Yes, you can use Granny Smith apples for baking. These apples can endure high oven heat and can keep their form when baked, and it’s firm, crisp, sour, and tangy. Granny apples can be used to make apple bread, apple pie, apple strudel, etc.
Granny Smith Apples Profile
Granny Smith apples have crisp, juicy flesh and a light green, rigid, solid peel. The taste is acidic and tart. It may be sweetened and is a well-liked cooking apple used in pies because it keeps its shape when cooked. When an apple is overripe, it changes from entirely green to yellow. The most distinctive aspect of the taste characteristic of Granny Smiths is their acidity. As a result, you may use them to add a bit more sweetness without going overboard on healthy meals.
Granny Smith apples are often low in calories. With just 70 calories per 5-ounce serving, apples are simple to include in almost any calorie-restricted diet. The apple contains 17 grams of carbs, mainly in the form of natural fruit sugar, which accounts for the majority of those calories. Fruit sugars are a fantastic energy source, so munching on a Granny Smith apple may give you a little energy boost to get you over a lull around three o’clock in the afternoon or get you ready for a challenging exercise.
What Makes Granny Smith Apples A Good Choice For Baking?
Granny Smith apples also have a variety of physical qualities that make them suitable for baking. First of all, their skin and meat are crispy and firm. These apples’ thick peel and heat-resistant flesh make them suitable for baking. In addition, they don’t shrivel up or get too dehydrated when baking.
In the oven, they maintain their form rather than becoming mushy liquid. They thus function in several recipes. The delightful sour-sweet taste of Granny Smith apples is another aspect. Although sourness predominates, you will also detect a faint sweetness. This rich taste further enhances their attraction.
What Can You Bake With Granny Smith Apples?
The uses for Granny Smith apples are endless. They may be used in several recipes to make the baked items mentioned below and others.
Apple Tatin Tart
Indulgent apple pie created with dough laid over fruit slices and caramelized sugar is what this dish resembles. The dessert is baked with the apples on the bottom, then turned over. After baking, it is served with the fruit facing up. It is a distinctive dessert because it combines buttery, somewhat salty pastry with crunchy apples.
Apple Pie
Apple pie is one of the most sumptuous dishes to make using Granny Smith apples. Pie recipes come in a plethora of variants. The fundamental concept is to stuff apples into a dough foundation, cover it with a crust, drizzle a sugar and flour glaze on top, then bake it for almost an hour in a hot oven. By this time, Granny Smith apples will have softened and released their luscious tastes, making for a delectable pie.
Apple Crisp
This lovely autumn dessert is one of the nicest things to cook with Granny Smith apples. The basis is a concoction of diced apples, sugar, and spices. Butter, sugar, oats, flour, and cinnamon are used to make the topping. The sparkling dessert just takes forty minutes to make and is a favorite of both kids and adults.
Apple Strudel
The filling for apple strudel, a classic pastry-based treat, is apples. Intermittently smeared between layers of unleavened dough is the filling. It is then cooked until the apple filling is luscious and the crust is flaky and buttery. Granny Smith’s unique taste makes it suitable for this dish since its acidity pairs nicely with the strudel’s rich, buttery flavors.
Apple Bread Or Cake
Fruits may make a cake or bread recipe soggy or too soft. Granny Smith apples, on the other hand, contain exactly the proper amount of moisture to give the bread a beautifully soft texture without adding too much liquid. In addition, their flavorful complexity gives the bread luscious and delicious flavors.
How To Prep Apples For Baking
Several easy processes are involved in preparing apples for baking. The initial processes are peeling (formerly known as paring; therefore, the name of the knife), coring, and slicing. The final step is keeping them in water with acid before baking to prevent browning and to strengthen their inherent pectin.
1. Peel The Apples
Except for a baked apple, where the peel maintains it together in the form of an apple, we like to peel our apples for 99 percent of our apple recipes. First, use a peeler or a paring knife to peel. Then, start peeling the apple from the top down in what we believe to be the simplest method.
2. Quarter, Core, And Slice
Cut the apple in quarters through the core once it has been peeled. Slice each piece’s core out using a paring knife. Now that the apple has a flat surface, you may place it on the board and slice it while it remains still. Slice it lengthwise or crosswise, maintaining a constant thickness between each slice to ensure uniform cooking. You might dice or chop the apple into bigger pieces for a crisp.
3. Hold The Slices In Lemon Water
The apple slices won’t turn brown if you place them in a basin of water with lemon juice. Additionally, bringing the pH down takes out the pectin found naturally in apples. As a result, the pectin in the slices will produce a naturally thick sauce rather than a watery filling when mixed with sugar, spices, and more lemon juice.
Do You Need To Refrigerate Granny Smith Apple Pie?
As long as the Granny Smith apple pie is whole and was made no more than two days ago, you don’t need to refrigerate it. However, please put it in the refrigerator as soon as you cut into it or after it has been on the counter for more than two days.
If you searched the Internet for information on apple pie, you would come across several websites stating that no matter what, you may keep this fruit pie at room temperature for two days after baking it. You can surely heed that advice, and 90% of the time, you’ll be just fine. However, I advise chilling apple pie after cutting into it since cutting and serving the pie might contaminate it with germs. And if the pie is left on the counter for more than a day, it will probably start to mold.
Although the filling contains sugar and acid, which hinder bacterial development, chilling is a far better way to stop it. Additionally, it only makes sense to refrigerate open apple pie if we store open applesauce in the refrigerator.
How To Defrost A Granny Smith Pie
Before serving, remove the frozen pie from the freezer and remove the foil and plastic wrap. Let the pie defrost in the fridge to prevent moisture from making the crust soggy and ruining the pie. I want to emphasize that any frozen pie should not be allowed to defrost at room temperature since it would result in condensation and soggy pie crust. Any frozen pie should instead defrost in the fridge. A frozen apple pie may be reheated for around 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and will still taste exactly like fresh after fully defrosting.
Is It Safe To Leave Apple Pie Unrefrigerated Overnight?
If you want to serve apple pie within the next 24 hours, leaving it out of the refrigerator may be fine overnight. However, if you want to leave your apple pie out of the fridge for the night, ensure it is well-wrapped. It may be stored frozen for up to 30 days and maintained in a cooler for shorter periods. For example, if it is stored in a shallow pan that encourages ventilation, apple pie may be kept at room temperature for about 24 hours.
How Do You Store Apple Pies Overnight?
Ensure your apple pies can be stored in a cooler, frozen, or even left out if you need to preserve them for the night. If you can keep it in a cooler, ensure your fruit pies are wrapped carefully. However, if you’re going to be able to store it for about 24 hours at room temperature, ensure the container is shallow and has good ventilation.
If you can wrap apple pies particularly tightly and store them in an airtight container, they can even be kept in the refrigerator for up to two days. However, if apple pies are intended to be eaten within the following 24 hours, it might be fine to leave them out of the refrigerator overnight.
Conclusion On Are Granny Smith Apples Good For Baking
Granny Smith apples are great for baking. These apples maintain their form when baked. And their tanginess makes them stand out. After baking, apple pie may be left out for a couple of hours. However, if you want to leave it out for a few hours, ensure it’s in a shallow pan with ventilation. You can store your apple pies and apple strudels in the fridge or freezer.
