Apple Pie Signals Start Of Fall

It's autumn, which means two things: politics and a new crop of apples. So as we are bombarded with robo-calls, negative ads and endless campaigning, we can shut it all out with a forkful of apple pie, that more-promising and delicious of American inventions. We can also take heart that election season comes to an end, but apple pie endures. You can freeze a pie for months, and have a delicious nibble on Thanksgiving, or even next summer, at your July 4th picnic.

Although apples are available all year, new fall crop varieties, such as Rhode Island Greenings, Newtown Pippin, Stayman, Winesap, Idared and Northern Spys, make the tastiest pies. For the most part you have to buy these apples at farm stands and local orchards, though the occasional supermarket and grocery store may stock some.

What makes these less familiar, non-commercial apples so superior is that they haven't been grown and treated for long-term storage. The skins are thin, just barely resisting your teeth; the taste is fresh, the bite juicy. The flavor and consistency follow through when the apples are baked under a crust. Most mass-produced, supermarket apples are meant for eating out of hand. They're sturdy and have eye appeal; they're sweet, but flavorless; and often pulpy, rather than crunchy. Not pie material.

To read the rest of this story please go to: The News Times