What Does Apple Pie Taste Like?
Apple pie is known as the pride and joy of the holiday dinner hosts, as, along with pumpkin pie, it is the jewel of a greasy and juicy holiday meal. Apple pie is so famous for a reason, and that reason is that it is heavenly. So what does apple pie taste like?
The Apple pie filling has a slightly buttery taste, creamy texture, a particularly refreshing dimension combining sweet and sour flavor, and a whiff of tang. The cakey flavor of the crust mixed with the buttery apple filling creates an excellent balance between the rest of the tasting notes.
Even though apple pie is so wonderfully delicious, you may not like it if you have never tasted it. You may build it up in your head and end up disappointed. To save you unnecessary grief and help you decide whether apple pie is for you, I will explain everything about the apple pie taste in the following paragraphs.
How Would One Describe Apple Pie Taste?
There are as many descriptions of apple pie taste as there are people who have tasted it. Since taste in food is a very personal, almost intimate thing, each description would be subjective.
However, even though I am an apple pie fan, I will try my best to give you an objective description. To do this best, I will start with the basics.
Apple pie has apple filling, made of apples, sugar, butter, and pie crust. The main flavor-giver is the apple filling, but the crust also has much to do with it. The pie crust is something like the best supporting character.
Since the apples need to mellow and soften, people usually grate them and leave them to sit covered in sugar. This softening process creates a chemical reaction between the sugar and the apple, making it ferment just a tad. Therefore the apple becomes slightly tangy.
Although you may not notice the tangy flavor immediately, it certainly influences the apple pie taste. However, the sugary sweetness is far more expressive than the tang, so it will probably dominate the taste.
The slight fermentation of the apples will also amplify the fruity freshness of the apple but will dim its sourness, though it won’t eliminate it. All this, together mixed with butter, creates a very well-balanced combination.
The buttery milkiness will wrap all the existing tastes together and envelop them with its creamy richness. Milk is known to have flavor-balancing solid properties, so it is no wonder that milky butter fits excellent here.
The apple filling, combined with the cakiness of the crust, creates a well-rounded result. The dessert-like notes of the crust itself mix very well with the apple filling, especially since there are two curst-top and bottom.
So the final flavor of the apple pie is a combination between fruity sweetness, cakiness, and a slight tang. It is a pretty universal flavor, which is why many like it, but that doesn’t mean that you will too. Therefore, preparing that apple pie may not be your teacup, but I doubt it.
What Does Apple Pie Smell Like?
The smell of apple pie is very inviting. It smells somewhere between apples, sugar, and cake. As the apple pie gets colder, its smell gradually changes.
Freshly out of the oven, it smells more like cake and less like apples. The fruity apple smell starts to protrude as the apple pie cools down. Often, apple pie contains cinnamon, which is a strong and overbearing spice.
If you use cinnamon in your apple pie, expect it to be the prevailing aroma all the way through.
Does Apple Type Matter for Apple Pie Taste?
Apple pie does impact the taste of apple pie, but if you are a fan of apple pie, you will like it regardless of the type of apples you use. So, even the worst possible apple variety cannot be so detrimental as to ruin the taste of the apple pie.
However, the apple type influences the quality of the apple pie. Even though the apples you use would not ruin the taste, they could ruin the texture and consistency of the apple pie. Mushy pie is something you would want to avoid.
Maybe at first, a mushy pie doesn’t sound so bad, but it does feel like mashed potatoes between two crusts. When it comes to apple pie, you want to feel some texture and mushy pie filling also moistens the crust.
So, to make the best possible apple pie, I would recommend you use green, firm, and sour apples. Avoid the soft ones and those with bread-like consistency.
What Are the Worst Apples for Apple Pie?
To avoid mushy apple pie and shorten baking time, you should avoid soft apple varieties. McIntosh, Fuji, and Red Delicious are some of the worst choices you can make for apple pie filling.
Although in themselves they are delicious types of apples, great for other purposes, they simply don’t work for apple pie, and you should avoid them.
Are Honeycrisp Apples Good for Apple Pie?
Honeycrisp apples are excellent for apple pie. They taste sour and sweet and, most importantly, have a very suitable texture for pie-making. Moreover, they are highly aromatic and have a floral and fruity smell, making them one of the best apple pie filling choices.
