Food Chemistry and The Apple Pie Secret

I get so excited when I discover the answer’s to food mysteries.  I have to admit that in school, biology was the Science I favoured.  However, if they had explained how much chemistry is involved in cooking…that might have changed things.

For example, even after I was married I could never make cookies successfully.  They would spread out into pancake shapes, burn or remain doughy in the centre.  Finally I did some research. 

I learnt that I was missing one essential step:  putting the dough in the fridge for a period before baking (and in between putting the dough on the tray and waiting to put the next batch on).  Sure enough…perfect little cookies every time!

Down the road in my baking journey came, apple pie.  I was reading a baking blog http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/apple-pie-recipe.htmland the “ author” asked:

 

“Do you ever notice some apple pies have a gap or space between the top crust and the filling? Would you like to know the secret to avoid that”

 

Well, yes as a matter of fact I HAD noticed.  I sure did want to know the secret.  Best of all, this wasn’t one of those deals where to find out the secret I just had to send in $19.99 and she’d send me the secret.   Not only that she’d throw in two for the price of one!  No.  Right then and there this generous blogger offered the solution.

 

“All you have to do is cook your apples and spices first.  Other recipes don’t tell you that”  I thought about that for a minute.  Brilliant!

 

Apple Pie Filling:

• 7-9  granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 - 1 cup sugar, depending on how tart the apples are.
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Then you just peel the apples and core them.  Slice them into 1/4 inch chips.  Mix the cinnamon, sugar and cornstarch together in a bowl and then put it all together in a pot over a low heat.  Stir all together.  Cover.  Simmer.  Stir.  20-25 minutes or so but not so that the apples are mushy.

Then you put the mixture in the pie crust and mound up towards the centre.  Put a few little pats of butter over the apples before you put the top crust on.  Another tip from the “apple pie blogger” (you can see it pictured on the above link if you find it hard to picture) was to put foil around the circle of the pie so the crust doesn’t get overly brown.  And, this is what you end up with…

Mmmmmmm……  Science is delicious!