As American As...

Posted by Peanutpea on May 16, 2008 at 12:24pm in Recipes

Apple Pie. I'd like to make Apple Pie. I have tons of great recipes from all Ani Phyo, Matt Amsden (btw. Have you noticed how similar Ani's and Matt's books are?) , Rita Romano....I can keep going.

The recipes look delicious, however I don't want to have that tart crisp apple texture. The crunch is yummy in making raw apple crisps. With the crust crumbled on top. But to make an apple pie I would like to have a re-hydrated cooked like wilted texture. I've had a lot of success with getting this texture by freezing then thawing fruit....but never apples. Has anyone tried freezing them before or have any suggestions on softening the apple's texture?

btw, I do not own a dehydrator. I could maybe buy dehydrated apples and rehydrate them but that isn't as appealing to me as using fresh apples. Has anyone rehydrate dehydrated apples and then blended them to make a filling to use with fresh apples or in other recipes.

Looking to play around a bit with some advice (I don't want my experimentation to get too pricey and waste good food with my desire to complicate the fruit and texture.)

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bunny Berry on May 16, 2008 at 1:33pm: Have you tried soaking apples slices to soften them up? I think you'd want to add a little lemon juice to the water to keep them from turning brown, but soaking them might make them less crispy.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peanutpea on May 16, 2008 at 1:47pm: experiment #1.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anabrese on May 17, 2008 at 6:24am: Hello, I always blend the apples into a puree with some soaked apricots to add texture and smoothness. I would then fill these in my buckwheat/almond crust or make a crumble by grounding up sunflowers with agave and coconut oil and drying. But, since you have no dehydrator I would just make a nice crust using buckwheaties or seeds and fill up with the blended apple mixture I mentioned. You can always put some extra sliced apples on top just for decoration.

www.rawlifestyle.co.uk; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Pink Lady Apple on May 17, 2008 at 9:37am: Try a mixture of 3/4 dehydrated apples (packed unsoaked) and 1 apple peeled and shredded. See what you think of the texture. Process the dried apples in food processor with the S blade. Add 3 dates and process. Add the grated apple and 1/8 tsp cinnamon. Process until well combined.

You can use whatever crust you want and maybe top with a cashew cream made from 1 cup soaked raw cashews, 1/4 cup water, 2 heaping tsp. honey (or maple syrup), and seeds of 1 vanilla bean. Blend thoroughly, then refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

I too find the hard tart apples in some of the pies too much. Let me know what you think.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peanutpea on May 17, 2008 at 11:39am: blending and shredding the apples. Interesting. I will definitely try combining the dehydrated and fresh apples in the processor. Maybe then adding another apple and just processing it once or twice to have a chunkier filling.

Any suggestions on spice out there? I am dedicated to making the most satisfying pie out there. I am getting played out on all the delicious simple cream pies I can make.....mango, banana, coconut lime, chocolate...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anabrese on May 17, 2008 at 4:03pm: I love mixed spice and cinnamon in apple pie, cloves are good too in small quantities.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lydia Rebekah on May 17, 2008 at 4:20pm: I always use lots of cinnamon and some ginger

Dice the apples up tiny and marinade them up well before putting into the pie dish..then pour apple sauce over....top with nuts or fruit..whatever you fancy

yummy and more reminsant of the SAD version; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by silvergirlsouth on May 17, 2008 at 7:45pm: yeah i was going to suggest grating them .... they will go brown fast unless you put them in some water and lemon juice while you prep the rest ..... and i also make a blended apple mix with some finely slice apple stirred thru ..... if you use a mandoline you can get the super fine slices, which you could then marinate in something like honey and lemon juice, or even if you mix in something like papaya (which would break the apple down a bit with the enzymes) ....

experimenting is fun!; ▶ Reply to This