This past week I put out the word that I was curious to learn more about your apple prepping routine when you make an apple pie. I wanted to know if you peeled your apples or not, sliced them thick or thin, how you cored them – all that good stuff.
And you didn’t disappoint. My inbox was quickly flooded with responses, more than one hundred of them. And while it’s going to be a challenge to answer all of your emails – I apologize! – I’ve really enjoyed reading each one of them. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
I talk about your responses in the video above, and share with you some techniques I use. But I also thought it would be fun to share some of your responses below. Many of them were sweet and entertaining and helpful. I wish I could publish all of them, but perhaps this sampling will give you a chance to “meet” some of your fellow Pie Academy members and hear how they do it. Enjoy. (Note: many of these have been cropped to keep them brief.)
Here’s What YOU Had to Say About Slicing Your Pie Apples
I just need my good sharp paring knife. It was a wedding gift 27+ years ago and has helped me with a lot of pies. Always peel the apples, with my knife, and am a thin slicer – pile ’em high. – Michele W.
I slice my apples by hand. I have both a hand-operated apple corer/slicer and a KitchenAid one, but I just prefer doing it by hand. It relaxes me. – Robyn M.
Preparing apples for pie is probably my least favorite thing to do when baking. I want it over as quickly as possible so I typically use a combo peeler/corer/slicer. I try not to swear throughout the whole process. – Megan L.
I use a peeler, in my hand, over the rubbish bin. My husband uses a knife and nearly cuts away half of the apple, which pains me, so I quickly assign him a different task. – Nicole
It depends on the apple and what I’m making. Usually I leave the peel on for a crisp or cake for a more rustic feeling. And for the pie I peel. – Pat M.
I think everyone has their own comfortable way to do it. I still use my mom’s original potato peeler. – Charlie P.
When I make an apple pie, I like using my dandy little cracking machine that peels, cores, and slices all at once. Thin slices please me. It’s not worth getting out the peeler-corer-slicer unless I’m doing a lot of apples, so I don’t use it for anything but pies. Probably a skilled person could do just as well with a knife alone, but I just get a kick out of using the funny little machine. – Giny M.
I’m sure there are a million and one ways to peel an apple and myriad gadgets for the job, but I’m old fashioned and do it the way my mother did. I use a large knife to cut it into 6 wedges. Then, using a paring knife, I cut out the core and remove the skin. I then slice it as thinly as possible. Not perfect and not uniform, but definitely homemade. – Karen H.
When I make apple pie, I slice the fruit with a mandolin. (I’m a little obsessive when it comes to baking.) – Jan H.
I wash the apples, remove the core, and peel them by hand using my best, very sharp Henckles paring knife, then slice them very thin into pieces about 1″. For my daughter’s wedding I made 75 apple pies and froze them. (Made a few every day, not all in one day.) – Annette T.
I peel my apples, core and slice by hand. I have a device that peeled, cored and sliced – but it was a mess to deal with. In the end, I find it faster and personally more satisfying to do the apples by hand. – Vicki B.
Sitting on my porch swing with a bowl to catch the peelings, paring knife in hand. Thick slices and some slivers, too, apple held in hand. I have a special compost gadget…my chickens. – Christen
I’ve tried every method, every style, every gadget, including the table-top peeler/corer gadget. In the end, nothing beats doing it by hand. I really like fat slices best in my pie. – Cassia S.
