baking question- why is my apple pie filled with liquid?

[david de berkeley]

so i bake an apple pie this weekend for the first time using a simple recipe (joy of cooking). everything looks good when the pie comes out, but when i remove a slice, i am shocked to find the pie flooded in its own juices! how did this excess liquid come about? my better half and i were hypothesizing that the vents were too small, or not enough starch/sugar to change bad liquid into good syrup, but we are not sure. any suggestions or insight? i know this isn't chowhounding, but i'm sure someone on this board knows the answer.

[dixieday]

Well, this often happens. The sugar pulls the liquid out of the apple slices, and even with thickener, you can end up with a very liquidy pie. I learned a great trick from The Pie and Pastry Bible, by Rose L. Bernbaum. Mix your sliced apples, sugar, and spices together. Let sit for 30-40 minutes. Then drain off liquid and boil in a small pan until reduced by half. Mix this "syrup" back into your apples--add a little flour, then pile apples in crust and bake. For the exact proportions, look in her book. This technique has worked very well for me.

[Tom Hilton]

I can vouch for this technique--my sweetheart uses it, and it's always worked very well for her. And I don't bake, but based on what I've tasted, the Pie & Pastry Bible is fantastic.

[Fine]

I've baked literally hundreds of apple pies and have never used any thickener--unlike stone fruit, rhubarb, or berry pies; what you describe has never occurred, so I suspect it was the variety of apple used.(Leaving the apples out at room temp after slicing causes oxidation; since many take anti-oxidants to avoid this disease-promoting occurrence, it seems counterproductive to do anything to encourage it.)

I've always used Pippins, Gravs (during their short season), or Grannies, and sliced them fairly thin. I also never peel them, but that's a separate issue.

There's a board you can access by going to Chowhounds' Home Page and finding the map toward the bottom, which includes a board called something like "other food topics" where these kinds of questions are discussed.

[Mrs. Smith]

Please, Fine, explain the disease-promoting qualities of letting apples sit at room temperature? I had no idea this was unhealthy. I've never used that particular recipe, but I would like to know what the problem is, because I often use Rose Levy Berenbaum's recipes, always with implicit trust!

I didn't know I needed to worry about apples too -- oh woe!

As for thickening apple pies -- it is a matter of very careful study and predicition to prevent it. I always assess the juiciness of the apples by the amount of liquid in the bowl left after peeling and cutting them up. If it seems like "too much" -- more than a teaspoon or two (a particular juicy batch of apples)-- I discard the excess so I don't have a runny pie.

[Fine]

The chemists and biochemists among 'hounds will surely be able to explain in greater detail, but you know how potatoes and apples (pommes de terre and pommes!) turn brown immediately after being sliced--well, that's the result of oxidation. I don't know the formula, if it exists, for how much and how often eating oxidized foods might lead to harmful consequences, but when something's so easy to avoid, I just avoid it.(As my lay mind understands it, "oxidation" leads to a process in the body similar to rusting; virtually all the biggie diseases are related to that, which is why "anti-oxidants" get so much attention.)

And since I pop the apples into the pie, top, and pop into oven as quickly as possible, I never wait around for the juices to start to spew out (which I believe is caused by the sugar). Perhaps, if one does so, then the juices fail to cook away enough and the result is too much juice once the pie is done. But I still suspect it's mostly the apple type--some being far less dense (more watery) than others.

When I first started baking, the recipe I used had no thickener. Eventually it just became "the way I make apple pie," and I rarely looked at other recipes, since I was happy with the way it came out.

[Tom Hilton]

In Rose Levy-Berenbaum's recipe, the apples macerate in lemon juice as well as sugar. The lemon juice retards oxidation, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Apple type probably makes a difference. Braeburns make a great pie, when you can find them.

[Mrs. Smith]

I've tried Braeburns -- great apple, but I always thought them a bit too sweet for pie. Do you decrease your sugar?

[Tom Hilton]

Well, my sweetheart makes the pies, not me, so I'm not sure (I'm just the taster). But Rose recommends Braeburns (among other varieties), so it's possible she reduces the sugar a little in her recipe. I don't know. Besides having a lovely flavor, Braeburns have a really nice texture in pies--they don't get as mushy as some varieties.

[Ruth Lafler]

I had no idea that eating things that were oxidized had anything to do with free radicals in the human body -- to use your analogy, that eating rust would make you rust.

Do you have a source on that?

[Wendy Lai]

Hi David, FYI, on the general board there is always discusson on recipe with lots of help and tips.

I agree with dixieday, but also might want to mix in some plain bread crumbs with your fillings, that will help absorb the excess liquid.

[maggie mae]

I have baked the Joy of Cooking apple pie dozens of times since childhood. I always toss the apple slices with three heaping tablespoons of cornstarch, which is more than what's called for, but never fails - even with berries or peaches thrown into the mix. Allow to cool slightly before serving too.