How to Slice Apples for an Apple Pie

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Even if you've never made an apple pie before...or you're nervous about handling knives and cutters...Ken will put you at ease and give you the confidence you need to slice your apples.
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Transcript:
Let's start with the peeling. Generally speaking, I do peel my apples for an apple pie, and I think I'm in the majority here. I'm not half bad with a paring knife, but even a knife ninja can have a hard time peeling an apple with a knife without removing some of the flesh underneath. That's wasteful and it's the reason I like to use vegetable peeler like this one here. But a peeler, unless it's good and sharp, has a tendency to skip over the smooth skin when you use it, rather than bite into the skin when you want it to.
That's why the first thing I do is take my chef's knife and cut a very thin slice off the top of my apple. Not only does this give your peeler a natural starting point where it can slide under the skin, just as important, it flattens out the shoulders of the apple so you can rest it on your chopping board securely without it rolling around when you cut it. That's how accidents happen.
Now, rest your apple on this flat end and then take your chef's knife and cut down right next to the core and slice the apple into four lobes. This way, you'll end up with a square core instead of a roundish one. Don't worry if some of the core comes off in the lobes. Just scoop it out with a melon baller.
Now, each of these lobes or sections will have a nice, flat surface that you can rest your apple on when you slice it. Take your chef's knife and cut the apple into approximate one-eighth or one-quarter inch slices, however you like it.
Now, the trick is to keep your fingertips tucked under, so you don't cut yourself. You can bump that blade of your chef's knife against your fingers until the cows come home, but so long as your fingers are tucked, you're not going to cut yourself.
That's really all there is to it. I hope this helps you with your own apple pie making. Let me know.

[@samanthatimmins4672]

I never thought about cutting the core out of the Apple like this!!! This is game changing!!!!!

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Samantha - hi, and thanks for letting me know. I'll bet you make great apple pies. If you're not already a member, I hope you sign up over at ThePieAcademy.com

[@maryriley6163]

I'm 73 and so fortunate to have inherited the little old metal vegetable peeler that my mother inherited from her mother. It fits in a small hand. As far as I know it has never been sharpened but remains as sharp as the first time I used it when I was about 10 years old. Just plain steel so I dry it carefully to prevent rusting. Thank you though for the tip about cutting a little off the distal end of the apple so the peeling starts smoothly. And thanks for your humor.

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Hello Mary, and welcome to The Pie Academy. Thanks for your peeler story. I, too, have several old kitchen utensils that I inherited from my parents and I treasure them, so I can appreciate how you feel. I'm glad you enjoyed the video and hope you subscribe to this channel so you don't miss any new ones that I publish. And if you like to bake pie, please sign up over at our website, ThePieAcademy.com

[@ShaneNorleansSpencer]

Well bless a milk cow that technique looks great to try. This video touched on the exact issue I was having using the peeler. It's plenty sharp, but wouldn't get started on rounded top portion of the apples. I also liked the idea of cutting the apple into lobes to get a square core. After that it's easy enough to use a blade to "nick" any remaining portions of core away.

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Shane - Thanks for chiming in...I appreciate it and glad to hear you gleaned a useful tip or two from the video. Are you a pie baker? Do tell.

[@ShaneNorleansSpencer]

@@kenhaedrichthepieacademy So using the tips I saw in this video, my prep-time was reduced a bunch! Cutting the square around the core was brilliant, as was shaving the shoulder of the apples! It did in fact make using the peeler much easier. I'm not a pie baker yet. Here's the short story. I cannot find anywhere in my area (Carmichael California) a place that has a decent Dutch Apple Pie. The old saying: "If you want something done..." applies here. I'm pretty decent in the kitchen, soooooo. I thought I would start small, and work my way up to my goal for 2022. A tastefully spiced, baked to a golden brown, Dutch Apple Pie. You know the kind, one that makes the whole house smell wonderful? Right, so I'm starting with a small simple apple crisp recipe. This way, I can get that good combination of apples, spices, and other considerations pretty well set before I go for the Super Bowl of baking: "Dutch Apple Pie." It's not a great story, but in this day and age of COVID, it is giving me something to do.

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

@@ShaneNorleansSpencer Hello Shane and thanks for telling me your story. A perfectly baked Dutch Apple Pie is a good and noble goal to start with. I hope you will keep me posted about your progress here, on this channel, or by email. I'm easily reached at ken(at)ThePieAcademy.com. Best wishes.

[@girlvid]

Love the humor and the quick and thorough explains!

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Thank you, Lisa - if you haven't already, I hope you'll sign up over at ThePieAcademy.com so you don't miss any of our recipes and videos. Ken

[@kellyberes7835]

Thank you very much! I’m happy I found your channel! I was looking for a homemade recipe on how to make your own apple pie spice and thanks for that too .Looking forward to watch more of your videos.🙏🙏👍💕💕😋😋😋😋

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Wonderful to have you with us, Kelly. Glad you found us. If you haven't already, I hope you sign up over at ThePieAcademy.com so you don't miss any of our videos, recipes, and class announcements. Ken

[@wjla1]

Fun video. Thanks

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Glad you liked it, and I hope you'll sign up for our channel...and over at ThePieAcademy.com so you don't miss anything.

[@marisolreyes98]

Just find your channel only because I buy a pie dish ANCOR brand. I love baking and make my self a challenge that now I want to learn this, how to make a pie.... And upss I found this guy🤭...... I’m happy I found you and only because I was looking for the dish information..... I’m lucky, and all ready subscribe.... Thank you so much,you are giving me a lot of information I need.... 👍🏻........

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Marisol - It's great to have you as a subscriber and I hope you pick up some useful pie making tips on my channel. Ken

[@girlvid]

I'm making cobbler!!

[@jeanb.7963]

Love your channel

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Thanks again, Jean - glad you're a regular viewer.

[@emmamonarrez9518]

awesome video!!! i’m making my first apple pie for thanksgiving and this video helped a ton! thank you!

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

You're quite welcome, Emma - glad I could help.

[@domibernal722]

Thank you for these useful advices, I am about to make apple pie tonight! :)

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Thank you, my friend. Don't forget to sign up at ThePieAcademy.com - Stay safe

[@domibernal722]

Ken Haedrich will do! Thank you for letting me know. Stay safe as well!

[@kayehunt5180]

Thanks so much! I can see how I have been making the job WAY too hard.

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

You are so welcome!

[@monicabohn2476]

I am actually making an apple crisp with apples off of my dad's tree. I'm hoping the thickness of the apples should be about the same. Thank you for sharing this video. 😁

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

You’re welcome, Monica. And yes, the thickness would be about the same. How did it turn out? Ken

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

What's your favorite way to slice apples for an apple pie? Leave a comment.

[@germpore]

Great tip on cutting the shoulder on apples before slicing them! I'm definitely going to do that from now on. The one thing I would have added to this video is something on basic knife grip. It's given in this video, and really any of the "knife technique" videos on KZbin: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6DUh3qaorufgc0 . Holding a knife like that really revolutionized my kitchen technique, giving me much more control over my cutting. Of course, the other tip is to keep your knives sharp - you can either invest in some equipment and skills and do it yourself, or take it to a knife sharpener regularly. The old saying is, a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife, because you'll be using a lot more pressure and have less control of a dull knife.

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Thank you, my friend, for your thoughtful comments. I couldn't agree with you more when it comes to sharp knives. Many moons ago I used to do it by hand, with a whetstone, but these days I just 'em a pass through my ChefsChoice sharpener several times a week. It's easy and quick, and at my age easy and quick are highly valued. The grip thing is important, too, and I need to mention that in more of my videos. Thanks for mentioning it. Ken

[@howtoofficial3848]

Nice and awesome

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Thank you!

[@eileentingley9110]

if I made the crust and rested it in fridge. and then cooked part of it all ready and it was way to flaky and fell apart once you put your fork on it. can I mix more water to it. or just toes it in the garbage.

[@denishamarie7667]

Green apples or red ?

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Your choice! Thanks for watching.

[@whatabouttrish]

I am not paid by Pampered Chef, but I like their apple peeler/slicer/corer.

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Thanks, my friend. I don't have theirs, but a similar one - my wife likes it quite a bit. They also have a great cooling rack with folding legs that I use daily.

[@tamarrartis-peyton9320]

Is there such a thing as savory pies for vegans?

[@kenhaedrichthepieacademy]

Hi Tamarr - I'm sure this is, but it would require using a vegetable based fat in the pastry...and no dairy or meat in the filling. My suspicion is that there are many such recipes out there, so I think a quick Google search would turn up quite a few options. Good luck with your search! And I hope you'll join us over at ThePieAcademy.com

[@janjordal9451]

Ha ha ha! What nonsense. Having problems? Get yourself a Scandinavian vegetable pealer.