Cooking Apples

I hesitate to admit this, as it might get me deported, but I don't like Bramley apples  .  I find them bland and dull.  In Wisconsin, I cooked with a variety of apple called Haralson.  They are the most amazing apples--crisp, tart, soft when cooked and with a great flavour.  But I have never seen them outside the Midwest.  So, my question is: What UK apples (besides Bramley) would you recommend for cooking? 

I hesitate to admit this, as it might get me deported, but I don't like Bramley apples  .  I find them bland and dull.  In Wisconsin, I cooked with a variety of apple called Haralson.  They are the most amazing apples--crisp, tart, soft when cooked and with a great flavour.  But I have never seen them outside the Midwest.  So, my question is: What UK apples (besides Bramley) would you recommend for cooking? 

I don't like Bramley's either, and I'm happy to be deported over it as well 

I use braeburns Hard, sweet with hint of tart, little spheres of joy

I don't like them either, so I thank you for posting this! I need to make some apple crisp. It's just that time of year.

I think Bramleys are lovely and very apple-y tasting! There's lots of acid in Bramleys, which is what makes them excellent cookers. But I've also used other local apples from farm shops around here and those have been very good too. Have you tried your farmshops, historyenne? We get things like Annie Elizabeths and Royal Jubilees. Granted, I'm in the southwest (apple country), but I'd expect a good farmshop just about anywhere in the country to have more choice than the run-of-the-mill supermarket Bramleys and Braeburns.

Have you tried your farmshops, historyenne?

I have, actually!  Last month I got some (Early Windsors, I think??) that cooked nicely, but this month there weren't any, and I can't recall the name of the ones I got instead.  They don't cook so well, though, they're a bit tough. 

Granted, I'm in the southwest (apple country)

So am I!

So am I!

The 'problem' with lovely, local, not mass produced apples, is that they tend to have a much shorter growing period. My mother's personal favorite here in the Maryland area (Jonathans) are only around a couple weeks.

So in apple season, if you want to try different cooking apples, it's a great idea to get to know the vendors at the farmers' market.

I'm not a huge Bramley fan, but what I do for almost all my apple dessert recipes is mix my apples. So I would get one Bramley, a couple Granny Smiths, and whatever else might be in season. This way you get a nice mix of textures and flavors.

The one apple I truly loathe are Red Delicious. Vile, vile, vile.

The one apple I truly loathe are Red Delicious. Vile, vile, vile.

I also hate golden delicious apples. Gross!

So am I!

Duh! I knew that! 

I also hate golden delicious apples. Gross!

Oh no, I LOVE golden delicious! I agree that red delicious are nasty though. Blech.

Oh no, I LOVE golden delicious!

I think they're pretty good eating apples too! I wouldn't cook with them, but there's nothing wrong with a Golden Delicious!

As Nigel Slater says, you don't need to use apples branded as cooking apples- any combination will do -

Just some breakdown more than others and you'll always need to adjust sugar accordingly - a bit of trial and error 

As Nigel Slater says, you don't need to use apples branded as cooking apples- any combination will do -

Indeed. ANY apples can be cooked. But "cooking apples" can't/shouldn't be eaten raw.

(Also, how excited am I that I'm stalking the Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers site each week for the synopsis of the next episode?? We weren't in the first episode, and we're not going to be in the second, so when will our episode air? Who can say??)

The one apple I truly loathe are Red Delicious. Vile, vile, vile.

They used to be the best.  Crisp and juicy and sweet.  But that was decades ago before flavor was sacrificed for shape & color.  Now they've been bred (is that the right word when talking about fruit?) for pretty looks and lost their goodness.  Shame.   

When I was a teenager (many years ago) the only vending machine we had in our junior high school dispensed apples.  Cold, crisp, red delicious apples.  They don't taste anything like that anymore.

Indeed. ANY apples can be cooked. But "cooking apples" can't/shouldn't be eaten raw.

(Also, how excited am I that I'm stalking the Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers site each week for the synopsis of the next episode?? We weren't in the first episode, and we're not going to be in the second, so when will our episode air? Who can say??)

You should be excited, it's totally exciting!!!

I hate Apples...but cooking apples sounds delicious.