Recently I made a thick apple sauce by cooking apples with some juice. The cooking process took less time than expect – after about 20 minutes or less the apple pieces were soft enough to mash them.
The apples I chose were a bit sour and had a dark green colour (unfortunately I don't recall the brand / kind of apple I used), by accident a good choice.
Are some kind of apples better suited than other to cook apple purée? Why is that so? And how do I recognize these apples in the supermarket?
Best Answer
While not directly addressing the question of apple sauce, this Food Lab article by Kenji Alt on apple pie has some excellent information on differences of apple varieties. He surveys a number of common (at least in the US) varieties.
He notes that apples which brown more quickly tend to be both less tart (as acid, which underlies a tart flavor) inhibits browning; they also tend to cook down less quickly as the acid helps maintain the pectin structure.
Many apple sauce recipes try to find a balance among several apples, with both tart and sweeter varieties, and some that break down quickly for the body of the sauce, and some that retain more texture.
For example, Cook's Illustrated recommends Jonagold, Jonathan, Pink Lady, and Macoun (possible pay wall).
In an article at Oregon Live, interviewing applesauce expert Peggy Acott, writes:
An article at the Your pick of apples: Which varieties work best for baking, sauces and other recipes at the Missoulian indicates:
As you can see, in the end, you will want to get to know your own locally available apple varieties, and what you like. There is a tremendous amount of variation.
Apple sauce is very simple and quick to make, especially in the microwave. If you are a huge applesauce fan, you might want to make a sample from one apple of each variety and take notes on its flavor and texture.