Out here on the West Coast (California)...we have some different apples. The old timers say the Winesap apple is the best for pie--and I've successfully made apple pies with them many times. When Gravenstein apples are freshly picked they make lovely, fragrant apple pies. They tend to get very soft when cooked, so I cut them into chunks rather than slices. Newtown Pippins are a nice firm apple and hold their shape pretty well when baked in a pie--but they're not very sweet. Overcome with indecision, I usually make pies with several varieties of apples--sort of to hedge my bets--maybe using the three apples I mentioned above. I saw Russets recently in the produce store--I'll give them a try this week.

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