You Should Always Do This Before Making Apple Pie

If you've never made apple pie or simply do not have much practice making the pie, then the process can be pretty intimidating. From making a wonderfully buttery and flaky crust to making sure the filling is perfectly spiced and cooked, the devil is really in the details when it comes to making apple pie.

But for many an amateur, the process might seem simple. All you should have to do is choose the right sweet or tart apples, wash and peel them, remove the core, and slice or dice (via Better Homes and Gardens). While it all might seem quite obvious, there is one more piece of prepping the apples that you might not expect. One of the most common mistakes that can ruin an apple pie is tossing raw underprepared apples into the crust to bake. That is why the one final step home bakers really have to take to ensure the pie won't collapse once it comes out of the oven is to fill the unbaked pie with cooked apples.

Most apple pie experts suggest you do something to the apples before baking them in the pie, and the reason is quite simple (via Southern Living). Uncooked apples take up a lot more room because of all the water they retain. So, when apples cook down and moisture is lost, the apples also lose a lot of volume. That in turn creates a gap under the pie crust while the pie is baking in the oven, so when it comes out of the oven, the top crust can collapse. By pre-cooking the apples, it largely prevents the gap from occurring between the cooked apples and the top pie crust because the volume has already been lost. In the end, that leaves you with a more sturdy and stable — yet delicious — apple pie (via Kitchn).

All apples have a high moisture content, so it doesn't matter too much when it comes to choosing the way in which you choose to cook your apples, or allow the fruits to release their natural juices. Some pro apple pie bakers suggest par-cooking your apples by soaking them in boiling water for ten minutes. Other methods include roasting apples until their water content is reduced as well as letting cut apples drain for half an hour to 40 minutes. Regardless, doing so will be a large part of ensuring you get the most delectable apple pie imaginable.