The Fastest Way to Make Uniform Apple Slices for Apple Pie
When you’re baking apples into pies and tarts, cutting them into uniform slices means they’ll cook evenly and best of all, just look gorgeous and perfect. Using a knife to do the work, especially when faced with the pounds of apples that are needed to go in a deep-dish pie, can be a tedious task when you’re trying to make the slices as even as possible. Time to pull out a gadget that might be gathering dust in the back of the kitchen drawer!
The Good Ol’ (or New) Apple Slicer
So what’s this forgotten gadget? I started using an apple slicer again. Remember those? I had one in my pantry for some time, but must have gotten rid of it during one my moving purges. This summer, I randomly picked up a new one, and my apple prep has since changed for the better.
While any apple slicer makes fast and even work out of cutting up apples, this new one allows two sizes — the largest setting is perfect for apple slices for snacking, while the smaller setting cuts wedges ideal for pies and crisps.
→ Buy this apple slicer: Dial-A-Slice Apple Divider at Williams-Sonoma
The Time Savings
It takes a little elbow grease and occasionally sends apple juice flying across my kitchen, but this simple tool shaves minutes off my prep time. If you have one of these deep in your pantry drawer, pull it out and let the fast apple slicing begin.
Even if you are using a simple model and the slices are a bit large for baking, starting the process with an apple slicer and finishing up by halving the wedges with a knife still speeds up the process and ensures that each slice is perfectly uniform. And better yet, look for recipes that don’t require peeling the apples — then it’s truly one-step prep!