Bramley is the sine qua non of cooking apples here. It cooks to a pulp very quickly (a matter of minutes) so is not really suitable for something like an open tart where you want the slices to remain whole. But it is superb for sauce, baking, pies etc. We distinguish clearly between cooking apples and eating apples and Bramley is definitely a cooker. The flavour is fairly sharp so you wouldn't want to eat them raw. They are also large fruit.

The trees are large and vigorous, so you only need one. But you do need two different pollinators nearby. I don't grow one myself because they are so common I can always get windfalls from local trees.

Ps it's a Bramley, not a

Bramley's.

Thank you for the information! So for a pie would the slices cook to mush or do they manage to hold some shape? Just curious because I don’t think I would want an apple pie with the consistency of applesauce! 🥴
And yes, I was planning on planting a couple of other varieties as well.
Oh really? I was seeing Bramley’s and Bramley online, but I like yours better now that I think about it—easier to to type! 😁

In a pie the fruit would collapse but wouldn't be totally liquid. Bramley is the most popular cooker over here by far and nobody complains about the consistency. Info. here: https://www.orangepippin.com/varieties/apples/bramley

Again, thank you for the information! I do wonder why they aren’t common here in the States. I think they sound fun to try and I hopefully will plant one next spring! 😊

European bred apples are more popular in Europe and the UK and North American apples tend to be more popular here in the US :-)

If you are looking for a good baking apple, I'd consider both Rome Beauty and Gravenstein for US varieties. Both will hold their shape better than a Bramley but also make wonderful pies, baked apples, crisps and sauces. Also not much of a commercial market for either so best home grown. Granny Smith (which I detest) seems to have cornered the commercial market for bakers.

Gravenstein is also a excellent eating apple. In fact, it is my favorite apple variety and the only apple I've ever grown.

That does make sense, it just seems like if it's a good apple everybody would want it! ☺️

Thank you! I will definitely keep those varieties in mind. I’m not sure if im interested in an apple that holds its shape yet or not. I don't bake real often with apples where it would matter that much but I have all winter to think about it and change my mind!

I'm curious, what makes you detest Granny Smith? I have used them to make pies on a few occasions but I don't really have anything to compare it to since thats about all thats available for a baking apple.

"...just seems like if it's a good apple everybody would want it!"

I can promise you it is a VERY good apple. You'd be hard pushed to find a better flavour in a cooker. It is intensely appley. But it does seem also to be a very British apple. I've not seen it elsewhere in Europe. When I lived in Germany the idea of a specific cooking apple puzzled my friends. I tried to buy cooking apples and they had no idea what I meant. They would use any apple whereas I had grown up with a clear distinction between cookers and eaters. The trees are to be found in thousands of gardens and orchards here. Perhaps our temperate climate suits it. Depending on where you live in the US it might not be happy.

I’m excited about tasting them! Maybe I will be the one to make the Bramley apple tree famous in the US! 😆
I feel like possibly the lines between cooking apples and eating apples are blurred here in the US too—recipes suggesting apples like Fiji and honey crisp being good for baking. However my mom taught me differently, although about the only option from the store for baking is Granny Smith.

Honeycrisp is actually an excellent baking apple. It is just as good eaten cooked/baked as it is fresh. Gala and Braeburn are also very good dual purpose apples.

That is a nice apple! I just placed an order for a Bramley for next spring! It’s a dwarf so hopefully it won’t take too many years before it’s producing.
You know, I guess I’ve never made a pie or a crisp or anything like that with honeycrisps or galas or anything. I’ve made a salted caramel cake with those varieties before but I feel like that wouldn’t make as much difference. I will have to try using a honeycrisp for a pie and see what I think! Although I’m not a huge pie fan so maybe I’m not the best judge. 🤔

Before

After

You can see that you effectively get an apple soufflé when you bake a Bramley.

That is so interesting! Do they fall back down when they start to cool?

I just made an apple pie a couple days ago with Nothern Spies (first time using that kind of apple). I of course heaped the apples up and expected them to bake down but they remained about the same until it cooled. I don’t remember that ever happening before but maybe I just had a thick enough layer of crumbs on top that the air couldn’t escape? 🤷‍♀️

No, they don't collapse when they cool. They just wrinkle up a bit.

Can't help with the pie. I don't know that apple cultivar and I never heard of putting crumbs on top of the fruit in a pie.

" I never heard of putting crumbs on top of the fruit in a pie. "

Really? Do they not do Dutch (sometimes called French) apples pies in the UK? The top crust is replaced with a streusel topping so more like a crumble or crisp and pie combo. Cherry pies are also made this way and less frequently, berry pies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_pie#Dutch_style

Yes! and they are easier and yummier than a double crust pie in my opinion!

Ah, I see! A crumble topping. Of course. I misunderstood the word 'crumbs'. I thought you meant you put bread or cake crumbs on top of the apples and under the pastry! I couldn't see how that would work.😁

These days I don't make double crust pies. I usually make apple crumble and sometimes a French apple pie which has a pastry base and neither pastry nor crumble topping. It just has glazed sliced apples arranged in concentric circles. A Dutch pie has a crumble topping.

“Two nations divided by a common language” 🤣