Food...

There’s not often local food news in the dead of winter, so I’m happy to say Congratulations! to Fred Burns who recently won the 3rd Annual Michigan’s Best Apple Pie Contest on Wednesday January 25 (National Pie Day). Burns’ pie was his father’s deep-dish, double-crust version from the early 20th Century made with Michigan Northern Spry apples. Now Burns, one of only three men in the 60-person contest, is moving on to the National Pie Championship in April.

Apples are big in Michigan as they are across the U.S. According to the Michigan Apple Committee, apples are “Michigan’s most valuable fruit crop, with a value of about $100,000,000 annually.” Apples produce $400 to $500 million annually for the state, and small family farmers are the bulk of producers, “99 percent of Michigan orchards had fewer than 100 acres in apples.”

Next time you come across local apples, here’s Burns’ pie recipe (note that Pioneer Sugar and light brown sugar as well as the apples are local Michigan products):

My Father’s Apple Pie (taken from MichiganApples.com)

CRUST:
2 C flour
1/2 T PIONEER SUGAR
1 tsp. salt
1 C shortening
1/4 C cold water
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1 large egg

FILLING:
5 avg. size MICHIGAN NORTHERN SPY APPLES, peeled, sliced about 1/4” thick
1 C PIONEER SUGAR
1/3 C PIONEER GOLDEN LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
dash of salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 T tapioca
5 T butter

DIRECTIONS:
Crust – combine flour, PIONEER SUGAR and salt together in mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until coarse. In a separate bowl, combine cold water, vinegar, and egg and whip lightly, then add to flour mixture, stirring lightly with fork until it becomes a sticky dough. Refrigerate finished dough in a small covered container or plastic wrap for 2 hours or overnight.

Filling – combine all ingredients except butter and apples in a bowl. Peel and slice MICHIGAN NORTHERN SPY APPLES. Now stir the apples thoroughly into the dry ingredients to coat all the apple slices. Let mixture set for 15 to 30 minutes to develop a “juice” while you roll out the crust below.

Take about 2/3 of refrigerated dough and roll to about 13-inch in diameter. Adjust to fit the deep dish and trim edges. Combine remaining dough and roll to about 11-inch in diameter. Add filling to dish and place 8 slices of butter on top of the filling. Add upper crust, roll the edges and cut a few “steam” slits in a design of your choice. You can also add some colored sugar sprinkles to the top crust that adds some color to the pie. Create your own art piece. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduce to 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. I use an aluminum ring over the crust edge to avoid burnt edges. Cool on a wire rack for around 2 hours.

From the Kitchen of Fred Burns of Sparta, MI

Photo Credit: The Detroit Free Press article about his apple pie.