Best Apple Pie/crumble In Chiang Mai

[cm das]

Fern Forest Cafe for good old apple pie.

aces

Is their any other fairly new browser of this fascinating resource (the Chiang Mai Forum) who is mildly irritated by all these old hands who bandy about the names of cafes and other places of interest,between themselves, without a thought for us newbies who have no idea where these places are?

Fern Forest Cafe is next to Trislip Furniture, opposite Tarnthip Court. Happy now?

Seriously, for all you newbies and old hands, from Wat Prasingh go north on Singharat Road. Pass Siam TV on the corner and take the first soi on the right. Fern Forest Cafe is about 50m down. I haven't been for a while but had some great apple pie there a few months ago.

And like others have mentioned, if you want information, why not just ask nicely? Be careful: all those unnecessary "mildly irritated" moments can add up to major unhappiness before you know it.

Peace

[Asmerom]

Yes Granny Smiths are great for making apple pies they can be purchased from Carrefour.

I'm surprised only one poster has mentioned Bramleys as the King of Apples for apple pie and crumble. It suggests that most contributors to this board are not from the UK.Otherwise the overwhelming opinion would surely be that no other apple could be considered for cooking other than Bramley. I'm really sympathetic to those whose mothers didn't have Bramleys to cook with. These unfortunate people have never known the singular delight which only Bramleys can give. Maybe just topped up with one or two Cox's to give an extra sharpness. Bramleys are the only cooking apples I know which melt. All the others keep their structure however long they're cooked, and can be a bit leathery. The French apple tarts made with Golden Delicious are best used for decoration.

[lannarebirth]

Yes Granny Smiths are great for making apple pies they can be purchased from Carrefour.

I'm surprised only one poster has mentioned Bramleys as the King of Apples for apple pie and crumble. It suggests that most contributors to this board are not from the UK.Otherwise the overwhelming opinion would surely be that no other apple could be considered for cooking other than Bramley. I'm really sympathetic to those whose mothers didn't have Bramleys to cook with. These unfortunate people have never known the singular delight which only Bramleys can give. Maybe just topped up with one or two Cox's to give an extra sharpness. Bramleys are the only cooking apples I know which melt. All the others keep their structure however long they're cooked, and can be a bit leathery. The French apple tarts made with Golden Delicious are best used for decoration.

A Bramley will not give you the tartness of a Granny Smith, and the tartness is a nice enhancement IMO. It is not surprising Brits prefer the Bramley, as the ones I know even put sugar in their iced tea.

[john b good]

Yes Granny Smiths are great for making apple pies they can be purchased from Carrefour.

I'm surprised only one poster has mentioned Bramleys as the King of Apples for apple pie and crumble. It suggests that most contributors to this board are not from the UK.Otherwise the overwhelming opinion would surely be that no other apple could be considered for cooking other than Bramley. I'm really sympathetic to those whose mothers didn't have Bramleys to cook with. These unfortunate people have never known the singular delight which only Bramleys can give. Maybe just topped up with one or two Cox's to give an extra sharpness. Bramleys are the only cooking apples I know which melt. All the others keep their structure however long they're cooked, and can be a bit leathery. The French apple tarts made with Golden Delicious are best used for decoration.

A Bramley will not give you the tartness of a Granny Smith, and the tartness is a nice enhancement IMO. It is not surprising Brits prefer the Bramley, as the ones I know even put sugar in their iced tea.

Absolutely correct!

Britain is not known as one of the great apple producing nations, and certainly not in the company of New Zealand's South Island and Tasmania for example.

American apples do not come close either.

But then if push came to shove the majority of Americans would not be able to find either NZ or Australia on the map

You see NZ and Tasmanian apples sold all over the world (places like Kuwait, Saudi, Singapore) but I have never seen any from the old dart let alone Bramleys.

Granny Smith is the one IMHO

Edited November 23, 2008 by john b good

[lannarebirth]

Yes Granny Smiths are great for making apple pies they can be purchased from Carrefour.

I'm surprised only one poster has mentioned Bramleys as the King of Apples for apple pie and crumble. It suggests that most contributors to this board are not from the UK.Otherwise the overwhelming opinion would surely be that no other apple could be considered for cooking other than Bramley. I'm really sympathetic to those whose mothers didn't have Bramleys to cook with. These unfortunate people have never known the singular delight which only Bramleys can give. Maybe just topped up with one or two Cox's to give an extra sharpness. Bramleys are the only cooking apples I know which melt. All the others keep their structure however long they're cooked, and can be a bit leathery. The French apple tarts made with Golden Delicious are best used for decoration.

A Bramley will not give you the tartness of a Granny Smith, and the tartness is a nice enhancement IMO. It is not surprising Brits prefer the Bramley, as the ones I know even put sugar in their iced tea.

Absolutely correct!

Britain is not known as one of the great apple producing nations, and certainly not in the company of New Zealand's South Island and Tasmania for example.

American apples do not come close either.

But then if push came to shove the majority of Americans would not be able to find either NZ or Australia on the map

You see NZ and Tasmanian apples sold all over the world (places like Kuwait, Saudi, Singapore) but I have never seen any from the old dart let alone Bramleys.

Granny Smith is the one IMHO

Nationalism rears its ugly head.

Have to admit I like those NZ Braeburns, and some good pears from there too, but c'mon, Washington state is apple heaven.

[tigerbalm]

Yes Granny Smiths are great for making apple pies they can be purchased from Carrefour.

I'm surprised only one poster has mentioned Bramleys as the King of Apples for apple pie and crumble. It suggests that most contributors to this board are not from the UK.Otherwise the overwhelming opinion would surely be that no other apple could be considered for cooking other than Bramley. I'm really sympathetic to those whose mothers didn't have Bramleys to cook with. These unfortunate people have never known the singular delight which only Bramleys can give. Maybe just topped up with one or two Cox's to give an extra sharpness. Bramleys are the only cooking apples I know which melt. All the others keep their structure however long they're cooked, and can be a bit leathery. The French apple tarts made with Golden Delicious are best used for decoration.

Yes yes yes i want some (Bramleys) so where in CM can we buy them?

[Ulysses G.]

Have to admit I like those NZ Braeburns, and some good pears from there too, but c'mon, Washington state is apple heaven.

I used to love traveling through the mountains of New England trying all the different types of fresh apple cider that they sold in wooden stands along the roads.

[butterisbetter]

I, of course, am partial to my wife's apple pie. Maybe that's because she learned from my mother who is now 83 and still going strong. Her crusts are made using just butter, no margarine or other vegetable shortening. It's not easy to do, especially in this climate. Because if the butter melts before baking, the dough is useless. At any rate, Rim Ping likes her stuff so much that they have given her stands at Mae Jok and Narawat. Butter is Better is the name of her company. You can try free samples of pie there, although the pies do tend to disappear more and more quickly as they get better known.

She does use granny smith which is an excellent apple for pies being tart, firm, and resistant to browning. It would be nice to use other varieties suitable for pie making, but Thais and most Asians tend to prefer apples that are sweet and low in acid. So we, at least, are grateful that Granny Smith are almost always in supply.

[Steve2UK]

Britain is not known as one of the great apple producing nations

I'm almost tempted to pay for your flight to Heathrow and a visit to Kent, Somerset - and maybe Worcestershire on the way between the two............. Maybe about 200 apple varieties? Sadly only about a dozen to choose from in most UK supermarkets.........

Edited November 24, 2008 by Steve2UK

[cmsally]

Britain is not known as one of the great apple producing nations

I'm almost tempted to pay for your flight to Heathrow and a visit to Kent, Somerset - and maybe Worcestershire on the way between the two............. Maybe about 200 apple varieties? Sadly only about a dozen to choose from in most UK supermarkets.........

Well obviously no one bothered to click on the link I provided so here it is again:

UK National Fruit Collection

Only 1882 varieties !!! and I presume there are some that they haven't got in their collection.

There are still a lot of people in UK concentrating on quality and variety over quantity. That goes for a lot of aspects throughout farming including rare breed stock etc as well as fruit and other agricultural produce.

[Steve2UK]

Britain is not known as one of the great apple producing nations

I'm almost tempted to pay for your flight to Heathrow and a visit to Kent, Somerset - and maybe Worcestershire on the way between the two............. Maybe about 200 apple varieties? Sadly only about a dozen to choose from in most UK supermarkets.........

Well obviously no one bothered to click on the link I provided so here it is again:

UK National Fruit Collection

Only 1882 varieties !!! and I presume there are some that they haven't got in their collection.

There are still a lot of people in UK concentrating on quality and variety over quantity. That goes for a lot of aspects throughout farming including rare breed stock etc as well as fruit and other agricultural produce.

I was guestimating commercially-grown varieties rather than "specimens" - but I should also apologise for having missed your link

French Golden Delicious, anyone?

[cmsally]

French Golden Delicious, anyone? sick.gif

No thanks I'll pass.

[butterisbetter]

French Golden Delicious, anyone? sick.gif

No thanks I'll pass.

As a raw eating apple, i find any kind of Golden Delicious insipid and even unpleasant. But Golden Delicious are actually very good in a classic French tarte aux pommes. Possibly even de riguer

[Ulysses G.]

I don't like raw Golden Delicious apples either, but maybe if you put enough brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter with them in a pie, they might be edible.

[Asmerom]

I don't like raw Golden Delicious apples either, but maybe if you put enough brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter with them in a pie, they might be edible.

I suggest you are missing the point about Golden Delicious cooked in a "Tarte au Pomme". They're not meant to be eaten, their sole raison d'etre is to furnish the local French Patisserie window and survive the baking heat of an intense afternoon's sun still looking gorgeous. They're impregnable. To eat them you'd need an axe. Decoration only.

[Ulysses G.]

My mother was an amazing cook which is why I was able to appreciate the fantastic food in San Francisco when I moved there. She used to say that French deserts look great, but are not very tasty and I've mostly found that to be true.

[Asmerom]

My mother was an amazing cook which is why I was able to appreciate the fantastic food in San Francisco when I moved there. She used to say that French deserts look great, but are not very tasty and I've mostly found that to be true.

Your mother was clearly a woman of taste and discrimination, able to see through appearances to the reality and I'm sure those admirable qualities have successfully passed down the line.

[Ulysses G.]

Gee thanks!

[realthaideal]

"Nationalism rears its ugly head."

Indeed. Oh my.... 'My country's apples can kick your country's apples a$$ any day, etc....' Tisk Tisk.

Anyway, I dropped by Butter Is Better's Factory to spy on the production and got myself a slice or two of the apple pie just the other day. Good stuff. Perfect balance of tartness, sweetness, smoothness, juiciness. I'm a frequent purchaser and a fan. They say that often in Rimping the Thais take samples at will, but Farang hesitate and stare from a distance as they feel guilty like they have to then make a purchase. I say try and judge for yourself. And enjoy some free food !

And I'll tell you what else is interesting over at BBB, they have Rice Pudding and Pumpkin Pie too. The rice pudding is a little more Brittish, I'd say. But what do I know ? (I think an Amer version would have raisins and cinnamon, but theirs doesn't.) It's creamy - real rich cream flavor - and fun to eat slowly, it's so thick. Then with the Thanksgiving and other holidays coming, they've been making a ton of Pumpkin Pies, and they are great. Apparently the Thais have really taken to them. Me too; I look fwd to eating/ sharing one with friends on Thurs night. I hope they're sampling these too. I forgot to ask.

Any other great pumpkin pies out there around town? Not decent, but Great....

[Rasseru]

Ah hah, reading this now I know why the last 2 times I have been to Love at FB.. they have been out of rhubarb pie!!

In future please leave 2 pieces for me !!!!

Tried today to leave two pieces as you requested, but had no luck. Not because we found we were unable to restrain ourselves from consuming all the rhubarb pie they had, but rather for a reason that suggests the lesson you thought you learned from reading all this was possibly mistaken. The rhubarb pie is, as indicated on the menu, seasonal, and now is not, we were told, rhubarb season. We shall evidently all have to wait another month or two (they were not precise) to satisfy our rhubarb pie cravings.

Edited November 25, 2008 by Rasseru

[cmsally]

Maybe a business opp. here; maybe I should resurrect my rusty rhubarb growing skills.

[lannarebirth]

The Kings Project at Doi Ang Khang grows rhubarb. They make a delicious stewed rhubarb and yoghurt dessert with it there. I'm not sure if it's available in commercial quantities.

[wimpy]

Just tried Butter is Better apple pie today. Very nice pie. Highly recommended.

[Asmerom]

Just tried Butter is Better apple pie today. Very nice pie. Highly recommended.

And did you buy it at a stand within Rimping Supermarket?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Maybe a business opp. here; maybe I should resurrect my rusty rhubarb growing skills.

Doi Kham stores sell it.

(When they have a supply)

Edited December 2, 2008 by WinnieTheKhwai

[adjan jb]

My mother was an amazing cook which is why I was able to appreciate the fantastic food in San Francisco when I moved there. She used to say that French deserts look great, but are not very tasty and I've mostly found that to be true.

What a family !

Edited December 2, 2008 by adjan jb

[wimpy]

Just tried Butter is Better apple pie today. Very nice pie. Highly recommended.

And did you buy it at a stand within Rimping Supermarket?

Yes I did.

[chiangmaibruce]

Ginger Cafe has apple blackberry crumble for 120 baht with high class vanilla "sauce".

Plus a 10% service charge - but gee, it was pretty darn good