Apple Pie

I am a big James Beard fan, and he has always maintained that apple pie does not need cinnamon in order to taste good. He much prefers a filling made with apples & sugar only, no cinnamon needed. I am going to make a pie this weekend & want to test his theory. I will use farm apples, some Arkansas Blacks and one other red variety. Has anyone out there tried this before, an apple pie without cinnamon? Looking for some feedback.

I actually like a little Allspice. IMHO, most people are used to the flavor that Cinnamon gives to baked apples and you would definitely notice if you didn't put something like that in your pie. I think the flavor might be a little flat with just sweetened apples. I would use brown sugar if that was the route that you are going to take.

Dan, thanks for the info. I think I agree with you. I went home for lunch & pulled all of my James Beard cookbooks, and all of the apple pie recipes called for cinnamon. I can't remember where I read the story about him not being a fan of cinnamon, I know I read it somewhere, but cannot find it. For now I will stick with the tried & true basics.