On Food: Ready-made pies just cannot beat homemade

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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

On Food: Ready-made pies just cannot beat homemade

By HSIAO-CHING CHOU
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER FOOD EDITOR

Not all people who like to eat pie want to make pie from scratch. And that's OK. There are options.

Dough re, me? Yes, you too can make a luscious pie

For example, you could bake a pie that someone else -- perhaps Sara Lee or Mrs. Smith -- made. If you're asked that question: "Oh, did you bake this pie?" You could say you did and, technically, you'd be right. (If the questioning continues with "What did you use in your crust?" the answer is: shortening.)

Of course, if you have a reputation for being a non-cook, playing the semantics game won't get you far. Instead, you should buy the best of store-bought, because then you at least build on your reputation for having good taste.

In order to share an informed store- or bakery-bought list, I held several taste tests in the P-I newsroom. I didn't stack the panel with supertasters who might respond to each bite with esoteric comparisons worthy of wine snobs. I wanted honest comments from regular folks who don't taste food for a living and that's what I got.

Before I go any further, here's my disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive list. I bought pies from places relatively close to the office. The only pie I went out of my way for was from Whole Foods (more on that later).

There were three tastings. The first was with frozen take-and-bake pies from the grocery store. Second were bakery pies that have "buzz," which is to say that these were pies that I had heard good things about. Finally, the third tasting -- just for comparison -- consisted of pies I made from scratch. Overall, the store-bought pies garnered diverging comments.

Pie Tasting No. 1

Sara Lee apple pie -- (Safeway, about $5) Comments included: "The cinnamon overwhelms the apples"; "the crust stood out over the taste of the apples"; "it tasted pre-packaged, but in an acceptable way -- like the stuff you don't mind getting out of a vending machine"; "the contents remind me of a McDonald's hot apple pie, which is OK, but not the tastiest"; "it was like school lunchroom cafeteria pie ... sugar, redolent of bad oils"; "lighter, more delicate flavor, most like a true homemade apple pie (at least those I got from my mom)."
Marie Callender's Dutch apple pie -- (Safeway, about $6) Comments: "Tasted fresh"; "the crumbly topping was way too sweet, but apples were of good consistency"; "I like the cinnamony topping, but it's very sugary ... apples aren't very tart and there's not much flake in the crust"; "too crumbly, but a nice Dutch crumble flavor."
Remlinger Farms apple pie -- (Larry's, about $11) Comments: "Too sour for my taste"; "at first the tartness was nice, but then it grew and grew and grew"; "crust was good"; "apples were of good consistency and meaty sizewise"; "my favorite ... which tasted the most real ... I liked the tartness, but didn't like the flabby crust"; "something not quite right here, an 'off' flavor that doesn't work well"; "it's perfection; nice pie crust that's thin, not lardy."

Pie Tasting No. 2

Holly's Espresso & Desserts "Award-Winning" apple pie -- ($3.50/slice; $23/pie with $10 refundable pan deposit) The sign in the display case at Holly's proudly claims its house-made pie to be a winner. It's been ranked as one of the best in Seattle magazine. But, with one exception, the three slices of pie I bought didn't live up to the hype with my tasters: "Didn't want to go back for a second bite"; "crust tasted overcooked"; "some of the pre-mades were better than the Holly's pie; it seemed thin and bland"; "it's just tasty"; "it tasted like it had been in the refrigerator too long."

Holly's Espresso & Desserts, 1907 10th Ave. W.; 206-284-7144.
Dahlia Bakery Granny Smith apple pie -- ($22/pie) This was baked the same morning and had a beautiful lattice top, with sugar crystals. Comments: "Wonderful ... I really like the thick crust with the sugar crystals and that hand-pinched look"; "delicious, true-apple filling, without that sweet goo that can cloy and overpower ... but the crust was too crumbly and dry for me"; "filling was kind of tart, which was OK ... I would have preferred a filling that was midway in runniness."

Dahlia Bakery, 2001 Fourth Ave.; 206-441-4540.
Whole Foods Market "All-American" apple pie -- ($10.99/pie) This "fresh" pie had to be returned to the store because it had mold on it. I immediately called the store and, without identifying myself, warned them of the problem so they could check the other pies. The baker apologized profusely and told me to bring the pie in for a refund. In his ramblings, he revealed that the pies were given a five-day shelf life and that, obviously, they should be pulled sooner. He also revealed that the track lighting above the pies was essentially a grow light. Hmm. Not good.

Later that day, I drove back to the store to return the pie. The customer service representative immediately gave me cash back for my check card purchase and muttered something about the disadvantage of having pies made in house is that sometimes they get moldy. She was so casual in her tone that I got the sense that my moldy pie wasn't the first. Hmm. Also not good.

I went back to the bakery department to see if there were any fresh pies, because, again, I had heard the pies are good and I wanted to try one. Unfortunately, even after my earlier call, there were still moldy apple pies on the display. I did not leave the store with another apple pie.

The next call I made -- and this time, I identified myself -- was to the store manager. He returned my call and reiterated the situation with the hot track light and assured me that new lights had been ordered a week before that would solve the mold problem. He said that, regardless of the little spots of mold, the pies still tasted fine. Huh?

He also told me to give him a call the next time I wanted apple pie and he would guarantee that I got a good one. What about Joe Shopper? Does he get the same guarantee? This was not a satisfying conversation, considering how much I normally enjoy shopping at Whole Foods and appreciate the company's commitment to high-quality wholesome products.

Stuff happens, even to the best of us. While one bad apple pie shouldn't ruin the entire Whole Foods experience, it's upsetting that the problem wasn't nipped in the bud when it was first discovered.

Whole Foods Market, 1026 N.E. 64th St.; 206-985-1500.

Pie Tasting No. 3

I made the three pie recipes included with today's main story. The flavors were: sweet cherry (I used Rainiers), berry (I used strawberry and raspberry), and lemon cream cheese. Comments: "Excellent"; "to die for"; "fantastic eating real, slightly crunchy, wonderful cherries instead of those gloppy red balls in treacly red syrup"; "the cherry pie was reason to come to work today"; "your homemade stuff kicked the other pies' butts all over the place"; "wow, forget those apple pies, even the best."

I guess homemade wins.

P-I food editor Hsiao-Ching Chou can be reached at 206-448-8117 or hsiaochingchou@seattlepi.com.

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