FavorFlav tests supermarket apple pies: ‘This one tastes homemade, a winner!’
The very best apple pie is, of course, baked by your mother or grandmother (or grandfather), but if they’re not nearby, you don’t have time to bake a pie yourself and your guests are already on their way, you’ll quickly grab one from the supermarket. Easy and absolutely delicious, right? It turns out to be quite disappointing, as our supermarket apple pie test reveals. ‘It looks like my dog threw up in that tin, disgusting.’
We took our supermarket apple pie test seriously. Six apple pies from six different supermarkets, all from the bakery section and not from the freezer. Four motivated FavorFlav food writers and one enthusiastic home baker, Rik, with a fork in hand and taste buds on high alert. An empty office—because, well, corona—so we could focus entirely on the pie, without distractions.
Dirt cheap
All the pies are dirt cheap, which stands out. The most expensive pies are from Jumbo and Albert Heijn, costing €4.39. You can easily cut six to eight slices from them. Add a dollop of whipped cream and you’re done. The biggest pie is from Dirk. The cheapest apple pie comes from Lidl: they’re the single-serving pies that editor-in-chief Sharon can’t stop talking about.
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- Vomar – afgeprijsd van 3,99 voor 2,59. Niet best, de taart is melig, de kleur is grauw en de smaak is prut. De verliezer van deze verkiezing.
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- Dirk – 3,99: friszoete appels, de korst is cake-achtig. Bovenkant beetje aangebrand, maar dat staat authentiek.
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- Lidl (mini-taartjes) – 0,79 per stuk. Ander soort taartje, lekker veel korst en goede vulling. Dezelfde dag opeten, dan is de korst op z’n lekkerst.
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- Jumbo – 4,19 euro. Krijg je deze taart in een café, dan denk je dat hij zelfgebakken is.
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- Albert Heijn – 4,39 euro. Beetje pips, kan nog even in de oven. Geen rozijnen (voor mensen die daar niet van houden) en een lekkere korst.
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- Plus – 4,39 euro. Ziet er mooi uit, maar hij is te zoet. De beste korst van alle taartjes.
Sick dog
First, let’s look at the pies. They all have a lattice pattern on top, except for the Dirk pie. Its top is open, and some pieces are a little dark in color—actually, just like a pie from your own oven when you started watching Netflix and didn’t hear the kitchen timer. The Albert Heijn pie is a bit pale, but if you don’t like that, you can put it in a hot oven for a few minutes.
The Vomar pie is very light in color—is it even fully baked? And the filling is brownish-gray, which brings some pretty strong associations to mind. ‘Yuck, that looks disgusting,’ says Rik. ‘Like my dog threw up in that tin.’ And when he sticks his fork into the pie, his verdict doesn’t become any kinder. ‘No structure, a soggy mess. No, this pie really isn’t tasty.’
Clean plate
The Vomar pie comes out worst in the test. Nobody likes it. ‘If I’m served this pie when visiting someone, I wouldn’t clean my plate,’ says Lauretta. ‘It’s soggy, it’s floury, it’s absolutely nothing,’ says Bo. Well, Vomar will have to make do with that. On the other hand, the Jumbo apple pie gets high marks. ‘It tastes homemade,’ says Sharon. ‘If you get this pie in a café, you’d think they baked it themselves.’ Everyone thinks this is the tastiest pie, except Rik.
He falls head over heels for the Plus pie. ‘Delicious chewy crust, with a little salt in it. The pie is sweet, but I actually like that. Winning pie, honestly,’ and he takes another piece. There you have it: Rik has spoken.
Take out the raisins
Conclusion: supermarket apple pie can actually be quite tasty, especially if you buy it at Jumbo. Plus, Albert Heijn and Dirk also do a good job: tasty apple pieces in the Dirk pie, a deliciously crispy crust from Albert Heijn and that chewy Plus crust. Don’t like raisins? Then buy the pie at Appie. And Lidl’s mini pies? A class apart, according to Sharon. A tasty little pie, according to everyone else. And dirt cheap too.
