# Are There Fruits That Don't Make Good Pies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244 "2009-11-28T16:23:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/1 "2009-11-28T16:23:19Z")
Last night I went shopping and the grocer had a sale on all the pies from Thanksgiving they were trying to unload. They had pumpkin, sweet potato, apple, cherry, blueberry, peach, etc etc I then wondered “Hmm…I’ve never seen nor hear of a ‘Pear pie’.” Of course when I got home I Google’d it and about thousand recipes for pear pie came up. But it got me wondering, “how come you never hear of a pear pie?” It exists. So is it that pears just don’t make good filling? Or what? So my question is are there some fruits that don’t make good pie fillings. I like pears a lot, much better than apples. For the purposes of this question, please feel free to fill in other things that taste good but don’t make good pie filling, even if they aren’t fruits. (For example, sweet potatoes aren’t fruit, but I’d throw it in here, if they didn’t make a good filling.) And if they don’t make good fillings, why not? Is it they just don’t stand up well to heat or whatever the reason. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/2 "2009-11-28T16:29:23Z")
Oranges. I’ve never heard of anyone making an orange pie. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/3 "2009-11-28T16:31:01Z")
I can’t recall ever hearing of or seeing a pineapple pie, but I google searched and…yup, there it is. Edit: I’ve never heard of an orange pie, but you could easily make something very similar to a lemon meringue or ley lime pie. What about grapefruit, though? It would make one VERY bitter pie, even after you added a lot of sugar. I don’t know if it’d work like the other citrus fruits. Oooh, has anyone ever made a kiwifruit pie? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/4 "2009-11-28T16:31:24Z")
Cantaloupe, watermelon – al the melons, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/5 "2009-11-28T16:36:55Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I > Edit: I’ve never heard of an orange pie, but you could easily make something very similar to a lemon meringue or ley lime pie. I’m not much of a cook, but a lemon meringue pie isn’t really hard to make. And yes I have used an orange in place of a lemon and it worked. I didn’t care for the taste. It was too sweet, but an orange meringue pie is do-able ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/6 "2009-11-28T16:38:24Z")
I’ve heard of Shaker Lemon pie, which is made of whole lemons sliced thin, but never any other pie made with the whole citrus fruit (I’m not counting pie which uses only the juices, like lemon meringue, Key Lime, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/7 "2009-11-28T16:43:05Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > But it got me wondering, “how come you never hear of a pear pie?” It exists. So is it that pears just don’t make good filling? Or what? Pears don’t have much character. Their flavor is like apple-lite. My Aunt Martha used to make great orange meringue pies. It was from an orange tree in her back yard that made the sourest oranges ever, but still. I think **twickster** has the motherlode of non-piable fruits - melons. Or, if you want to get pedantic about it - a lot of the fruits that people think of as vegetables - tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers. I guess squash makes good pie (especially pumpkin). ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/8 "2009-11-28T17:06:02Z")
I bet pomegranate wouldn’t work well. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/9 "2009-11-28T17:12:35Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Or, if you want to get pedantic about it - a lot of the fruits that people think of as vegetables - tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers. I guess squash makes good pie (especially pumpkin). I’d eat a cucumber pie. I would not eat a grape pie, however. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/10 "2009-11-28T17:18:47Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > But it got me wondering, “how come you never hear of a pear pie?” It exists. So is it that pears just don’t make good filling? Or what? I guess it’s not _that_ popular, but pear pie was the featured pie at my SO’s Thanksgiving this weekend, and I’ve made it myself before, too. I actually prefer pears to apples–never been much for apples. I think a grape pie would work splendidly, too, depending on the grape, although I’ve never seen such a thing. If you could do pies out of currants and berries, why not grapes that have that sort of character, like Concords? Orange is the first thing I thought of when I read the title. But, as has been mentioned, I didn’t think of it in the context of a meringue or even custard. Although I’ve never had it that way, I can’t see why it wouldn’t work, either. After further review, I think pretty much any fruit can be made into a decent pie. Even the melons. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/11 "2009-11-28T17:20:11Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I would not eat a grape pie, however. Doesn’t [this](http://livingindryden.org/images/home/grapePie09292007B.jpg) look delicious to you? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/12 "2009-11-28T17:50:06Z")
I don’t really like grape anything other than the fruits themselves, and their juice. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/13 "2009-11-28T18:03:13Z")
There are open-faced orange pies made in France and Belgium. Their pear pies are also open faced. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/14 "2009-11-28T18:24:27Z")
Depends on if the fruit is cooked or not. Sliced fresh fruit can be folded into creams, custards, puddings, etc. as sort of a flavor accent. Concord grape pie is considered a real delicacy around here since ‘here’ is near wine country, and I don’t have a recipe, but it’s labor intensive to make a grape pie, you don’t just bung them into a piecrust. … The trouble with pear pie is, the pears get cooked and end up tasting just like…canned pears. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/15 "2009-11-28T18:53:15Z")
[Green tomato pie](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pey6JACTIeM/SsPxcg5IAnI/AAAAAAAAAvU/ZmtETtYLpaw/s400/Tomato+harvest+9-09+007.JPG) is basically apple pie made with green tomatoes instead. Which makes me suspect that pie is just a sugar & spice delivery platform, regardless of the filling. I have to agree with Garrison Keillor’s observation that the best pumkin pie you ever had wasn’t that much better than the worst one you ever had. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/16 "2009-11-28T19:08:06Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I’d eat a cucumber pie. > > I would not eat a grape pie, however. You haven’t had a mincemeat pie? A lot of them are made with raisins. Using real meat is old school. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/17 "2009-11-28T19:15:30Z")
Nope. I’ve never had mincemeat. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/18 "2009-11-28T19:39:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Doesn’t [this](http://livingindryden.org/images/home/grapePie09292007B.jpg) look delicious to you? It does; Korean dark grapes taste a bit like blueberries and might make a delicious pie. White grapes, not so much. There are pies with raisins in them, though, like mince pie and apple raisin pie. I see the prior two posts mention mince pie… ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/19 "2009-11-28T20:16:26Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I would not eat a grape pie, however. Raison pie is one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/20 "2009-11-28T20:33:47Z")
**Twickster** beat me to it, but my first thought when I read the thread title was “watermelon”. Any of the melons are much too high in water content to make a useful pie filling with. I have made wonderful pear pies when I host Thanksgiving dinner for my in-laws, as my FIL does not like either pumpkin _or_ apple pie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244.md?page=2)