# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/41 "2009-11-30T00:42:54Z")
Nitpick: Grapefruit is about the most un-bitter food you can find. Sour and bitter are not only not synonyms, they’re exact opposites. And I’ve eaten vinegar pie. I don’t remember at all what it tasted like, but it wasn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/42 "2009-11-30T00:44:37Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Oranges. I’ve never heard of anyone making an orange pie. I entered an orange pie in a pillsbury bakeoff about 12 years ago. A nice orange cream base, with prettily arranged oranges on top, flavoring augment was a touch of cloves [very light, it is easy for cloves to get really overpowering] in the orange cream. Actually very nice, and not at all like a key lime sort of pie, or lemon meringue pie either. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/43 "2009-11-30T03:01:36Z")
Here’s [another cantaloupe pie recipe](http://www.recipezaar.com/Cantaloupe-Pie-27356). This one is cream-cheese based. ---
**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 30, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/44 "2009-11-30T03:16:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nitpick: Grapefruit is about the most un-bitter food you can find. Sour and bitter are not only not synonyms, they’re exact opposites. Really? Depends on the grapefruit, but some of the commercial yellow varieties are a mix of bitter, sour, and sweet. But definitely bitter. And I love bitter, which is why I prefer the yellow varieties of grapefruit more than the sweet-sour Ruby Reds, for instance. Describing grapefruit as the most “un-bitter” food is puzzling to me. edit: Apparently, [naringin](http://discovermagazine.com/2005/mar/biology-of-bitterness) is the compound responsible for grapefruit’s bitter bite. I’m also unsure how bitter is the opposite of sour. I don’t see how any of the tastes are opposites of the other. How does one qualitatively determine this? Like why isn’t sweet the opposite of sour? Or salty ---
**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 30, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/45 "2009-11-30T03:27:01Z")
I should amend the above to say that it’s not that Ruby Reds aren’t bitter (they definitely have a bitter component to them), it’s just not as forward a flavor as in the yellow types of grapefruit. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/46 "2009-11-30T05:10:23Z")
I made Alton Brown’s pear/cranberry pie this year and it was pretty much the best pie I ever had. It was extremely time intensive (as Alton’s recipes tend to be) but definitely worth it. His super apple pie was pretty awesome as well. ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/47 "2009-11-30T14:35:01Z")
> [@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 have made savory pies from ripe tomatoes, and they were really good. Tomato, fresh basil, shredded cheese, with a mayonnaise dressing. . . divine! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/48 "2009-11-30T15:57:20Z")
Both are defined as fruits (botanically)-so why not? Avocado pie sounds disgusting, however. Are jujubes fruits? ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/49 "2009-12-02T21:32:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m also unsure how bitter is the opposite of sour. I don’t see how any of the tastes are opposites of the other. How does one qualitatively determine this? Like why isn’t sweet the opposite of sour? Or salty I think that was said because alkali things taste bitter, and acidic things taste sour. Alkali and acidic are opposites of the Ph scale. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/50 "2009-12-02T21:37:59Z")
Prune pie? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/51 "2009-12-02T21:41:16Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Cantaloupe, watermelon – al the melons, actually. I’ve had watermelon pie and it was pretty good. It was actually watermelon gellatin, instead of the fruit straight up. I don’t think it would work so well if you baked watermelon. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244/52 "2009-12-02T21:50:41Z")
If you haven’t had a concord grape pie, you’re missing out. I’ve never served one to someone who didn’t love it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-fruits-that-dont-make-good-pies/519244.md?page=2)