Thanksgiving is right around the corner, meaning it’s almost time for the one holiday a year where it’s universally accepted — nay, required — that multiple desserts must be served.
If you’re tasked with preparing the turkey and every last one of the fixins’, preparing two or three kinds of pie on top of that can be a burden. There’s only so much oven room, after all.
You are viewing: Who Makes The Best Pecan Pie
Don’t’ want to cook? No problem! 28 dine-in and takeout Thanksgiving meals to enjoy around Fayetteville
Swinging by a local supermarket and picking up a pie or two is an appealing, easy option. But which supermarket pie is best? Despite eating copious amounts of turkey and carb-laden side dishes, people always manage to save room for dessert. And you only want to serve the best to your guests, right?
We picked up pecan pies from all the major supermarkets in Fayetteville, North Carolina, as well as a pair of widely available frozen pies offered at stores across the country, and judged them to find which pie is most worthy for a place on your Thanksgiving table.
More:What hours are grocery stores in the Fayetteville area open Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day?
8. Marie Callender’s
Price: $5.97 for a 32-ounce pie.
One of the two nationally available frozen pies, this pie just needs to be thawed and served. The dark color and generous layer of pecans on top of the pie gave promising first glances, but they proved to be mirages. The pie lacked the caramelized, brown sugar flavor I was looking for and instead tasted mostly of sweetness with little else. A few halved pecans on the surface of the pie were promising, but the majority of the pecans were small, chopped pieces, which detracted from the texture.
7. Edwards
Read more : Who To Start Week 11 Ppr
Price: $6.98 for a 32-ounce pie
Man, talk about a bamboozlement. Based on the packaging, the filling looks so bright and orange that one could confuse it with a pumpkin or sweet potato pie at first glance. But thaw it out and cut into it and you’ll find nothing but pale filling that’s bland. What flavor it does have is unmistakably artificial. This pie touts its caramelized pecan topping and true enough, these halved pecans are well-toasted. The quality of the nut topping is what keeps this pie out of last place.
More:We tried 6 types of supermarket North Carolina pork barbecue, and the winner is clear
6. Harris Teeter
Price: $5.99 for a 19-ounce pie.
Weighing in at just 19-ounces for a whole pie, this Harris Teeter offering was small. Unfortunately, what it lacked in quantity was not made up for in quality. The pale beige color of the filling looked bland. The first bite proved those suspicions to be true. The filling tasted very sweet and sort of doughy, with little else going on. The halved pecans on top were nice to see and tasted good, but couldn’t do enough to carry the pie on their own.
5. Publix
Price: $7.99 for a 26-ounce pie.
This pie had similar detractors, namely an ultra-pale crust that was far too crumbly, shattering into crumbs immediately upon cutting a slice. The pecans were pale, with a slightly raw taste. Like the Harris Teeter pie, the filling was quite light. Some folks might prefer a lighter pie, but not me. It’s inoffensive, but that’s because it’s impossible to be offended by a flavor that isn’t there.
More:What does the Fayetteville dining scene need? Here are 7 suggestions
4. Walmart
Is this pie going to blow you away? No. But if you’re picking up a quick dessert alongside the folding table and chairs you need after finding out the cousins with a penchant for telling ill-timed off-color jokes decided they’d be a last-minute addition to the dinner table, then this checks all the boxes. The filling was a medium caramel color, with a pronounced nutty flavor. The crust was much too dry, but that was the only big problem with this pie. Overall, a solid choice.
3. Food Lion
Read more : Who Owns Herbal Essences
A surprisingly high finish by Food Lion, thanks largely to its willingness to let the baked goods bake. The crust was the darkest of any of the eight pies. Some might call it too well done, but I appreciated the toasted flavor. Perhaps thanks to that extra time in the oven, the filling was far more set and sturdy than some of the lower-ranked pies, which had looser consistencies. The only downside was a couple of the pecans on top of the pie were scorched and had a bitter, astringent taste. The few affected were easily removed, but it’s proof that when you play with fire, or in this case, commercial ovens, you can get burned.
More:Before and after: Take a trip through time at some of Fayetteville’s most recognizable restaurants
2. Sprouts Farmers Market
Price: $5.99 for a 22-ounce pie.
Leave it to the Arizona-based supermarket to be home to one of the best Southern pecan pies here. The filling was a deep caramel color, with flavors of molasses and dark corn syrup. Like the Food Lion pie, the filling in the Sprouts pie was firm. The pecans, mostly halves, were in ample supply and contributed a great amount of flavor to the pie. While it wasn’t the top pick, at $5.99, this pie was easily the best buy of the bunch.
1. The Fresh Market
Price: $7.49 for a 13-ounce half pie ($12.99 for a 25-ounce whole pie)
That’s because the pecan pie from The Fresh Market, while the best of the eight competing pies, is also twice the price of the Sprouts pie. The Fresh Market pie had the smoothest filling of all the pies, with deep flavors of caramel and brown sugar. There was also a slight smoky taste that had me looking through the ingredients list to see if there was any whiskey in this pie. (Don’t worry ABC, there isn’t any.)
I docked a few points due to the pecans not being evenly distributed across the pie, though someone wearing rose-colored glasses might say that imperfection gives the pie a homemade look and fits the Thanksgiving mood. It’s an excellent pie, especially if you’re quick enough to grab a piece with the most pecans. The main question you have to decide is whether it’s worth a sizeable chunk of extra change.
Jacob Pucci writes on food, restaurants and business. Contact him by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @jacobpucci or on Facebook. Like talking food? Join our Fayetteville Foodies Facebook group.
Support local journalism with a subscription to The Fayetteville Observer. Click the “subscribe” link at the top of this article.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHO
