Grape pies

It's almost grape pie season.

For the uninitiated, the Rochester, NY area (Naples, NY) is somewhat renowned for its seasonal grape pies -- which are purple grape pies, by the way. In fact, the Food Network did a piece on Monica's Pies last year; Monica is considered by many to be the queen of grape pies.

Truth be told, despite the locals who rave about them, I personally don't consider them great pies by any means. I consider them slightly high-end junk food; to me, they taste like high-quality concord grape Pop Tarts. Other people, however, are much bigger fans. Regardless, they're served at roadside stands, and truly are road food. I mail order a couple of pies every year out of habit. To be fair, perhaps they suffer a bit in shipping.

Monica can be found at www.monicaspies.com. There are certainly other bakers of grape pies. I just don't know who they are.

I thought of all of this last night while watching a repeat of Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which Larry David lamented the fact that there's no such thing as a grape pie. Actually, there is.

Tonight the Food Network ran the show that had Monica's grape pies.....my husband says his Czech grandma made them and they were great. I don't know........they don't look too inspiring.

Thank you Phil!! I saw that program last night that lleechef mentioned above, and since I had read your post yesterday, it immediately connected. I ordered the "pie kit" today.

Bushie, let me know how it is, I'm really interested......the crust is made by a 80-something old matriarch and the filling looks like blueberries. Does it taste like Welch's grape jelly pie or what? Please advise! and good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

Bushie, let me know how it is, I'm really interested......the crust is made by a 80-something old matriarch and the filling looks like blueberries. Does it taste like Welch's grape jelly pie or what? Please advise! and good luck!

I'll let you know. I'm really curious myself. I opted for the "kit", so I'll be baking the pie here. I thought having a fresh pie shipped down to Texas might not be a great idea, but I hope I made the right choice.

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

Bushie, let me know how it is, I'm really interested......the crust is made by a 80-something old matriarch and the filling looks like blueberries. Does it taste like Welch's grape jelly pie or what? Please advise! and good luck!

To me, it tastes JUST like Welch's grape jelly. My wife always jokes we should eat it with peanut butter.

I didn't realize there was a pie-baking kit. I've always just bought the pies directly from Monica. The crust happens to be very good, in my opinion.

Ok, I received my "pie kit" the week before last, and finally made it yesterday. I wasn't expecting too much after reading the posts subsequent to my "order".

The crust mix was rather fool-proof; even I was able to make a good crust with it. I'm certain it wasn't anywhere close to Monica's mother's crust, but it came out better than mine usually does (I'm not much of a baker).

I tasted the filling before baking, and I immediately thought, "grape jelly". I didn't say that to my wife but offered her a taste. She said, "grape jelly".

After baking the pie, though, the flavor seemed a little better. Probably because of the crust. I also served it with a big scoop of Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream.

All-in-all, it was OK. If I am ever in the Finger Lakes region, I'll stop in and buy one made by them. I doubt I'll order one shipped, but I'm glad I tried it.

Bushie, I have to admire your sense of adventure. When I first read about the grape pie, I sort of brushed it off. I would never have proceeded as far as you did.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Bushie,
Coming back up I-44 from Rolla,MO last week we saw a number of Grape centered Fruit stands in Missouri (the 200 milepost area) Many of them had signs for grape pies as well as juice -jelly etc.
We stopped at one near Cuba and bought a grape pie. Rather than carry it all the way home we consumed it on the spot....bad choice-- It was indeed Grape Jelly flavored and not much in the "chunks of fruit" area. I'll pass on the next offer, thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

Bushie,
Coming back up I-44 from Rolla,MO last week we saw a number of Grape centered Fruit stands in Missouri (the 200 milepost area) Many of them had signs for grape pies as well as juice -jelly etc.
We stopped at one near Cuba and bought a grape pie. Rather than carry it all the way home we consumed it on the spot....bad choice-- It was indeed Grape Jelly flavored and not much in the "chunks of fruit" area. I'll pass on the next offer, thank you.

Wow.........if my late husband could read this, he would turn over in
his grave! He and his buddies considered grape pie a wonderful once
a year treat. I am glad that I no longer live in New York State as
that I still would have to make them.........they are more time consuming than any other pie on earth. I imagine the pie that you ate did not have enough grapes and too much sweet filler. A good grape pie is a work of art. You really must use Concord grapes to have a pie with the "just right" flavor. They are not my favorite and maybe many men like them because they know how much work is involved!

Thanks, Sundancer. I figure if I wasn't spending money trying new foods, I'd just waste it on shoes for the kids.

Mr. Mayor, like you, I was expecting a "chunkier" filling.

I also think this is something young kids might like.

It seems that most of you pretty much agree with my take on the grape pie experience. My many friends in the Rochester area swear by them, but I've had what they consider to be the best, and remain underwhelmed. I've bought them kind of for the rarity and humor of it, but might end the two-year tradition this year. Naturally, everything's a matter of taste, but for me it simply can't compare it to a high-caliber apple or blueberry pie.

quote:

Originally posted by Phil J.

...but for me it simply can't compare it to a high-caliber apple or blueberry pie.

...or a strawberry-rhubarb pie, or a blackberry pie, or a cherry pie, or ...