Tiny Luxury Pies in Jars

Published on Thursday, December 23, 2010, by James Norton / Edit Post

All Jarred Up Pies

All Jarred Up Pies

I Paid: $7 to $8 per 8-ounce Mason jar, plus shipping (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 5 stars

Marketing: 5 stars

Adorable as the dickens, and expensive as hell. That's the initial impression of the single-serving pies-in-a-jar sold on Etsy by Los Angeles–based All Jarred Up Pies, Inc.

All Jarred Up does a whole range of Mason jar–packaged desserts including banana bread and cookies, but it's the tiny pies that really beckon. They're so dang ... small. And cute. And intriguingly flavored—who's making grape pies these days, anyway?

The price, as earlier noted, is commensurate with the cute factor. We ordered two pies (each of which would make a hearty dessert for one or a light dessert for two). Total price, with shipping, was $27. Zowie.

For that price, you'd expect these to be the world's best commercial pies. And they're right up there. The pecan pie is one of the best I've tasted: not cloyingly sweet, featuring a beautiful roastiness to the nuts and nice rumlike brown sugar undertones. The grape pie was also excellent, with two types of grapes ("red and black" per the website), a nice crisp pop to the fruit, and a great balance of sweet and spiced. The crust on both was very good: buttery but crisp, substantial but not overpowering the filling.

You'd better really be willing to splurge when you buy these things as a gift, but if you do buy them, rest assured that you splurged well.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |10 Comments

COMMENT

  • These didn't speak to me at all.

  • Why not make them yourself? http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/piesbakedintinyjars/

  • I doubt if you should worry about botulism from this product. The risk of botulism requires three things:
    --low acid environment
    --presence of C. botulinum spore
    --ANAEROBIC conditions, i.e. no air.

    The botulism problem only applies to home canned goods that are sealed and then boiled in a water bath canner, which drives out enough of the oxygen to allow botulism to grow IF the pH is above...+READ

    I doubt if you should worry about botulism from this product. The risk of botulism requires three things:
    --low acid environment
    --presence of C. botulinum spore
    --ANAEROBIC conditions, i.e. no air.

    The botulism problem only applies to home canned goods that are sealed and then boiled in a water bath canner, which drives out enough of the oxygen to allow botulism to grow IF the pH is above 4.6.

    I'm sure these pies are baked, cooled, then covered with the lid, not boiled in the jar. The manufacturer would have to cool them first or you'd receive a jar of mush in the mail.-COLLAPSE

  • well, they probably aren't baked in jars as a way to preserve them, just as a cute and crush-proof way to package and ship with no trash generated. most people would re-use a mason jar. and this is likely included in their prices. them jars ain't cheap! maybe they offer a rebate when you ship the jars back?

  • In the 90's I lived in North Carolina and commercially baked out of my home kitchen, which was allowed. Having the kitchen inspected by the Dept of Agriculture was optional...I asked to be inspected. Aside from the fresh baked goods I was also selling cake baked in Mason jars.

    He warned me about the botulism problem, as correctly stated by webberia, and I destroyed my entire stock. It has...+READ

    In the 90's I lived in North Carolina and commercially baked out of my home kitchen, which was allowed. Having the kitchen inspected by the Dept of Agriculture was optional...I asked to be inspected. Aside from the fresh baked goods I was also selling cake baked in Mason jars.

    He warned me about the botulism problem, as correctly stated by webberia, and I destroyed my entire stock. It has nothing to do with manufacture in a commercial kitchen.-COLLAPSE

  • Super cute yes, but super unsafe. Only items with high acid contents should be jarred, for botulism and other food born germs love the warm and moist conditions that this product could produce. Unless of course they're using a ton of preservatives...

  • If your state requires it, you can usually rent time in a commercial kitchen at a church/temple, public school, or commissary.

  • Re: veggietestkitchen - lots of states, included VA where I live, do not require that products sold in farmer's markets or craft shows, etc, be prepared in commercial kitchens.

  • i wonder if the people who sell food on etsy make their food in commercial kitchens. it seems like a place where people would fly under the radar.

  • 8 bucks for 1 mason jar? you got ripped off lol