What's the difference between a Pie and a Tart?

I've always thought a tart is much shallower than a pie, the pastry shell being about an inch or so in height, encasing an open faced filling, which is baked in a tart pan/ring. A pie is baked in a pie tin or sometimes a deeper dish, holds a lot more filling of either fruit/cream/custard and is baked with a top crust or crumb topping.

 

When I go through and think about as many pies and tarts as I can... the type of crust, the type of filling, if theirs a top crust or not, crumb topping, etc... through all the savory items I can think of called a pie or a tart...it seems to me it's only in the height of the items and the pan it's baked in or not that determines the name.

I can't think of of pie baked with-out a dish/container/pie plate. But a tart might be in a tart pan or with-out a pan making it thinner in height compared to a pie.

 

A pie can be open-faced or double crusted, and so can a tart. There are sweet and savory versions of both. The only apparent difference is that is pie is baked in a pie plate, and a tart in a tart ring, or without a pan at all.

 

How come this seems so familiar Kimmie?

I'll answer you with help from the entartistes, in English the guys who throw cream tart in the face of people.

Now you'll notice those people throw tarts not pies. Why? because one cream tart are easier to make and two, a two crusts pie wouldn't have the same splash. So to answer you a tart has only a bottom crust and a pie has two.

 

I just watched Jacques Pepin make a rustic apple tart on PBS yesterday (I'd seen it before). It was pate brise rolled out, filled with sliced apples and dried currants mixed with sugar, then drizzled with apricot glaze and baked. He simply folded the edges of the pastry up and over the edge about 1.5 inches- no cutting, no waste. It looked very easy and quite delicious.

What's your favorite pie or tart? I simply can't choose from pumpkin, tart tartin, fresh fruit w/ pastry cream, pecan/chocolate with bourbon (my SIL's recipe), mince meat.... Sorry, I'm drooling and must stop.

 

If I can only choose one I'll say pear and almond tart or just almond tart. It's been my favourite since I was a kid. I did have a black forest cake period. I the end I came back to my first tart love.

 

I just took a class in this last week....
Pie can be topless...pecan or chess
The tart crust we made had an egg in the crust and was less flakey....able to be eaten out of hand.
Fun class Ann Schlafly in St. Louis did a class for the Culinary group I belong to...she owns a cooking store with classes and has a video tape out on pie making.
YUMMMMMM peach and grape pie, fruit tart adn vanilla ice cream for dinner.

 

I can't answer you Mezzaluna. I (unforunately) am oppinionated on everything (miss know it all), but "my favorite" when it comes to any desserts is so hard to deside. I have favorite recipes for each item, but to pick one item over another leaves me quite like a novice.

Hope you all don't mind if I go off on a brief tangent here: When interviewing for a pastry position what's your answer when the interviewer asks you "What's your favorite or best dessert?"


I so dread that question.......I always throw it back on them because I think the answer is whatever the customer prefers is my best dessert. I had several people look at me cross eyed and dumbfounded by that answer as if I was being difficult (last time I was inbetween jobs interviewing). So I'm thinking about answers again (since I'm between jobs again). How do you like to answer that question at a interview?

 

W.,
This would be a good topic for a new thread. I'll think of my answer, in the meantime...