Organic vs. Non-Organic Apple Pies

I decided to bake two pies, one using only organic ingredients, and the other using non-organic ingredients, from the exact same recipe and compare the results. 

The recipe I chose is the one on the side of the red Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust box:

INGREDIENTS:

         Crust:

1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened

          Filling: 

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (6 medium)

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

I used organic Granny Smiths, an organic lemon, organic sugar and a refrigerated, pre-made organic pie crust for the organic pie. (I would say this constitutes at least 70% of the ingredients of the pie, if not 95%, and so my pie would be certifiably organic!)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Press firmly against side and bottom. 

2. In a large bowl, gently mix filling ingredients; spoon into crust-lined pie plate. Top with second crust. 

3. Wrap excess top crust under bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal. Cut slits of shapes in several places in top crust.
4. Bake 40-45 minutes until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Let cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving. 

While I was peeling the apples I noted a few interesting differences between the raw apples. The non-organic apples were much smaller than the organic ones, which was surprising to me. I would have thought that the non-organic ones would have been bigger, due to genetic engineering or some other unnatural manipulation. The non-organic apples were much shinier (most likely as a result of wax on the skin) and also had a much more even color, while the organic apples had spots of different shades of green. 


When I had my friends and family taste test the raw apples there was a distinct difference between the taste and texture of the two:

 I also noticed, as I was peeling and slicing, that the non-organic apples turned brown much quicker than the organic apples, which was also surprising. I would think there would be more preservatives on the non-organic apples. Even after I squirted lemon juice onto the non-organic apples, however, they continued to brown more quickly than the organic ones.

These are the non-organic apples, which are browning at their centers.

Unfortunately, the picture of the organic apples is on my other camera that I consequently broke by dropping it on its lens, with the lens extended as I was photographing the apples, and so the photo is trapped on that memory card. But, to get a sense of the contrast, the next time you bite into an apple look at the color right then, and that is what the organic apples continued to look like the entire time I was baking, even without lemon juice applied to keep them fresh. 




Another difference I noted when I was cooking was that the organic sugar consisted of much bigger granules and was brown rather than white, because it is less processed. The picture to the right is the filling of the organic ingredients and the photo below is the non-organic ingredients. 


After baking the pies there were some notable differences as well. The non-organic pie crust was much bubblier and had a much more uneven color. 


The taste of the two pies was very different as well. 
Most people liked the non-organic pie better, but regardless of preferences of taste, everyone agreed on the differences between the two:


The general verdict was that the non-organic pie was sweeter and more buttery, the flavors blended together better, the apples were softer.
The organic pie had a more distinctive cinnamon flavor and the apples had a more distinct texture, a "more apple-y taste."


It was interesting to note the contrast between the raw apples and the baked apples: everyone said that the raw non-organic apples were crispier but the organic baked apples were more crisp. Also, the raw organic apples were sweeter, and less tart, and so we predicted that they would be less flavorful once baked in the pie. In reality, however, they maintained their flavor better than the non-organic apples. 


Some of the difference in flavor between the pies may be due to a flaw in my scientific method: in order to save time (and money) I used refrigerated, pre-made pie crusts, instead of making my own. The texture of the pie crusts, however, were different, and contributed to the difference in the taste of the pie. If I had made the pie crusts also, using organic flour and sugar and salt, and the corresponding non-organic ingredients I don't think that there would have been much a difference in taste. (I considered baking a cake or some other baking project for my comparison experiment, but decided that what I made needed to be something that involved fresh fruits or vegetables, because I didn't think there would be much of a difference otherwise).



The sugar, too, affected the taste. My theory is that the organic sugar, being less processed, with bigger granules, did not permeate the mixture as well, leaving the organic pie to be less sweet. For this same reason the flavors in the non-organic pie were judged to "blend together better." 


For my experiment, I think these flaws in control are ok, because I was not testing just the difference in the apples, but instead the differences between an entirely organic or non-organic pie. It would be an interesting follow-up, however, to use organic apples with a non-organic crust and non-organic sugar, and organic apples with a non-organic crust and organic sugar, or non-organic apples with variations on the other two variables and see if the differences in taste were still as drastic.