Hooray for Michigan's legislature....sanity is returning to the forefront --- at least, in that state. I've really deplored the current laws which prevent bake sales, home made food being sold openly, etc. Such a refreshing change!

And, yes, I'm willing to risk "whatever" when I purchase something not made in an "approved" kitchen. It didn't kill me years ago, and it won't now.

Good luck with your pie baking venture!

It will be so rewarding Nancy...

I baked scones (using Ann T's recipe)...and sold them at the farm stand I used to work out a bit. I used the farm U pick berries and the peaches that came in from the other side of the state..they were a huge hit!

Great news, Nancy!

Terri, when did you bake the scones - the day of or the day before?

Teresa

You go girl! Like Teresa, I know you will develop a following.

Cathy

The county I live in here in Indiana also allows home baked products from unlicensed kitchens to be sold at farmer's markets. In Indiana it can vary from county to county as each health department makes their own rules. We can also sell our home canned preserves, but not pickles. Its a good idea because most of the people I know that can, I would trust more than some of the commercial canners. We have to label each item with the ingredients from the most used down to the least, the canner's name and address and notation that it is processed in an uninspected kitchen.

Congratulations, Nancy!!

Wait...

My beloved pecan pie only got 2 votes??? I'm shocked! Oh well - more for me! :-D

Lori

That is great, Nancy!
Wish Texas would come out of the Dark Ages and allow home-baked goods to be sold to the public.
I would gladly comply with Indiana's labeling, too.

When I was baking (in an inspected and licensed kitchen), cookies, breads (both yeast breads and sweet breads) and cakes were the most sought after.

But people in this part of the world don't seem to eat much pie.
I can imagine that in your world fruit pies would be excellent sellers!

Wishing you great success and a lot of fun. . . . .

Rusty

Boy, the votes were all over the place, huh? Lori, I'm the other pecan pie vote!

I wonder if you might have more meaningful results if you'd just given us a list to choose from as in, from this list of pies, which one would you be more likely to buy?

Because, in fact, that would change my vote. I can make a pecan pie much more quickly and easily than a fruit pie so I'd be more likely to make that myself and buy a fruit pie, especially something like peach, which is a lot more work.

In any case, good luck with your venture. I've tasted your apple pie Nancy and I'm sure you're going to sell loads!

Congratulations Nancy.

I doesn't surprise me that Apple topped the list. I was more surprised though that Pumpkin took number two on the list.

I think if this vote had been done with just Canadian's pumpkin would have been further down the list.

What is missing is raspberry pie. It ranks right up there with rhubarb and apple for me.

Ann

Best of luck Nancy! You may be the next Mrs Fields of pies in the making :-) I wish you every success!

Alexa

I didn't voice an opinion when you first posted this query. Funny, while I like apple pie, it is not my favorite. I love, love, love berry pies. I made a raspberry/blueberry pie last January that was the best pie I ever tasted. Raspberry, marionberry, blackberry, bosenberry, olallieberry, blueberry all rank high on my list. Pecan pie would be next. Then pumpkin.

I did find this:

Top 10 pie flavors in American restaurants
Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 12, 2005

1 Apple
2 Chocolate or French Silk
3 Coconut or coconut cream
4 Pecan
5 Berry (all types)
6 Key lime
7 Lemon
8 Pumpkin
9 Cherry
10 Banana or banana cream

Based on items ordered; year ending May 2005. Data includes
pies and tarts; data excludes items from major QSR chains

Source: The NPD Group/NPD Foodworld/CREST

Have you thought about baking individual pies, also? Or turnovers, something that people can eat while they shop the market, or something single people or couples could handle if they don't want to buy a whole pie?

Good luck, and have fun with your new venture!

Sally

Just noticed, no "humble" on any of those lists. LOL!

Me? I've never met a pie I didn't like!

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I think it might be fun. I made pies and other baked goods when we had the deli. I agree that small hand helds do sell well also.

I kept my little poll simple as I just wanted to see answers from around the country. We get visitors from all areas here. My emphasis would be on the local fruits but at the same time there are many six months residents. I would defiantly take orders for special pies.

I have sampled pies from the farmers market and other farm stands around here and have found them all lacking in quality. I would plan on doing a nicer product and charge accordingly. No skimping on ingredients.

Nancy

Good for you, Nancy! I've found that even the Amish made pies here are kind of icky, with not much fruit and a whole lot of sweet gelatinous goo.

I think a good pie would be a great seller and I know from personal knowledge that you can make a great pie, so you'll be rich and famous before you know it!

Well, famous anyway, no one gets rich in Michigan right now.

Yes, definitely tarts would be a good seller, I think. They're perfect, that way I can hve more than one kind of pie, yum.

Annie

LOL Booberry!

I also noticed there wasn't a single "chart" on the list either (Pie Chart? get it? Didja groan yet?) LOL!

Nice list Barnmom... I would have to have a personal taste test right here in front of me to determine if my order of preference matched that one LOL!

Alexa

Well Ann I'm a Canadian and I voted for Pumpkin. My entire family would vote Pumpkin numbers one as well!

Nancy, pies are always a big seller at our local markets but the price point turns me off, pies are so expensive! I prefer to buy small baked goods like scones, butter tarts etc.

My local grocery store sells an artisan bread in a small loaf for two size. For Alice and I it is perfect. Perhaps small pies "for two" might be popular. 6 inch diameter size would be about right.

The ideas and hints are all welcome.
A six inch size is a good idea.

Oh yeah-- go for it Nancy-- it's so satisfing 'cause after awhile you'll have a slew of regulars coming in just for your pies.

Dang Nancy. Where in Michigan will you be selling these fabulous pies? I'm in Kalamazoo. Are you in driving distance?
I'd also vote for some smaller ones to help folks like me who want a good blueberry pie when no one else in her family will eat one! I'd buy myself a small blueberry, a small peach, a small cherry, and a big honking pumpkin one for the unadventurous men in my family! I'm surrounded by pie heathens!
Jean

jean, welcome to the Cooking forum! I'm about 50 miles north of Grand Rapids and Nancy is a few hours noth of me! We have another member from Kalamazoo and one from Three Rivers, another over in the thumb and two in the Detroit area.

Lots of Michigan members here any more.

Annie

Nancy,
I think you'd do wonderfully well baking quality pies. Even though we'd eat the larger size, I think it's a good idea to bake smaller sized pies, especially to get the price where people will buy. For example, if a large pie would be $18, but you could price a smaller one at $9 or a turnover or tart or piece of strudel at $4, then people might be willing to try your quality at the smaller price.

As one who chose Pumpkin, I'd change my vote to berry if I were buying a quality pie in MI during fruit/farmers market season. Pumpkin, I prefer to make my own.

Since lemon is #3, maybe I can send you lemons from mine and the neighbors' trees!

With the new law, could you then offer a "Pie of the Month" where pies are available at your home "roadside stand" on a one-day-a-week, reserve ahead basis once you start establishing yourself at a farmers market?

How about CSAs? Could you work with a local CSA to offer a pie share option?

And like your past "gourmet preserves" company experience, perhaps offer "montmorency tart cherry pie" not just "cherry pie", or "red haven peach pie" not just "peach pie". (Also, I find if there are 2 kinds of cherry pie, I might just have to buy both to do a taste test!)

So when do you want your "taste panel" to come by to judge the winning recipes? I'll make another trip back to MI!

Is this your competition? (see link)

Here is a link that might be useful: Grand Traverse Pie Company

LOL...I'm going to be in a town where there is a GT Pie Co sometime this week. I'll stop in and see if their pies look any better than they did a couple of years ago. I wasn't impressed, for one thing the crust was very heavy and had no flavor. I need to check out their current prices.

Jean, I'm north of Traverse City.

Nancy

I highly agree with the six inch pies. When I used to sell at the French Market Flea Market I sold whole pecan pies and whole quiches. They had a family who had sold, or many years, only six inch pies of all types so I didn't make them for that market, but any time I sold at a street fair or any event the six inch pies sold out every time. I usually made about 300 of the six inch pecan pies. People don't like to make pecan pie since they tend to eat too much of it so the six inch is perfect for two... or one.. smiles.