When in Milan?! Apple Pie Review

If you aren’t already aware, I’d already searched the streets of Rome for a pie in the days prior to being in Milan. After all, I’m sure we’ve all heard of the phrase "When in Rome... do as the Romans do." But of course this phrase doesn't literally limit you to doing Romanesque things while visiting Rome. It's a wider phrase referencing that you should try to accommodate the culture you're in.

However what about if you’re in Milan, not Rome? Sure, we know the Romans liked their pies, but do the people of Milan? Well there was only one way to find out – a pie hunt in Milan!

And having taken a whole day to find a pie when in Rome, it was only about 20 minutes after getting off the Metro in Porta Genova, one of the party suburbs of Milan, that we spotted “Il Forno dei Navigli” bakery - and in particular an apple pie called a “Charlotte” in their window. Of course I went and bought one...



Pie Window Shopping in Milan

The pie was sold by weight and cost just over €3 (from €20 per kg) for what was not a massive, individual pie, but certainly larger than a typical Mr Kipling pie in the UK. It came covered in sugar, rather controversially hiding whether or not it was a tart or fully encased pie! However fear not pie fans - the pastry product was fully encased in pastry and was therefore happily snapped up!

I've already mentioned the pie was not that cheap at just over €3, however the capacity was very strong, full of bite-sized apple chunks. Also, regarding the content, there was a slight hint of lemon throughout the pie, which certainly made it unique compared to other apple pies I've eaten but I think ultimately there is a reason why lemon is not traditionally added!



I had some AC-E pie when I went Inter Milan...

The colour of the pastry was slightly on the pale side, once you removed the sugar coating, but crumbled nicely upon biting and held the pie contents together well. The pie wasn't chewy and was very consistent with apple filling throughout. However I'm unsure why this pie was presented with so much sugar on top, hiding the lid, as this rather spoilt the condition.

Overall, I'm delighted to see a fully encased pie being sold in Milan but it didn't blow me away. While the Milanese pie scores slightly higher than the Roma pie due to being a fully encased pie with proper fruit filling rather than just jam, taste and cost-wise I'd rather have a Crostatine from Rome again as it felt more unique to Italy.

Il Forno dei Navigli “Charlotte” (Apple Pie)
Score: 4.43/7
[Colour 5, Capacity 6, Consistency 4, Condition 4, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 3, Content 4, Total: 4.43/7]
RAS