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Pies may go best with whipped cream and ice cream, but this is also the time of year when a lot of delusion is being spooned up. Delusion that this year is the year we make our own pie. Or this year is the year we dash down to that little French patisserie for something plus formidable to pose behind, preening, at the holiday buffet.

But, if you’re like me, the hard reality is that this likely will be yet another year marked by a frantic last-minute swing through the supermarket looking for something, anything, that resembles a pie. And where do they put those darn cans of Reddi-Wip?

There’s some comfort in knowing I’m not alone; a sideways glance into the line of carts around me proved that. But I was unaware that 77 percent of fresh pies sales takes place in traditional grocery and supercenter stores, according to a 2016 Nielsen Perishables Group presentation report provided by the American Pie Council.

So, let’s go taste and grade some of the pies that can be found in Chicago-area supermarkets or supercenter stores

What to buy? Well, I spent a Saturday visiting nine supermarkets and superstores in Chicago and buying pies. I ended up with 20. I tried to buy at least two types of fresh pies from each store. On one hand, I tried to remember the so-called staple pie flavors noted in the Nielsen report — apple, pumpkin, cherry and pecan. On the other, I looked for a pie that caught my eye, whether in looks or flavor — something I’d put on my holiday table to spark interest among guests. And I didn’t just look at pie — tarts were OK too.

As you shop, realize, that there’s more than one way a “fresh” pie ends up on a bakery department shelf. Some pies are made in-house by the supermarket. Others are made by a bakery or company to be sold under the supermarket’s label — and some of these may be sold as-is, or the supermarket’s bakery department may finish it off in some way. Lastly, there are fresh pies sold under the “house” label and others under proprietary brands.

I brought the pies home and stashed them in the refrigerator as I would do the night or two before a holiday. I brought out the pies the next day and began eating. And eating. I got through 12 of them on Sunday and finished up the remaining eight pies the next night. Click through the photo gallery to see what I sampled and how they rated.

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Twitter @billdaley

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