1) The Rustic-to-Elegant Continuum
Nothing divides the world of apple pie as cleanly as this factor. You can see it right away: the producer’s fantasy was either 1) I’m somebody’s Grandma making pie in the most rustic way imaginable and cooling it on the window ledge at the back of the farm kitchen; or 2) I’m a trained pastry chef making upscale apple pies for elegant dinner parties. You will see this dichotomy play out in many of the factors below.