History of Pies in America, (Now and Again)

History of Pies in America




Pies are as American as pizza is American: we took a great idea, adapted it to our needs and ran with it. Apple pies were not always just for dessert, our American ancestors considered them survival food often eating pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner for six months a year. They used what they had available locally and made the most from it. In the Northeast and Midwest, it was apples; in the South it was molasses pies, in Florida the Key Lime Pie and the Southwest came nut pies. Catherine Lambrecht of Culinary Historians of Chicago, Program Chair of Chicago Foodways Roundtable, founding member and moderator of LTHforum.com, a culinary discussion site, will present the history of pies in America.

This History of American Pies was originally presented to Culinary Historians of Chicago’s, ‘Munching Your Way Through the Midwest: Celebrating the History of America's Food and Foodways.’ This symposium introduced the newly published Oxford Encyclopedia for American Food and Drink.

There are two opportunities to hear this talk:

Sunday, November 20th at 2:00 PM
Co-sponsored by the Highland Park Historical Society and
Highland Park Public Library
494 Laurel Ave.
Highland Park, IL 60035
847-432-0216
Free – no reservations required.

Tuesday, November 22nd at 6:00 PM
Whole Foods
1640 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
Free – reservations suggested, please call 847/733-1600

Hi,

If anyone is in the vicinity of these two talks, then please do come and introduce yourself. At the HP program, I am bringing pies for sampling.
At Whole Foods, they will also have pies for sampling ... just not my pies.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

"At Whole Foods, they will also have pies for sampling ... just not my pies."

Cathy, I hadn't made up my mind which event to attend, but this clinches it. I'll be at the Highland Park event for you and your pies. No contest.

Cathy, how long will your talks go? Thanks so much.

Hi,

It runs 30+ minutes with questions following. It's pie history in the American context finishing with a sidebar discussion on how to make pie crusts.

This talk was developed for a symposium at the publication of the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink last year. There is a Smithsonian traveling exhibition called Key Ingredients, which Dr. Bruce Kraig of Culinary Historians worked on the development. I am part of a small itinerant group of speakers who have followed Key Ingredients as guest speakers.

Regards,

Two LTHer's were in attendance today:

Josephine, Cathy2 and Louisa Chu


I sent these ladies home with Chess Pie and a Pecan Pie respectively.

As always it was great to put faces to names as well as meet another poster friend in person.

Regards,

Cathy,

Sorry I couldn't be there. I started out with plans to come, but plumbing details got in the way.

Cathy,

I just called for the Whole Foods talk tomorrow, and I'll be there .. but they told me it's not free, it's $10 to get in.

But I'm getting my questions together ... i.e. pate brisee vs. puff pastry for a tarte tatin ...

Cathy made a total of 15 pies - four varieties - pecan, chess, sweet potato, and mock apple. The last I'd never had before and I was surprised by its resemblance to real apple pie. Coupled with Cathy's compelling account of the mock pie story, I felt that I'd tasted and better appreciated a bit of ingenious American history. And her pecan pie has redefined the entire nut pie genre for me. Hers is made with brown sugar only - rather than the common recipe which uses corn syrup - so the pecans roasted throughout and those at the surface caramelised to a rich, crunchy finish. That is the actual pie Cathy gave me that she's holding in the photo. Or was - it was gone as of early this evening.

Cathy, thank you so much again. And Josephine, it was great to meet you and share pie with you too.

And nr706, if I may just comment, for Tarte Tatin, a pate sucree please. Puff pastry indeed.

. . . And a delicious time was had by all!

Thanks to Cathy2 and the board of the Highland Park Library, Sunday's pie talk and tasting was a highlight of my holiday season. Cathy certainly has some deep experience in this homey art, and easily conveys her enthusiasm for the topic. The chess pie I happily took home was, I believe, made with eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar and lemon. (Correct me if I am wrong, Cathy, about these ingredients.) The name shoofly pie also came up in connection with this type of filling.

Today I turned to my 1950 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook and came across a chess pie that is a variation on a sour cream and raisin pie. It calls for the replacement of whole eggs with egg yolks only, and for the addition of a cup each of chopped dates and walnuts. So, perhaps I was mistaken to call the buttermilk and lemon filling a chess pie. The Joy of Cooking (1953 edition) offers a similar, raisin-and-nut-laden recipe for chess pie, with sweet, not sour cream. Rombauer and Becker's shoofly pie is a crumb pie made with raisins, egg, brown sugar or molasses, and cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and a little flour. Their Jefferson Davis pie is closer to Betty Crocker's chess pie, with brown sugar, eggs, cream, dates, raisins, spices and pecans, though topped with meringue. (Kinda makes your teeth ache to think about it, doesn't it?) Camille Glenn's Heritage of Southern Cooking (1986) offers a chess tart with apples that involves butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg, as well as what she describes as a Civil War vintage Barbara Fritchie "chess" pie with brown and white sugar, butter, eggs, cream and vanilla.

Hmmm. Cathy, given the southern heritage of the chess-type pie, and the optional addition of nuts, do you suppose that the 1890's pecan pie you referred to in your talk is an adaptation of the Jeff Davis pie? I wonder what Mr. Rose would say. . .

This was my first-ever taste of mock apple pie, which, as noted by Louisa, actually bears a surprising resemblance to real apple pie. Perhaps it would also be fun to try Betty Crocker's 1950 mock cherry pie, with cranberries and raisins.

It was great fun to hear your talk, Cathy and great to meet you, too, Louisa. Happy Turkey Day, all.

Cathy did an excellent job on her presentation tonight, too - although it might have been relatively easy for her given the small all-LTH "crowd" (using that term liberally). But it was profitable for me ... I sold a [Chinese] 2 yuan note to Mr. LAZ for 25¢ ... at current exchange rates, it's only worth about 24.2¢ ... so I made almost a penny on the transaction!

And,

Louisa Chu wrote:And nr706, if I may just comment, for Tarte Tatin, a pate sucree please. Puff pastry indeed.

Just to piss Louisa off (and I've read her posts on other boards, plus her excellent blog, and have the greatest respect for her), I'm making my tarte tatin with a puff pastry crust.

nr706 wrote:Just to piss Louisa off (and I've read her posts on other boards, plus her excellent blog, and have the greatest respect for her), I'm making my tarte tatin with a puff pastry crust.

Takes a lot more than that to piss me off. Enjoy your Tarte Feuilletee aux Pommes. Actually the Brotherhood of the Tarte Tatin http://www.tarte-tatin.com says puff pastry or pate brisee - but what do they know? I've had it at the original Hotel Tatin - it was sadly not that good - bland, limp. But overall the area's a great visit - especially during game season.

I'll be making a Tarte Tatin for T-Day too - but with a few Asian-American liberties - some cranberries with the apples and ginger ice cream on the side. I know - heresy.

Louisa Chu wrote:

nr706 wrote:Just to piss Louisa off (and I've read her posts on other boards, plus her excellent blog, and have the greatest respect for her), I'm making my tarte tatin with a puff pastry crust.

Takes a lot more than that to piss me off. Enjoy your Tarte Feuilletee aux Pommes. Actually the Brotherhood of the Tarte Tatin http://www.tarte-tatin.com says puff pastry or pate brisee - but what do they know? I've had it at the original Hotel Tatin - it was sadly not that good - bland, limp. But overall the area's a great visit - especially during game season.

I'll be making a Tarte Tatin for T-Day too - but with a few Asian-American liberties - some cranberries with the apples and ginger ice cream on the side. I know - heresy.

Okay, mine is roughly based on an old Jacque Pépin recipe, and includes dried fruits and almonds. And I've already made the sour-cream-based cinnamon ice cream to go with it. I'm tempted to rehydrate the dried fruit in brandy ... thoughts on that?

And since when is using cranberries considered an Asian-American liberty?

[moderators - move this to cooking/shopping if you see fit]

Hi,

Thank you for your kind words. It is especially pleasing when your peer group, whom I've learned so much from, appreciate one's efforts.

***

Last night I was driving out to visit an old friend listening to Prairie Home Companion on the radio. They began with the miracle of the pie. The Church had a dinner attended by 144 people with 26 pies available for dessert. By cutting each pie into 6 pieces, they had enough to offer each person a piece of pie. The miracle was everyone was served and there was leftover pie even after many had been served second servings. The woman who witnessed this miracle never reported it because she was afraid her mother-in-law would want to set up a shrine.

Ironically, to me anyway, I made 26 pies in the last week. While those pies may not have multiplied like fish in a basket. They did make enough people happy to make those efforts worthwhile.

Regards,

26 X 6 = 156

Miracle?...you be the judge.

Hi,

I guess I cannot do math in my head anymore ... still it was pretty funny the way it was artfully presented. I guess you had to be there!

Regards,

HI,

In the better late than never category, I am speaking this afternoon on pies at 1 PM at:

Shore Acres Park
100 Park Boulevard
Chillicothe, IL 61523
309-274-3413

This is in conjuction with the Smithsonian's Key Ingredient exhibit currently on display in Chillicothe.

Yes, I will remind them tomorrow is National Pie Day!

All the best,

Hi,

Pie talk revised to include bean, Hoosier Sugar Cream and more details on pecan pies.

April 17th, 2008 @ 7:30 PM

Libertyville Village Hall,
118 West Church St.,
Libertyville, IL

I was advise people will bring pies to sample. If I have time, then I will bring a bean pie.

Regards,

Hi,

If you are visiting the Illinois State Fair on August 12th, then consider stopping by the Culinary Exhibits building at 4:45 PM. I will be speaking on the 'History of American Pies.' Since this is an air-conditioned building, I expect to have overheated people drinking water who would sit through a television test pattern to stay cool. Join the fun!

Television Test Pattern courtesy of grebo guro of flickr


Regards,

Hi,

Tomorrow evening, I am speaking for the Lake Villa Historical Society at their Village Hall on 65 Cedar Ave., Lake Villa, IL. 60046.

Meetings will start at 6:30 p.m. with a business meeting, then the program starts around 7:15 p.m.

Regards,