Today’s Spotlight is on Pie.

A pie is defined as a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit, nuts, fruit preserves, brown sugar, sweetened vegetables, or with thicker fillings based on eggs and dairy.

A pie is a baked dish that’s made with a pastry-lined pan or dish and filled with fruit, meat, pudding, or other fillings. It often has a pastry crust on top.

A typical American pie is:

• Round
• 8–10 inches (20–25 cm) in diameter
• 2–3 inches (5–8 cm) thick
• Usually contains a sweet filling of fruit, custard, or a pastry cream.

Pies and tarts are both desserts with two main components: a baked crust and a filling. However, there are some differences between the two:

• Pies are covered from all sides, while tarts are open from the top.
• Pies have a thin and smooth crust, while tarts have a rather thick and crumbly crust.

Some things that are not officially considered pies include:

• Fish pie
• Cottage pie
• Lattice-topped pies

 

History

The history of pie can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Greece.  The Egyptians were the first to invent a dish similar to what we know as a pie today.  Their pie was made with a crusty cake made from barley, oats, rye, or wheat, and filled with honey. An Egyptian tablet created before 2000 B.C. contained a recipe for chicken pie.

The Greeks are thought to be the originators of the pastry shell, which they made by combining water and flour. The Greeks ate savory pies called artocreas, which were made with meat in an open pastry shell. The wealthy Romans used many different kinds of meats, including mussels and other types of seafood, in their pies.

The Romans may have been the first to create a pie that included a top and bottom crust. These pies were sometimes made in “reeds” which were used for the sole purpose of holding the filling and not for eating with the filling.

The first pies were savory meat pies with crusts that were too thick and tough to eat. The crusts were used as baking dishes for meat sauce.  The fillings were also different from today’s pies, which are often filled with sweet fruits.  Instead, the ancient Egyptians filled their pies with savory ingredients like honey, nuts, and even meat.

The ancient Greeks made sweet pies called artos or plakous that were often made with honey, cheese, and fruits. The first pie recipe was published by the Romans and was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. The early pies were predominately meat pies.

The word “pie” comes from Middle English and was first recorded between 1275–1325.

 

Here are some fun facts about pies:

• Pies can be traced back to 6000 BC.
• The largest pie ever made weighed 10,540 kg.
• The first mention of a fruit pie in print was in Arcadia by Robert Green in 1590.
• The first cherry pie was sampled by Queen Elizabeth I.
• The pilgrims introduced pumpkin pie to the Thanksgiving table in 1623.
• Oliver Cromwell banned pie in 1644, calling it a pagan form of pleasure.
• Someone once paid over £1,000 for a single slice of pie.
• Shakespeare killed off two characters with pie.
• There’s a world-famous pie-eating contest in the UK.

 

Here is an old pie recipe for you to try:

Goat Cheese, Honey, and Rye Crust Pie

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• 1/2 cup rye flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for pan
• 1 tablespoon chilled apple cider vinegar

 

For the filling:

• 8 ounces chèvre goat cheese, room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• For the apples:
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 sweet apples, such as Fuji or Gala, cored, cut into 1/2″ wedges
• 1/4 cup honey
• 12 thyme sprigs
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Special Equipment:

• A 9″ pie pan

 

Make the pie dough:

1. Mix 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, rye flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup butter and rub into dry ingredients with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs; it’s fine if some larger, flat pieces of butter remain. Add vinegar and 3 Tbsp. ice water. Mix with a spoon until a rough dough forms, adding more water by the tablespoon if it seems dry. (Alternatively, dough can be made in a food processor.)
2. Turn dough out onto a work surface and gather into a ball, folding it over onto itself once or twice if needed. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.
3. Arrange the rack in bottom third of oven; place a rimmed baking sheet on rack. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 9″ pie pan with butter. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 13″ round. Roll dough loosely around the rolling pin, then unfurl into pan. Gently lift and settle the dough into pan. Trim excess dough with scissors, leaving a 1″ overhang. Crimp as desired. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance.
4. Line shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans. Place on preheated baking sheet and bake until crust is set and beginning to brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove weights and parchment, prick bottom of crust all over with a fork, then continue to bake until crust is golden brown and dry to the touch, 5-10 more minutes. Transfer pie pan to a cooling rack to cool slightly; return baking sheet to oven.

 

Make the filling:

1. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Beat chèvre and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until incorporated. Add honey, sugar, and vanilla and continue to beat on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated. Add milk and beat on low speed until incorporated.
2. Pour filling into pie shell, return to preheated baking sheet, and bake until filling is mostly set but center jiggles slightly, 35–40 minutes. Remove from oven, place another pie pan or rimmed baking sheet upside down on top of pie, and let cool to room temperature. (The inverted pan helps keep the filling from cracking as it cools.) Then chill until set, about 1 hour.

 

Make the apples:

1. Melt butter in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add apples and toss to coat. Cook 2 minutes, then add honey, thyme, and salt. Cook, tossing carefully to avoid breaking up apples, until apples are softened and caramelized and sauce has thickened, 10–15 minutes.
2. Serve pie slightly chilled or at room temperature with apple mixture alongside.

 

Consumption

Approximately 186 million pies are sold in grocery stores each year. This doesn’t include restaurants, bakeries, or food service. The average American eats six slices of pie annually. According to a survey by the American Pie Council, 92% of Americans enjoy eating pie.

Nearly 30% of Americans say that apple pie is their favorite type of pie.  Other popular pie flavors include Pumpkin, Chocolate, Lemon meringue, Cherry. The state that orders the most pie is Nebraska.

Pumpkin pie is America’s favorite holiday pie, with 34% of the vote. Other classic holiday pie flavors include:

• Sweet potato, Pecan, Cranberry, Fudge, Chocolate mint, Eggnog, Hoosier.

 

Celebrating Pie

Pie is one of the most celebrated foods. National Pie Day is celebrated twice a year, on December 1st and January 23rd. Charlie Papazian, a nuclear engineer from Boulder, Colorado, started National Pie Day in the mid-1970s. He declared that his birthday would also be known as National Pie Day.

National Apple Pie Day is celebrated on May 13th. And there are quite a few others.

Let us know in the comments what your favorite pie is.