The last few years, I’ve made pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. It was never a staple in our household, until I found a particularly good recipe.
This year though, I’ve decided to go all out, and make three pies — traditional pecan and apple. For the third I’ll either stick with pumpkin, or try a chocolate mousse pie recipe I’ve had my eye on for years.
I already have a tried-and-true crust recipe. It is simple, and fail-proof when baked in my stoneware pie plate at my oven’s pie setting (don’t know what that setting does, but it is incredible — never produces a soggy crust).
All this planning made me think about the history of pies. I’m familiar with many variations — sweet and savory — from different cultural cuisines. But what defines a pie, and how old is our tradition?
Hand pies can be found around the world in varying forms. Empanadas, samosas, spanakopitas and Lithuanian kibinai are a few of my favorites.
Apparently pie purists define a pie as having both top and bottom crust. Without a top crust, it’s considered a tart. Tarts could be considered a subcategory of pies.
The earliest pie recipe we have on record is from 2000 B.C. Written in Egyptian hieroglyphics on a tablet, and it is for chicken pie. The Egyptians also made honey-filled pie with barley, rye oat or wheat crust.
Online sources presume pies were like technology, and cultures learned from each other. While I’m sure there is some truth to that, I would also guess that there was a lot of simultaneous development.
Pies were used throughout history as a method of preserving ingredients. Often crusts were made to be more of a package, rather than an edible part of the dish.
Thick crusts, sealing a filling in was a great way to store food, especially when traveling (think sailors or other explorers). Crusts in medieval times were referred to as “coffyns” (or coffins) — basically meaning a box. This made me think of bioplastics … taking something edible and processing it to be a container rather than food.
Due to sugar being a relatively specialty item, pies were mostly savory throughout much of history. Meat was the common filling in many cultures.
Pies were centerpieces for food and entertainment in medieval Europe — live birds were often sealed into outer crusts to burst through in a flurry at a banquet table. Other animals were also sometimes used.
The first recorded cherry pie was baked for Queen Elizabeth I. Although this pie most likely was not particularly sweet, it marked a turning point for pie fillings.
While apple pie seems like an American tradition, it was actually brought over from England. Author Geoffrey Chaucer wrote down a recipe for apple pie. It didn’t contain sugar, but called for figs, raisins and pears which must have made it sweet.
A colonial cookbook from the late 1700s lists three types of sweet pies. A cookbook from a century later has eight sweet pie recipes and there are countless recipes nowadays.
I think few dishes are more versatile and satisfying than pie. Savory or sweet, a good pie strikes a lovely balance between the soft filling and a carby crust.
While I won’t be adding in any live animals into my pies this week, I do plan to take a little extra time to make pretty crusts as well as tasty fillings.
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, previously writing for The Dominion Post. She uses experience gained working on organic farms in Europe to help her explore possibilities of local productivity and sustainable living in Preston County. Email columns@dominionpost.com.
