Pie+Facts

Pie Facts I copied some interesting facts about pie from assorted websites and put them on this page.

According to a 2004 survey* by Crisco ® and American Pie Council, one out of four Americans prefer apple pie, followed by pumpkin or sweet potato (17 percent), anything chocolate (14 percent), lemon meringue (11 percent) and cherry (10 percent).

Nearly twice as many people prefer their pie unadorned as those who like it 'a la mode,' with either ice cream or whipped cream topping.

Three out of four Americans overwhelmingly prefer homemade pie, while 13 percent enjoy pie from a bakery or pastry shop, and only one percent said they head to the diner for their favorite slice.

//* Survey of 800 people conducted by Kelton Research, January 2004//

Other definitions for pie
 * a prize, a treat or bribe (U.S.slang 1895);
 * a collection of pre-Reformation church rules;
 * a jumble, medley, confusion, chaos; a "mess";
 * the smallest Anglo-Indian copper coin, the twelfth part of an anna.

Other names for pie
 * pastie,
 * oggie,
 * piraski,
 * piragies,
 * patty,
 * turnover.

Pumpkin pie was not served at the first Thanksgiving, though pumpkins were used in other recipes at the time. The American colonists used pumpkin in pie crusts, but not in the filling. The type of pumpkin pie we know today was not made until the 1700s. The first recorded recipe for "modern" pumpkin pie was published in 1796 in //American Cookery// by Amelia Simmons. It was called 'Pompkin Pudding.' The cookbook was the first one devoted to foods native to the Americas. The world's largest pumpkin pie weighed over 350 pounds and was made with 80 pounds of pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, and 144 eggs. -*This is one of my favorite facts*

•The average American eats six slices of pie per year.

•The term "as American as apple pie" traces back to 14th century England. The Pilgrims brought their pie-making skills, along with the apple seeds to America. As the popularity of apple pie spread throughout the nation, the phrase grew to symbolize American prosperity.

•Before pie was America's favorite dessert, fruit pies were commonly eaten as part of breakfast in the 19th century.

•Shoo-fly pie is a molasses pie that was originally used to sit on windowsills to attract flies away from the kitchen.

•The American Pie Council is the an organization committed to preserving America's pie heritage and promoting Americans' love of pie. (click on this link to go to their site: //American Pie Council (// [|//www.piecouncil.org//]// ) // )

The word "pie" comes from "magpie" (a Northern European bird). Because early European pies were filled with combinations of many different fillings (meat, fruit, vegetables), they were compared to magpies, which collect various objects for their nests > >
 * Cornish pasties, a (usually) hand-sized pie, sometimes  contain two courses, a savory filling at one end of the pie, and a sweet filling at the other
 * Chiffon pie fillings are generally not cooked, but contain gelatin and egg whites, while cream pie fillings are generally cooked like a pudding before being poured into a prepared pie shell
 * Early American settlers called the ingredients for pie "timber"
 * One common pie-baking technique in the Midwest involves baking pie in a brown paper bag
 * Mock Apple Pie, a common Depression-era pie, is made with a filling of crackers soaked in lemon juice (or vinegar) and water instead of apples!
 * The world's largest cherry pie tin is in Traverse City, Michigan