Pie in American cuisine facts for kids

Pies in American cooking have a long history, starting from English cuisine. Over hundreds of years, American cooks changed pie recipes to fit their tastes and available ingredients. For example, the idea of making a super flaky pie crust using lard is an American invention!

In the early days of America, during the colonial era, food was much simpler than in Europe. Americans liked pies because they were easy to make and filling. While European pies became small, delicate tarts, American "pot pies" were big and hearty. They were often cooked in a Dutch oven over a fire, showing that Americans preferred simple, satisfying meals.

The Story of American Pies

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote that American housewives made many different kinds of pies, showing their "boundless fertility of the feminine mind."

Even though pies came from England, American cooks made them their own. Harriet Beecher Stowe, a famous writer, once said that pies in America "burst forth into an untold variety." She noted that American housewives created many new types of pies, like pumpkin, cranberry, huckleberry, and apple pies. This showed how creative American women were in the kitchen.

The flaky pie crust made with lard is a special American touch. Early pies were baked in long, narrow "coffyns" (like a box), and the crust wasn't meant to be eaten. It just held the filling. The word "crust" became common around the American Revolution. Tough pie crusts were also used to keep food fresh in the cold New England climate. The writer Mark Twain even joked that New England apple pie crusts were "bullet-proof"!

Over time, American pie culture changed with new groups of people, different farming methods, and as cities grew. After the American Revolution, Americans wanted their own unique food traditions, separate from England.

Old cookbooks, like American Cookery from the 1700s, mostly had recipes for meat pies. These included chicken pie, stew pie, and mince pie. While European pies became fancy tarts, American "pot pies" were big and hearty. By the 1800s, fruit pies became a popular breakfast food in the United States.

During World War II, American homemakers were asked to make "coverless" pies. This was part of a plan to save wheat and fat for the war effort.

Popular American Pie Types

Creamy Custard Pies

Butterscotch Pie

Butterscotch pie is a sweet treat made by cooking brown sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, milk or cream, and butter. This makes a smooth butterscotch custard. It's often topped with meringue and browned in the oven. Some say this pie was invented in 1904 in Connersville, Indiana.

Buttermilk Pie

A delicious lemon buttermilk pie.

A recipe from the 1800s for buttermilk pie involves beating sugar with eggs, then adding butter and buttermilk. The creamy filling is poured into a pie crust, sometimes over thin apple slices. For a lemon version, lemon juice and zest are added. You can even use egg whites to make a fluffy meringue topping! Some recipes also include raisins, nutmeg, or vanilla.

Chess Pie

Chess pie is a classic dessert from the Southern United States. Its main ingredients are butter, sugar, and eggs, thickened with cornmeal or flour. There are many versions, some adding milk, cream, almonds, lemon zest, or even vinegar.

Maple Cream Pie

Maple custard pie, a favorite from New England.

A 1939 recipe for maple cream pie uses maple sugar and heated milk. Cornstarch is added to thicken it, then it's mixed with beaten eggs and cooked. After cooling, the custard goes into a pie shell and is often topped with whipped cream.

In New England, some people boycotted sugar from the West Indies to protest slavery. Maple sugar became a popular substitute. Thomas Jefferson even tried to grow maple trees for sugar! Today, maple pie still represents New England's simple lifestyle and independence.

Peanut Butter Pie

Peanut butter pie often has peanut butter cups and whipped topping.

The filling for peanut butter pie can be made with corn syrup or with flour and milk. If using milk, the filling is cooked until thick, then peanut butter is added. It's poured into a pre-baked crust and served with whipped cream. Some versions layer peanut butter custard with a gelatin and whipped egg white topping.

A chocolate peanut butter pie is a frozen version. It has a peanut butter filling in a frozen whipped cream crust, topped with chocolate ice cream and more whipped cream.

Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is another classic Southern dessert. It became very popular in the 1930s when its recipe was printed on corn syrup bottles. However, older recipes for pecan pies exist from as early as 1824. The Derby pie and Tar heel pie are similar to pecan pie.

Pumpkin Pie

A slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream, a Thanksgiving favorite.

By 1796, when the first American cookbook, American Cookery, was published, pumpkin pie was similar to what we eat today. Early pumpkin pies were made with sliced pumpkin, spices, sugar, and apples in a crust. But the cookbook's recipe was for a pumpkin custard filling with sugar, eggs, and cream. This creamy version became very popular.

Pumpkin pie is now a must-have for Thanksgiving celebrations. As the poem The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day says:

Over the river, and through the wood—
Now grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurra for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurra for the pumpkin pie!

Raisin and Sour Cream Pie

Sour cream and raisin pie with a fluffy meringue topping.

This baked custard pie has a meringue topping. It's made with sugar, egg yolks, sour cream, flour, and raisins. It's baked in a pie dish until the custard is firm. Some recipes add pecans or spices like cinnamon and cloves.

Sweet Potato Pie

To make a sweet potato pie, pureed sweet potatoes are mixed with sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and a little nutmeg. This mixture is whipped and baked in an open-faced pie crust.

In 1903, an article compared sweet potato pie to pumpkin pie. It said that while pumpkin pie was good, it couldn't beat sweet potato pie when made the "old-fashioned" way. It also noted that sweet potato pie was becoming less popular because of canned fillings and store-bought pies.

Fruity Pies

Apple Pie

Apple pie is a well-known cultural icon of America.

There are many ways to make apple pie. You can add raisins, dried cranberries, or caramel candies to the filling. Instead of a traditional top crust, some use iced cinnamon rolls or streusel toppings with nuts or oatmeal. Cinnamon is common, but some recipes use nutmeg or allspice. Some even add apple cider, whiskey, or maple syrup to the filling!

In the 1800s and 1900s, apple pie became a symbol of American success and national pride. The saying "as American as apple pie" shows how important it is in American culture.

Blueberry Pie

Blueberry pie often has a streusel topping.

Recipes for blueberry pie started appearing in the mid-1800s. One recipe from 1850 simply used blueberries dusted with flour and sugar, baked in a crust. Wild blueberry pie has been the official state dessert of Maine since 2011!

Blueberry pie filling can be made with fresh blueberries, sugar, and a thickener like cornstarch. Lemon or lime juice is often added for flavor. You can use a streusel or crumble topping instead of a full top crust, sometimes with oats or nuts.

For a creamy blueberry pie, heavy cream can be poured into the pie after baking. Some versions include shredded coconut and cream cheese. You can also add cranberries, blackberries, orange zest, or even basil to the filling! Blueberry pie is great served warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Cherry Pie

Cherry pie often has a beautiful lattice top crust.

A basic cherry pie is made by simmering cherry juice with sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt until it thickens. Butter is then stirred in, and this mixture is poured over pitted cherries into a pie crust and baked. A lattice top crust is a popular choice for cherry pies.

The filling can be made with fresh, frozen, or canned cherries. Some recipes cook the filling entirely on the stovetop, then pour it into a pre-baked crust. Red food coloring can be added for a brighter red color. Some recipes even add pineapple to make a cherry-pineapple pie.

There are also no-bake cherry pies, like the cherry angel pie. This has a meringue crust filled with vanilla custard and canned cherries, then chilled and topped with whipped cream. Canned cherry pie filling is also used as a topping for other pies, like custard or ice cream pies.

Mixed Berry Pie

Berry pie uses a mix of berries like blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned berries. Spices like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice are sometimes added, and even coconut. The top crust can be brushed with milk and sugar for a nice glaze.

No-bake layered berry pies can combine berry fillings with chocolate, custard, vanilla pudding, or cream cheese. They are often topped with fresh fruits, jam, or whipped cream.

Peach Pie

A delicious raspberry-peach pie made with fresh fruits.

Peach pie can be made with fresh, frozen, or canned peaches. A basic filling with fresh fruit, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch can even be frozen for later use. Peach pie can be combined with other fruits like strawberry, blueberry, or apple. It's often topped with whipped cream or a streusel with nuts or cinnamon.

The peaches n' cream version includes cream cheese and egg yolk, sometimes with sour cream. Peaches can also be used in a cream pie with vanilla pudding and fresh fruit slices in a graham cracker crust. There are also many kinds of peach ice cream pies.

A "black bottom" peach pie has a chocolate cookie crumb crust. Its no-bake filling is made with gelatin, crushed peaches, lemon juice, and whipped cream.

Shaker Lemon Pie

Shaker lemon pie is a simple pie with only four ingredients, created by the Shaker communities in the Midwestern United States. To make it, lemon slices and sugar are left together for several hours until juicy. Then, beaten eggs are added, and the mixture is poured into a pie crust and baked. It can be served warm or at room temperature, often with ice cream.

Savory Pies

Chicken Pie

A hearty chicken pie with gravy.

In the 1700s, poultry pies included chicken, turkey, duck, or other birds. While pigeon pie was popular in England, in America, chicken and turkey pies became favorites. Early European chicken pie recipes were complex, with sweet ingredients and many different meats.

American cooks simplified these recipes, creating a dish that fit their new country's values of being thrifty and moderate. Leftover chickens and turkeys were often turned into pies with dumplings.

Chicken pie became a key dish for Thanksgiving meals. As writer Sarah Josepha Hale described, it was "an indispensable part of a good and true Yankee Thanksgiving." Edward Everett Hale also mentioned having chicken pie along with many other desserts on Thanksgiving.

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote that chicken pies were a welcome change during the winter months, bringing "fresh cheer" and reminding people of holiday celebrations.

Salmon Pie

Catholic French-Canadians who moved to New England ate salmon pie on Fridays, when they didn't eat meat. It was also eaten during Lent. This simple pie is made with canned salmon. It can be combined with mayonnaise and lemon juice, baked in pastry, and served with mushroom gravy. Vegetables like celery, carrots, potatoes, and peas are sometimes added.

Tourtière

A tourtière meat pie, often served at Christmas.

Tourtière is a French-Canadian meat pie, often eaten for the Christmas Réveillon meal. It's believed to have roots in Medieval cuisine. This pie came to New England with French-Canadian immigrants. It has become a symbol of their identity. In the United States, the strong spices like cloves are often toned down, with allspice being more common. There are many regional variations of this meat and potato pie.

Other Delicious Pies

Banana Cream Pie

A slice of creamy banana cream pie.

Banana cream pie is a type of custard pie that dates back to at least the 1800s. In the 1950s, it was even ranked as the favorite dessert of the United States Armed Services! This no-bake pie has a filling of vanilla pudding or pastry cream, layered with sliced bananas and whipped cream.

Grasshopper Pie

Grasshopper pie is a no-bake mousse pie with a chocolate crumb crust. The filling can be made with marshmallows or cream cheese. The cream cheese version often has green food coloring, condensed milk, cream cheese, and chocolate-covered mint cookie crumbs. Another version uses creme de menthe, creme de cacao, and melted marshmallows folded into whipped cream.

The chocolate cookie crumb crust can be made with wafer crumbs or crumbled sandwich cookies. This light green pie is often linked to springtime and Easter celebrations in the United States.

Chocolate Cherry Pie

Chocolate cherry pie, possibly inspired by a Viennese cake, can be made in different ways. A no-bake version can have chocolate pudding poured over cherries, topped with whipped cream. Another no-bake version mixes gelatin and cherry juice with whipped egg whites, maraschino cherry pieces, and grated chocolate.

Chocolate cherry pie can also be baked with sweet cherries and a chocolate cherry liqueur-flavored custard.

Mud Pie

Mud pie is a type of pie with many variations, found in homes and restaurants across America. One simple no-bake version uses mocha or coffee ice cream in a chocolate cookie crumb crust, topped with whipped cream and warm fudge sauce. Sometimes coffee liquor or Kahlua is added. Some versions with eggs are baked like other custard pies. It's often linked to the Deep South, especially Mississippi. The name comes from how the hot fudge sauce melts the ice cream when poured over a slice.

Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry rhubarb pie with a lattice pie crust.

There are different ways to make rhubarb pie. An early recipe from 1874 used just four ingredients: sugar, rhubarb stems, water, and a little flour to thicken it. Strawberries and butter can be added to make strawberry rhubarb pie. For a baked custard filling, egg yolks and butter can be included. This type of pie can also be topped with meringue. Some recipes add milk to the filling.

Vinegar Pie

Vinegar pie was a very popular Southern dessert in the 1800s and early 1900s, especially during the Great Depression. It's known as a "desperation pie" or "poor man's pie." These pies were made with basic ingredients like eggs, butter, flour, and sugar. Vinegar pie was simple and cheap to make, using vinegar sweetened with a lot of sugar when fresh lemons were expensive.

What Americans Like Best

A survey in 2008 by the American Pie Council found that apple pie was the most popular pie in the United States, preferred by 19% of Americans. It was followed by pumpkin pie (13%), pecan pie (12%), banana cream pie (10%), and cherry pie (9%). Pie is still the most popular dessert choice for holidays, even more so than cake or cookies.