What is pie?

Pie is what happens when pastry meets filling. Pie can be closed, open, small,
large, savory or sweet. The basic concept of pies and tarts has changed little
throughout the ages. Cooking methods (baked or fried in ancient hearths, portable
colonial/pioneer Dutch ovens, modern ovens), pastry composition (flat bread,
flour/fat/water crusts, puff paste, milles feuilles), and cultural preference
(pita, pizza, quiche, shepherd's, lemon meringue, classic apple, chocolate
pudding). All figure prominently into the complicated history of this particular
genre of food.
The first pies were very simple and generally of the savory (meat and cheese) kind.
Flaky pastry fruit-filled turnovers appeared in the early 19th century. Some pie-
type foods are made for individual consumption. These portable pies... pasties,
turnovers, empanadas, pierogi, calzones...were enjoyed by working classes and sold
by street vendors. Pie variations (cobblers, slumps, grunts, etc.) are endless!

How old is "pie?"

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word "pie" as it relates
to food to 1303, noting the word was well-known and popular by 1362.

Why call it "pie?"

"Pie...a word whose meaning has evolved in the course of many centuries and which
varies to some extent according to the country or even to region....The derivation
of the word may be from magpie, shortened to pie. The explanation offered in favour
or this is that the magpie collects a variety of things, and that it was an
essential feature of early pies that they contained a variety of ingredients."
---The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition, Tom Jaine editor
[Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2006 (p. 603)

First pies
Food historians confirm ancient people made pastry. Recipes, cooking techniques,
meal presence and presentations varied according to culture and cuisine. In the
cradles of civilization (Mediterranean region including Ancient Rome, Greece,
Mesopotamia, Egypt and Arabia) the primary fat was olive oil. When combined with
ground grains, it produced a rudimentary type of pastry. The challenging part of
researching these early pies is most of us rely on translators of original texts.
These can vary according to scholarly proficiency and educated interpretation.
Moreover, there are several editions of ancient texts and recipe numbers/titles do
not always match.

Food historians confirm the ancients crafted foods approximating pie. Modern pie,
as we Americans know it today, descends from Medieval European ingredients
(fat=suet, lard, butter) and technology (pie plates, freestanding pies, tiny
tarts).

"The idea of enclosing meat inside a sort of pastry made from flour and oil
originated in ancient Rome, but it was the northern European use of lard and butter
to make a pastry shell that could be rolled out and moulded that led to the advent
of true pie."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 254)

"If the basic concept of 'a pie' is taken to mean a mixture of ingredients encased
and cooked in pastry, then proto-pies were made in the classical world and pies
certainly figured in early Arab cookery. But those were flat affairs, since olive
oil was used as the fat in the pastry and will not produce upstanding pies; pastry
made with olive oil is 'weak' and readily slumps."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition, Tom Jaine editor [Oxford
University Press:Oxford] 2006 (p. 603)

Ancient Roman recipes

"[287] [Baked picnic] Ham [Pork Shoulder, fresh or cured] Pernam The hams should be
braised with a good number of figs and some three laurel leaves; the skin is then
pulled off and cut into square pieces; these are macerated with honey. Thereupon
make dough crumbs of flour and oil. [1] Lay the dough over or around the ham, stud
the top with the pieces of the skin so that they will be baked with the dough [bake
slowly] and when done, retire from the oven and serve. [2]"
---Apicius, Book VII, IX, Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome, edited and
translated by Joseph Dommers Vehling, facsimile 1936 edition [Dover
Publications:Mineola NY] 1977 (p. 169)
[NOTES (appended to this recipe: [1] Ordinary pie or pastry dough, or perhaps a
preparation similar to streusel, unsweetened.
[2] Experimenting with this formula, we have adhered to the instructions as closely
as possible, using regular pie dough to envelope the parboiled meat. The figs were
retired from the sauce pan long before the meat was done and they were served
around the ham as a garnish.]

Compare with this Latin text, English translation and modern instructions:
"Pernam, ubi eam cum caricis plurimis elixa veris et tribus lauri foliis, detracta
cute tessellatim indicis et melle complebis. Deinde farinam oleo subactam contexes
et ei corium reddis et cum farina cocta fuerit, eximas furno ut est et inferes."
Boil the ham with a large number of dried figs and 3 bay leaves. Remove the skin
and make diagonal incisions into the meat. Pour in honey. Then make a dough of oil
and flour and wrap the ham in it. Take it out of the oven when the dough is cooked
and serve. (Ap. 393)...

"Cover the base of a pan, large enough to take the ham, with figs and lay the ham,
stuffed with figs, on top. Fill the pan with water, and add 3 bay leaves. Cover,
and boil the ham for 1 hour over a low heat. In the meantime make the pastry...When
the ham is cooked, dry it well and make incisions all over the flesh. Baste it with
honey while it cooks. Then wrap it in the dough and decorate it. Preheat the oven
to 200 C/400 F/Gas 6, and bake for 30 minutes until the crust is golden. leave to
cool." (p. 268) "Pastry dough: Roman pastry dough was made with lard or olive oil
rather than butter. Use double the weight of fat in flour. Spelt flour needs rather
less fat than wheat flour. Rub the fat into the flour until it resembles
breadcrumbs. Pour in a little salted water and press the crumbs into a ball. Leave
in a cool place for several hours. Then roll it into a sheet on a marble surface
dusted with flour, and use as the recipe requires." (p. 195)
---Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, Patrick Faas
[Palgrave MacMillan:New York] 2003 ?

Cato's Layered cheesecake has pastry bottom crust.

Mesopotamia
"Mersu (Date and Pistachio Pastry). Mersu was a widely known pastry. Different
inventories list different ingredients for mersu, so there were many recipes. mersu
always seemed to contain first-quality dates and butter; beyond that, different
records list pistachios, garlic, onion seed, and other seemingly incongruous
ingredients. Bakers who specialized in this treat were known as the episat mersi,
so mersu-making was probably an involved and respected process." ---Cooking in
Ancient Civilizations, Cathy K. Kaufman [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2006 (p. 31)
[NOTE: Modernized recipe follows (p. 31-32). Finished product wraps dough around
filling, free form, not in a pie dish.]

Medieval European pies

There is some controversy whether the pastry crust used in Medieval times was meant
for eating or as a cooking receptacle. The answer is both. A careful examination of
these early recipes reveals crust purpose.

"Originally pies contained various assortments of meat and fish, and fruit pies do
not appear until the late sixteenth century...pies could be open as well as having
a crust on top."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
254)

American pies
"As a favored dish of the English, pies were baked in America as soon as the early
settlers set up housekeeping on dry land. Beyond mere preference, howevers, there
was a practical reason for making pies, especially in the harsh and primitive
conditions endured by the first colonists. A piecrust used less flour than bread
and did not require anything as complicated as a brick oven for baking. More
important, though, was how pies could stretch even the most meager provisions into
sustaining a few more hungry mouths...No one, least of all the early settlers,
would probably proclaim their early pies as masterpieces of culinary delight. The
crusts were often heavy, composed of some form of rough flour mixed with suet."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004 (p. 272)

Pastry
pie crust
puff paste
About pastry
Food historians trace the genesis of pastry to ancient mediterranean paper-thin
multi-layered baklava and filo. Returning crusaders introduced these sweet recipes
to Medieval Europe where they were quickly adopted. French and Italian Renaissance
chefs are credited for perfecting puff pastry and choux. 17th and 18th century
chefs introduced several new recipes, including brioche, Napoleons, cream puffs and
eclairs. Antonin Careme (1784-1833) is said to have elevated French pastry to art.
In Central and Eastern Europe, strudels evolved. Sweet yeast-breads and cakes share
a parallel history. About coffee cakes & galettes.
"Small sweet cakes eaten by the ancient Egyptians may well have included types
using pastry. With their fine flour, oils, and honey they had the materials, and
with their professional bakers they had the skills. In the plays of Aristophenes
(5th century BC) there are mentions of sweetmeats including small pastries filled
with fruit. Nothing is known of the actual pastry used, but the Greeks certainly
recognized the trade of pastry-cook as distinct from that of baker. The Romans made
a plain pastry of flour, oil, and water to cover meats and fowls which were baked,
thus keeping in the juices. (The covering was not meant to be eaten; it filled the
role of what was later called puff paste') A richer pastry, intended to be eaten,
was used to make small pasties containing eggs or little birds which were among the
minor items served at banquets....In Medieval Northern Europe the usual cooking
fats were lard and butter, which--especially lard--were conducive to making stiff
pastry and permitted development of the solid, upright case of the raised pie...No
medieval cookery books give detailed instructions on how to make pastry; they
assume the necessary knowledge...Not all Medieval pastry was coarse. Small tarts
would be made with a rich pastry of fine white flour, butter, sugar, saffron, and
other good things, certainly meant to be eaten. From the middle of the 16th century
on, actual recipes for pastry begin to appear. ..The first recipe for something
recognizable as puff pastry is in Dawson [The Good Housewife's Jewell,
London]...1596."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 586-7).

"Greek pistores had mastered the art of giving their bread the most extravagant
forms, shaping it like mushrooms, braids, crescents, and so on...thus illustrating
in advance Careme's observation a thousand years later: "The fine arts are five in
number, namely: painting, sculpture, poetry, music and architecture, the principal
branch of the latter being pastry." And since it is not possible for us to discuss
flour without dealing with cakes, the moment has come to pose the question of what
pastry consisted of in antiquity, what it looked like and how it was made. The
regrettable loss of the great Treatise on Baking, by Chrysippus of Tyranus, which
included detailed reicpes for more than thirty cakes, each entirely different,
leaves us somewhat short of information on this important subject. But various
cross-checks (not to mention the consulation of Apicius) nonetheless give us a
rather good idea of what the ancient Greeks and Romans confected in this
domain...the makers of Greco-Roman pastry had no knowledge of the subleties of
dough, and thus having nothing like our present-day babas, doughnuts, bioches,
savarins, creampuffs, millefeuille pastry, pastry made from raised dough or
shortbreads...as a general rule, Greek pastry closely resembled the sort that is
still found today in North Africa, the Near East, and the Balkans: the basic
mixture was honey, oil, and flour, plus various aromatic substances, notably
pepper. The most frequent method of cooking was frying, but pastry was also cooked
beneath coals. Other ingredients included pine nuts, walnuts, dates, almonds, and
poppy seeds. This mixture was mainly baked in the form of thin round cakes and in
the form doughnuts and fritters...Roman pastry does not appear to have included
many innovations over and above what the Greeks had already invented."
---Culture and Cuisine: A Journey Through the History of Food, Jean-Francois Revel
[Doubleday:Garden City] 1979 (p. 68-9)

Professional pastry guilds & chefs

"Patissiere...Prehistoric man made sweet foods based on maple or birch syrup, wild
honey, fruits, and seeds. It is thought that the idea of cooking a cereal paste on
a stone in the sun to make pancakes began as far back in time as the Neolithic
age...In the Middle Ages in France, the work of bakers overlapped with that of the
pastrycooks; bakers made gingerbread and meat, cheese, and vegetable
pies...However, it was the Crusaders who gave a decisive impetus to patisseries, by
discovering sugar cane and puff pastry in the East. This lead to pastrycooks,
bakers, and restauranteurs all claiming the same products as their own specialties,
and various disputes arose when one trade encroached upon the other...Another
order, in 1440, gave the sole rights for meat, fish, and cheese pies to
patisseries, this being the first time that the word appeared. Their rights and
duties were also defined, and certain rules were established...In the 16th century,
patissier products were still quite different from the ones we know today. Choux
pastry is said to have been invented in 1540 by Popelini, Catherine de' Medici's
chef, but the pastrycook's art only truly began to develop in the 17th century and
greatest innovator at the beginning of the 19th century was indubitably [Antonin]
Careme...There were about a hundred pastrycooks in Paris at the end of the 18th
century. In 1986 the count for the whole of France was over 40,000 baker-
pastrycooks and 12,5000 pastrycooks."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Jenifer Harvey Lang, editor [Crown:New York] 1988 (p.
777-8)

"The bakers of France made cakes too until one day in 1440 when a specialist
corporation, the corporation of pastrycooks, deprived them of the right to do so.
The pastrycooks had begun by making pies--meat pies, fish pies...Romans had known
how to make a kind flaky pastry sheet by sheet, like modern filo pastry, but the
new method of adding butter, folding and rolling meant that the pastry would rise
and form sheets as it did so. Louis XI's favourite marzipan turnovers were made
with flaky pastry...From the sixteenth century onwards convents made biscuits and
fritters to be sold in the aid of good works...Missionary nuns took their talents
as pastrycooks to the French colonies..."
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat [Barnes & Noble Books:New York] 1992
(p. 242-244)

"Although the Paris pastry guild did not record its first constitution until 1440,
there may well have been pastry specialties before that date. Once their guild was
recognized, they began to expand the range of their production: in addition to meat
pastries and tarts, they also created pastries out of milk, eggs, and cream,
usually sweetened, such as darioles, flans, and dauphins. In order to become a
master pastry maker in Le Mans in the early sixteenth century, one had to be able
to use sugar loaves to make hypocras, a sweet, spiced wine used as an aperitif and
after-dinner drink. It was not until 1566 that the king joined the Paris cookie
makers guild to that of the pastry makers, and the two would be wedded frequently
thereafter."
---Food: A Culinary History, Jean-Louis Flandrin & Massimo Montanari [Columbia
University:New York] 1999 (p.281-2)

See also: cakes.

easy way!. Pet-Ritz brings the country's best to you."

---display ad, Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1957 (p. A6)
[NOTE: these pies were complete, no indication crust were also sold separately.]

[1958]
"Frozen Pie Crust, pgk. 29 cents."
---Panola Watchman [Carthage TX], November 20, 1958 (p. 44)

[1961]
"You! Enjoy the revolutionary new frozen product! Oronoque Frozen Pie crust 69
cents, 2-crust-3 pie pans. Victory [supermarket] will supply free of charge...your
choice of any two Jell-O pie fillings."
---Fitchburg Sentinel [MA], December 6, 1961 (p. 34)

[1962]
"Pet-Ritz Frozen Pie Crusts and are introduced by Pet Milk, which has created an
entirely new product category."
---The Food Chronology, James Trager [Henry Holt:New York] 1997 (p. 570)

About Pet-Ritz:
"Pet-Ritz Pie Co. was started by the Petritz family. The family originally operated
a roadside stand, selling cherry pies to Michigan tourists. The success of the
tourist business prompted the family to freeze pies and sell them. With the advent
of modern mass production and freezing capabilities, Pet-Ritz Fruit Pies became one
of the midwest's leading brands of frozen fruit pies...Because of consumer
acceptance of frozen convenience products in the early 1960s, the Frozen Foods
Division expanded into other product areas. One frozen product that has been very
successful is Pet-Ritz Pie Crust Shells. Pet's expertize in making pie crust for
fruit pies made pie crust shells a natural line extension."
---"Petritz family treats now shared by millions," Los Angeles Times, October 16,
1980 (p. S8)

"Betty Winton says: Now You Can Make Perfect Pies No Foolin---No Failin' with
Oronoque Orchards Frozen Pie Crusts. They're perfct when you buy them. They're
perfect when you make them. At King Cole, Smirnoff's and other fine super markets."
---Bridgeport Post [CT], March 5, 1962 (p. 20)

[1963]
"New-Frozen Crusts. Easy as pie, the newest in pie crusts. There are frozen pie
crust shells, each the 9-inch size, packed in foil pans, all rolled and ready for a
favorite filling. Tins serve as the baking pans."
---Redlands Daily Facts [CA], January 8, 1963 (p. 8)

"Pet-Ritz...Frozen Pie Crust Shells, pkg of 2, 39 cents."

---Daily News, Huntingdon and Mount Union [PA], January 23, 1963 (p. 12)

[1965]
"Pillsbury Frozen Pie Crusts, pkg of two 9 inch shells, 29 cents."
---display ad, Los Angeles Times, December 20, 1965 (p. E18)

Pie crust sticks

Both Pillsbury and Betty Crocker (General Mills) offered Pie Crust Sticks to the
American public in the 1950s-1970s. These were natural iterations of pie crust
baking mixes. The innovation factor was these sticks, packaged & wrapped like
sticks of butter, only required rolling. Pillsbury pie sticks package.

"Pie crust in a rectangular block--it is all ready to roll out or pat into a pan,
fill and bake--is a time-saving innovation. Called Continental-style instant pie
crust, it is available for about 50 cents at the New York Exchange for Women's
Work, 541 Madison Avenue. The term 'Continental' is appropriately used for this
product because the baked crust is much more crumbly and finer in consistency than
the usual pastry made in this country. And that is not surprising, for the reicpe
originated in Poland. Like many another enterprising good cook, Mrs. Olgierd Langer
has decided to merchandise this specialty, the recipe for which she obtained from
relatives in her native Poland. There is just enough pastry in the foil-wrapped
package fora single eight-or-nine-inch pie crust. The package can be kept in the
refrigerator for several weeks."
---"Food: New Products," June Owen, New York Times, April 21, 1958 (p. 27)

About puff paste

Food historians generally agree puff paste was an invention of Renaissance cooks.
It was a natural iteration of shortcrust pastry. Early recipes were listed under
various names. The term "puff paste" became standard in early 17th century English
cooking texts.

"Puff paste is thought to have been perfected by the brilliant pastry chefs to the
court of the dukes of Tuscany, perhaps in the fifteenth century. From there it made
its was to the royal court of France, most likely brought by Marie de Medici."
---Martha Washington's Book of Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess [Columbia:New
York] 1981 (page156)

In England, puff paste was a natural iteration of short paste. Compare these
recipes:

[1545] To make short paste for tart

[1596] "To make butter paste
Take flour and seven or eight eggs, and cold butter and fair water, or rose water,
and spices (if you will) and make your paste. Beat it on a board, and when you have
so done divide it into two or three parts and drive out the piece with a rolling
pin. And do['t] with butter one piece by another, and fold up your paste upon the
butter and drive it out again. And so do five or six times together, and some not
cut for bearings. Put them into the over, and when they be baked scrape sugar on
them and serve them."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, with an introduction by Maggie Black
[Southover Press:East Sussex] 1996 (p. 71)

[1615-1660] "Of puff paste.

Now for the making of puff paste of the best kind, you shall take the finest wheat
flour after it hath been a little baked in a pot in the oven, and blend it well
with eggs, whites and yolks all together, after the paste is well kneaded, roll out
a part thereof as thin as you please, and then spread cold sweet butter over the
same, then upon the same butter roll another leaf of the paste as before; and
spread it with butter also; and thus roll leaf upon leaf with butter between till
it be as thick as you think good: and with it either cover any baked meat, or make
paste for venison, Florentine, tart of what dish else you please and so bake it.
There be some that to this paste use sugar, but it is certain it will hinder the
rising thereof; and therefore when your puffed paste is baked, you shall dissolved
sugar into rose-water, and drop it into the paste as much as it will by any means
receive, and then set it a little while in the oven after and it will be sweet
enough."
---The English Hous-wife, Gervase Markham, [W.Wilson:London] 1660 (p. 74) [NOTE:
facsimile 1615 edition of this book edited by Michael R. Best [McGill-Queen's
University Press:Montreal] 1998 contains this recipe (p. 98) and others. Your
librarian can help you obtain a copy.]

Related foods? Choux & shortbread.

Pie crust
In its most basic definition, pie crust is a simple mix of flour and water. The
addition of fat makes it pastry. In all times and places, the grade of the
ingredients depends upon the economic status of the cook. Apicius [1st Century AD]
makes reference to a simple recipe for crust (see below). Medieval cooking texts
typically instruct the cook to lay his fruit or meat in a "coffin," no recipe
provided. Up through Medieval times, pie crust was often used as a cooking
receptacle. It was vented with holes and sometimes marked to distinguish the
baker/owner. Whether or not the crust was consumed or discarded is debated by food
historians. Some hypothesize the crust would have been rendered inedible due to
extreme thickness and baking time. Others observe flour, and by association flour-
based products, was expensive and would not have been thrown away. Possibly? Pies
baked in grand Medieval houses served two classes: the wealthy at the contents and
the crust was given to the servants or poor. Modern iterations include Frozen pie
crust and Pie crust sticks.
"Pies and tarts...In the Middle Ages, these sweet and savory preparations baked in
a crust were the specialty of patissiers--who had no other functions...We know that
medieval cooks did not always have ovens, and they worked with patissiers, to whom
they sometimes brought fillings of their own making for the patissier to place in a
crust and bake. This explains why cookbooks intended for professional chefs were
nearly silent about the ingredients of these pastry wrappings, but spoke only about
consistency an thickness, and about the most suitable shapes...Still, medieval
cooks might take a chance and cook a simple pie or tart on their own by placing it
in a shallow pan, covered with a lid and surrounded by live embers, whose progress
they had to monitor very closely...In effect, the pastry because an oven, ensuring
moderate heat thanks to its insulating properties...So could it be that these
pastry coverings were not necessarily eaten once they had done their job of
containing and protecting the fillings?"
---The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy, Odile Redon et al,
[University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1998 (p. 133-4)

Renaissance patissiers began experimenting with lighter, more malleable doughs.

Recipes for short paste ("short" in this case means butter) and puff paste enter
cookbooks at this time. 17th century English cook books and reveal several recipes
for pie crust and puff paste, all of varying thickness, taste and purpose. Robert
May's The Accomplisht Cook [1685] listed fourteen separate recipes for paste
(pastry/pie crust/puff paste). American cook books (The Virginia Housewife, Mary
Randoph [1828] & Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches, Miss Leslie
[1849]) contain instructions for making pies with puff paste, sometimes decorating
them with cut out pieces of this same paste. Mrs. Randolph's recipe for pumpkin
pudding (pumpkin pie) states "put a paste around the edges and in the bottom of a
shallow dish or plate, pour in the mixture, cut some thin bits of paste, twist them
and lay them across the top and bake it nicely." (University of South Carolina
Press:Columbia] 1984 ( p. 154). Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book [1879]
reads: "Cranberry tart...line your plates with thin puff-paste, fill, lay strips of
rich puff-paste across the top and bake in a moderate oven." (p. 299). There is no
illustration to show us exactly how these strips looked.
In addition to being efficient cooking receptacles, covered pies promoted
preservation:

"The idea of the covered pie. The modern biscuit is a descendant of the barley
bannock and the oatcake which have come down to us from the beginning of
civilization. It is a method of presering simply by reducing the water content of
baked dough to such a degree that the product is not likely to be affected by
mould; this is done, with the biscuit, in such a manner as to make chewing easy.
The biscuit is thus the result of a successful fight against the dangers
threatening normally fermented baked goods, mould, and staleness. The basic idea of
the covered pie is a similar one. The covered pie is of very old standing in the
British Isles, probably of longer standing than the modern biscuit. It has as a
basis a similar dough to the biscuit, finely rolled out so that it can be
thoroughly baked like a crust, but not caramelized like a bread-crust. Such a
crust, especially when some fat has been added to the dough, is likely to withstand
the influence of liquids and semi-liquids without becoming a sticky mess. If it is
given an open pie-dish form, it can be used for filling with semi-liquids like
minced meat or fruit, the whole thing is protected by the outer layer of the crust
against certain contaminates and can be kept for quite a long time."
---(p. 184)

Apicius' recipe:

[287] [Baked Picnic] HAM [Pork Shoulder, fresh or cured] PERNAM

The ham should be raised with a good number of figs and some three laurel leaves;
the skin is then pulled off and cut into square pieces; these are macerated with
hone. Thereupon make dough crumbs of flour and oil. Lay the dough over or around
the ham, stud the top with the pieces of the skin so that they will be baked with
the dough and when done, retire from the oven and serve."
---Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome, Edited and translated by Joseph
Dommers Vehling [Dover:New York] 1977 (p. 169)
American apple pie
Recipes for apple pie (along with apples!) were brought to America by early
European settlers. These recipes date back to Medieval times. This 14th century
English book offers For to Make Tartys in Applis. [NOTE: cofyn is a medieval word
meaning pie crust!]. About pie.
"The typical American pie made from uncooked apples, fat, sugar, and sweet spices
mixed together and baked inside a closed pie shell descends from fifteenth-century
English apple pies, which, while not quite the same, are similar enough that the
relationship is unmistakable. By the end of the sixteenth century in England, apple
pies were being made that are virtually identical to those made in America in the
early twenty-first century. Apple pies came to America quite early. There are
recipes for apple pie in both manuscript receipts and eighteenth-century English
cookery books imported into the colonies."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004 (p. 43)

As American as Apple Pie

Who coined this phrase?

What does it mean?

"The expression "as American as apple pie" wasn't the product of an overzealous
imagination. Apple dishes of one kind or another could be found at practically
every colonial meal, especially in New England. The apple was made into pies and
fritters and puddings and slumps, literally a host of dishes. The colonists had
inherited some of their taste for apples from the British along with many of the
British recipes, but many other dishes were the products of American invention."
---Apples: History, Folklore, Horticulture, and Gastronomy, Peter Wynne
[Hawthorn:New York] 1975 (p. 24)
"When you say that something is "as American as apple pie," what you're really
saying is that the item came to this country from elsewhere and was transformed
into a distinctly American experience."
---As American as Apple Pie, John Lehndorff, American Pie Council.

Martha Washington's recipe:

Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery (which was hand transcribed in the middle/late
17th century and in Mrs. Washington's possession) contains a recipe for an codling
[apple] tarte. Note the archaic language (and lack of directions we now think of as
*standard,* such as measurements and oven temps!):

[To Make] A Codling Tarte Eyther to Looke Clear or Green

"First coddle [poach] ye [the] apples in faire water; yn [then] take halfe the
weight in sugar & make as much syrrop as will cover ye bottom of yr [your]
preserving pan, & ye rest of ye suger keepe to throw on them as the boyle, which
must be very softly; & you must turne them often least they burne too. Then put
them in a thin tart crust, & give them with theyr syrrup halfe an hours bakeing; or
If you pleas, you may serve them up in a handsome dish, onely garnished with suger
& cinnamon. If you would gave yr apples looke green, coddle them in fair water,
then pill them, & put them into ye water againe, & cover them very close. Then lay
them in yr coffins [ crust] of paste with lofe [loaf] suger, & bake them not too
hard. When you serve them up, put in with a tunnell [funnel] to as many of them as
you pleas, a little thick sweet cream."
---Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess [Columbia
University Press:New York] 1981 (p. 95-96)
[Ms. Hess adds these notes regarding codlings: "Some writers describe codlings as
immature or windfall apples, and this may have been tru ate times, but the term
also designated a specific apple, rather elongated and tapering toward the flower
end...All sources agree that the codling was good only for cooking."]
Similar recipes appear in American Cookery, Amelia Simmons [1796], The Virginia
Housewife, Mary Randolph [1824] and The Good Housekeeper, Sarah Josepha Hale
[1841].
Some American historic apple pie recipes:
[1796] American Cookery, Amelia Simmons
[1803] Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter
[1865] Mrs. Goodfellow's cookery as it should be. A new manual of the dining room
and kitchen
---pies (pps. 209-226); apple pie (pps. 215 & 220)
[1918] Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer

Related food? Turnovers.

Why do some people serve cheddar cheese with apple pie?

The practice of combining cheese, fruit, and nuts dates back to ancient times.
These were often served at the end of a meal because they were thought to aid in
digestion. From the earliest days through the Renaissance, the partaking of these
foods was generally considered a priviledge of the wealthy. This practice was
continued by wealthy dinners composed of many courses up until the 19th century.
Apples and cheesemaking were introduced to the New World by European settlers.
These people also brought with them their recipes and love for certain
combinations. This explains the popular tradition of apple pie and cheddar cheese
in our country.

"The dark ages...The main meal was taken around the middle of the day...In the
evening a light supper was taken and this was always finished with a little hard
cheese, for digestion's sake. Gradually the large mid-day meal was later taken
until that meal, wine-drinking and the cheese supper were combined. Thus was born
the British habit of finishing an evening meal with cheese; almost every other
society has eaten cheese before the sweet course to finish their main wine, or
instead of a sweet."
---Cheese: A Guide to the World of Cheese and Cheesemaking, Bruno Battistotti et al
[Facts on File Publications:New York] 1983 (p. 14-5)

"'After meat, [serve] pears, nuts, strawberries, wineberries and hard cheese, also
blanderelles, pippins [apples].' All were considered hard or astringent, and
therefore suitable to close up the stomache again after eating. Even so, apples and
pears when taken at the end of the meal were usually roasted, and eaten with sugar,
comfits, fennel seed or aniseed 'because of their ventosity.' Ordinary folk ate
fruit as and when they could get it. The poor people in Piers Plowman sought to
poison hunger with baked apples..."
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson
[Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 334)

Related food: Apple sauce

What about Mock Apple Pie?

Imitation apple pies (Mock Apple Pie, Soda Cracker Pie, Cracker Pie) made with soda
crackers were the pride of thrifty mid-19th century American cooks. Recipes for
Mock Apple Pie using Nabisco brand Ritz Crackers first surfaced in the mid-1950s.
Early recipes published in newspapers are attributed to readers, not the company.
We do not know when Nabisco began printing Mock Apple Pie recipes on product boxes.
Other crackers are also used, most notably saltines. Some mid-20th century articles
state Mock Apple Pie was �invented� during the Great Depression. This �fact�
circulated enough so people accepted it as truth into the late 20th century.

Mock Apple Pie recipe survey

[1857]
�Mock Apple Pie
Over one and one half cups of bread crumbs, pour four cups of boiling water; add
one cup of sugar, one grated nutmeg, small piece of butter, large teaspoonful of
tartaric acid; when cool, add an egg well beaten. Bake with two crusts. This is an
excellent substitute when apples are scarce.�Quaker Girl, Minnie��
---�Quaker Minnie�Out-of doors & In-doors,� Brookville American [IN], February 27,
1857 (p. 4)
"Cracker Pie.--As apples are very scarce in many sections of the country, I think
the housewife will find the following recipe for making an apple pie out of
crackers, very acceptable. For a common sized baking plate, take four of the square
or size of the round crackers, a teacupfull of sugar, and a teaspoonfull of
tartaric aid; break the crackers into a pint of water, add the sugar and spice and
finish as an apple pie.--Cor. Rural New Yorker."
---"Useful Receipts," Saturday Evening Post, February 14, 1857, American
Periodicals (p. 4)

[1869]
"Imitation Apple Pie
Six soda-bicuit soaked in three cups of cold water, the grated rind and juice of
three lemons, and sugar to your taste. This will make three pies."
---Mrs. Putnam's Receipt Book and Young Housekeeper's Assistant, Mrs. Putnam, new
and enlarged edition [Sheldon and Company:New York] 1869 (p. 119)

[1875]
�Mock Apple Pie,--Two soda crackers, one egg, one cup of sugar and one of water,
the juice and yellow rind of a lemon. Bake with upper and one under crust.�
---�Household Helps,� Aurora Dearborn Independent [IN], August 19, 1875 (p. 4)

[1879]
"Soda Cracker Pie.
Pour water on two large or four round soda crackers and let the remain till
thoroughly wet. Then press out the water and crush them up together. Stir in the
juice and grated peel of a lemon, with a cupful or more of powdered sugar. Put in
pastry and bake.--Mrs. H.L"
---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree [John P. Morton and
Company:Louisville KY] 1879 (p. 413)

[1903]
"Mock Apple Pie
Two soda biscuits break in small pieces (do not roll): pour 1 cup boiling water on
small pieces of butter, little salt, juice of 1 lemon and little of rind grated, a
little nutmeg and you have a nice substitute for apple pie. Try it, please. Old
Housekeeper."
---"Household Department," Boston Daily, September 24, 1903 (p. 9)

[1956]
�This week�s recipe comes from my mother�Mrs. Harold Hobson�It�s for Mock Apple Pie
and it doesn�t have an apple in it!
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
2 teasp. Cream of tartar
20 Ritz crackers
1 double pie crust
Put the filling ingredients in a saucepan and boil for 2 min. Cool and put in pie
crusts. Season with butter and cinnamon. Bake as you would a real apple pie.�
---Algona Upper[Des Moines IA], July 17, 1956 (p. 11)

[1960]
�Mock Apple Pie
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. cream of tartar
26 Ritz crackers
2 tbsp. cinnamon
Nutmeg
Butter
Boil water, sugar and cream of tartar for five minutes. Add Ritz crackers. Do not
stir. Boil two minutes. Pour into unbaked pie shell and sprinkle with brown sugar
and cinnamon. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust and bake at 425 F degrees for
30 minutes. Some recipes call for 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice for flavoring. If used
it should be stirred into the water and cream of tartar before Ritz Crackers are
added. From: Mrs. Hazel Custerson.�
---�Tasty Desserts,� Medicine Hat News [Alberta Canada], February 19, 1960 (p. 47)

[1991]
"Mock Apple Pie is Back. While the pundits debate the condition of the economy,
1,500 consumers a year have been clamoring for a recipe that is a holdover from the
Depression. In response to their requests, the recipe for mock apple pie is back on
boxes of Ritz crackers, after a 10-year hiatus. The pie is made with cracker
crumbs, water, sugar, lemon juice, cream of tartar, margarine and cinnamon. It
contains no apples, yet it tastes something like apple pie. A spokeswoman for
Nabiso Brands said that decades ago, apples were not as readily available out of
season and those that were available were expensive, accounting for the popularity
of the mock apple pie. Actually, the recipe is a lot older than Ritz crackers.
Pioneer families crossing the Great Plains in the 19th century also made pies like
this when they ran out of fresh or dried apples, using apple juice or apple-cider
vinegar in place of the lemon juice."
---"Food Notes," Florence Fabricant, New York Times, February 20, 1991 (p. C8)
About soda crackers & Ritz Crackers.

Related food? Apple cider

Apple Crisp, Brown Betty, Pandowdy & Slump

Tasty combinations of apples, spices, sweeteners and pastry were known to ancient
cooks. Medieval Europeans used apples frequently. They also perfected pie. When
they settled in the New World, they brought their apple pie recipes with them.
Apple crisp, apple betty, brown betty, apple slump, apple grunt, apple cobbler,
apple pot pie, fried apple pies, apple bread pudding, & apple pandowdy are
delicious American cousins descending from a common Old World culinary tradition.
Essentially: one recipe done a dozen delicious ways.
Why call it pandowdy?
"Pandowdy...U.S. [Of obscure origin;... a compound of Pan...Halliwell cites from
Bp. Kennet's MS. pandoulde a custard (Somerset); but this is now unknown in Eng.
dialects.] A kind of apple pudding, variously seasoned, bu usually with molasses
and baked in a deep dish with or without a crust. 1846 Worcester, Pandowdy, food
make of bread and apples baked together. 1852 Hawthorne Blithedale Rom xxiv,
Hollingsworth [would] fill my plate from the great dish of pandowdy."
---Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition [Oxford University Press:Oxford] (p. 131)
[NOTE: EDD is the English Dialect Dictionary, Joseph Wright, London, 1898-1904,
supplement, 1905).]

"Pandowdy...n.. A dessert of apples prepared in various ways. Cf. apple dowdy,

apple pandowdy. Pandowdy is usu. a deep-dish apple pie, freq. one sweetened with
molasses. The crust may be of pastry, biscuit, dough, or cake dough. Sometimes it
is steamed, sometimes baked. The name is also applied to brown betty...The origin
of the term is obscure. EDD lists an obs. pandoulde, custard from Somerset. Also cf
EDD's dowl, a verb meaning to knead or mix dough in a hurry, and dowler, a cake or
a dumpling made in a hurry.' 1805 Pocumtuc HousewifeLife J. Downing 101 'You don't
know how queer it looks to see...politics and pan-dowdy...jumbled up together. 1893
Leland Memoirs I. 74 Pan-Dowdy--'a kind of coarse and broken up apple-pie.'"
---Dictionary of Americanisms on Historic Principles, Mitford M. Mathew editor
[University of Chicago Press:Chicago IL] 1951 (p. 1193)

[1849]
"Apple Bread Pudding.--Pare, core and slice thin a dozen or more fine juicy
pippins, or bell-flowers, strewing among them some bits of yellow rind of a large
lemon that has been pared very thin, and squeezing over them the juice of the
lemon. Or substitute a tea-spoonful of essence of lemon. Cover the bottom of a
large deep dish with a thick layer of sliced apples. Strew it thickly with brown
sugar theb scatter on a few very small bits of the best fresh butter. Next strew
over it a thin layer of grated bread-crumbs. Afterwards another thick layer of
apple, followed by sugar, butter, and bread-crumbs as before. Continue this till
you get the dish full, finishing with a thin layer of crumbs. Put the dish into a
moderate oven, and bake the pudding well, ascertaning that the apples are thorougly
done and a soft as marmalade. Send it to table either hot or cold, and eat it with
cream-sauce, or with butter, sugar, and nutmeg, stirred to a cream. This pudding is
in some places called by the homely names of Brown Betty or Pan Dowdy. It will
require far less baking, if the apples are previously stewed soft, and afterwards
mixed with the sugar and lemon. Then put it into the dish, in layers, interspersed
(as above) with bits of butter, and layers of grated crumbs. It will be much
improved by the addition of a grated nutmeg, mixed with the apples."
---Directions for Cookery in Its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie, 32nd
edition with improvmeents, supplementary receipts, and a new appendix [Carey &
Hart::Philadelphia] 1849 (p. 463)
[NOTE: This recipe appears in the Appendix "Containing New Receipts."]
[1852]
"An Apple Pandowdy.--Make a good plain paste. Pare, core, and slice a half dozen or
more fine large juicy apples, and strew among thenm sufficient brown sugar to make
them very sweet; adding some cloves, cinnamon, or lemon-peel. Have ready a pint of
sour milk. Butter a deep tin baking-pan, and put in the apples with the sugar and
spcie. Then, having dissolved, in a litte lukewarm water, a small tea-spoonful of
soda, stir it into the milk, and acid of which it will immediately remove. Pour the
milk, foaming, upon the appl;es, and immediately put a lid or cover of paste rolled
out rather thick. Notch the edge all round, having made it fit closely. Set it into
a hot oven, and bake it an hour. Eat warm, wtih sugar."
---Miss Leslie's Complete Cookery. Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches,
Miss [Eliza] Leslie, 47th edition, thoroulgy revised, with additions [Henry Carey
Baird:Philadelphia] 1852 (p. 498-499)
[NOTE: This book contains the same exact Apple Bread Pudding recipe above (1849
Leslie) on p. 462-463. It also lists this stand-alone Pandowdy which is quite
different. Both recipes appear in "New Receipts" chapter, several pages apart.
While they contain some similar ingredients, they are clearly not the same recipe.]

[1857]
"A Brown Betty.--Pare, core, and slice thin some fine juicy apples. Cover with the
apples the bottom of a large deep white-ware dish. Sweeten them well with plenty of
brown sugar; adding grated lemon or orange peel. Strew over them a thick layer of
bread-crumbs, and add to the crumbs a very few bits of fresh butter. The put in
another layer of cut apples and sugar, followed by a second layer of bread-crumbs
and butter. Next more apples and sugar; then more bread-crumbs and butter; repeat
this till the dish is full, finishing it with bread-crumbs. Bake it till the apples
are entirely done and quite soft. Send it to table hot. It will be improved (if in
the country at cider-making season) by adding to each layer of apples a very little
sweet unfermented cider, fresh from the press. This pudding is in some places
called an Apple Pandowdy. We believe it is Brown Betty in the South; Pandowdy in
the North. It is a good plain bpudding if the butter is fresh and sweet, and not
too much of it. The apples must be juicy and not sweet. weet apples never cook
well."
---Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, Eliza Leslie [T.B. Peterson:Philadelphia] 1857
(p. 455)
[NOTE: This recipe

[1877]
"Brown Betty
Put a layer of sweetened apple sauce in a buttered dish, add a few lumps of butter,
then a layer of cracker crumbs sprinkled with a little cinnamon, then layer of
sauce, etc., making the last layer of crumbs; bake in oven, and eat with cold,
sweetened cream."
---Buckeye Cookery, Estelle Woods Wilcox, facsimile 1877 edition [Applewood
Books:Bedford MA] (p. 197)[NOTE: Compare with Swiss Pudding, 1853.]

[1916]
"Apple Crisp
This recipe requires eight apples (or one quart), a teaspoon of cinnamon, a half
cup of water, one cup of sugar, a half cup of flour and five tablespoons of butter.
Butter a fireproof dish and fill it with the apples, water and cinnamon, mixed.
Work together the other ingredients, mixing them gently with the fingertips until
crumbly, then spread over the apple mixture. Bake 30 minutes, uncovered."
---Freeport Journal-Standard [IL], July 20, 1916 (p. 5)

[1923]
"Brown Betty
(four portions)
(A delicious and economical dessert for the home meal.)
Two cups soft bread crumbs
Two and one-half cups peeled diced apples
One cup water
Two level tablespoons butter
One-half cup sugar
One level teaspoon ground cinnamon
One-fourth level teaspoon grated nutmeg
One tablespoon lemon juice.
Mix all the ingredients, and place in a buttered baking-dish. Bake in a moderate
oven for forty minutes or until the apples are soft. Serve warm with Hard Sauce or
Cream."
---Bettina's Best Desserts, Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron [A.L.
Burt Company:New York] 1923 (p. 15)

[1924]
"Apple Crisp
2 cups sliced apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup sauce
Put apples in greased baking dish. Sprinkle cinnamon over, pour water over. Work
together with a fork the four, shortening and sugar. It will be crumbly. Sprinkle
over apples. Moderate oven, 30 to 40 min. Serve hot. Any creamy sauce, or Maple
Syrup. Total time 45 to 55 min. (Prep. 15 min.) Serves 6 to 8."
---Everybody's Cook Book: A Comprehensive Manual of Home Cookery, Isabel Ely Lord
[Harcourt Brace and Company:New York] 1924 (p. 239)

"Apple Crisp
8 apples (sliced) about one quart
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
7 tablespoon shortening
Butter a baking dish and fill with apples, water, and cinnamon mixed. Work together
remaining ingredients with finger tips until crumbly, spread over the apple mixture
and bake uncovered in a hot oven. Serve with whipped cream, plain top milk, maple
syrup or Lemon sauce. Time in oven, 30 minutes. Temperature, 400 degrees F.
Servings, 6."
---Modern Priscilla Cook Book, special subscription edition [Priscilla
Publishing:Boston] 1924 (p. 147)

[1933]
"Apple Brown Betty (Apple Betty)
2 cups applesauce or sliced apples
rind and juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup breadcrumbs

1. Add lemon juice and rind to applesauce ir sliced apples. 2. Fill a shallow
baking dish with alternate layers of the apple and breadcrumbs, beginning with the
apple and ending with the breadcrumbs.<.br 3. Dot with butter and sprinkle lightly
with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. Bake in a moderate oven, about 350 degrees F., until breadcrumbs are well
browned on top.
5. Serve with plain or whipped cream or with a hard sauce, or lemon sauce, or honey
meringue."
---Girl Scout Handbook [Girl Scouts of America:New York] 1933 (p. 412)

[1956]
"Apple Crisp (Apple Crumble)
Place in greased 8" square pan...
4 cups sliced, pared, cored baking apples (about 4 med.)
Blend until crumbly; then spread over apple..
2/3 to 3/4 brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup sifted Gold Medal flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup soft butter
Bake until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with cream,
whipped ice cream, or hard sauce.
Temperature: 375 degrees F. (Quick mod. Oven).
Time: Bake 30 to 35 min.
Amount: 6 to 8 servings."

"Brown Betty.
Follow the recipe above --except place alternate layers of the sliced apples and
crumb mixture in pan. Pour 1/4 cup water over the top."
---Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, Revised and Enlarged, 2nd edition [McGraw-
Hill:New York] 1956 (p. 231)

Apple Slump
"Slump. A dish of cooked fruit and raised dough known since the middle of the
eighteenth century and probably so called because it is a somewhat misshapen dish
that "slumps" one the plate. Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, named her
Concord, Massachusetts, home "Apple Slump" and recorded this recipe:
Slump
Pare, core and slice 6 apples and combine with one c(up). sugar, 1 t(easpoon)
cinnamon, and 1/2 c. water in a saucepan. Cover and beat to boiling point.
Meanwhile sift together 1 1/2 c. flour, t t/4 t. salt and 1 1/2 t. baking powder
and add 1/2 cup milk to make a soft dough. Drop pieces of the dough from a
tablespoon onto apple mixture, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 min. Serve with
cream."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, (p. 297)
Similar recipes, different names:

[1853]
"Swiss Pudding.
Lay alternately in a baking dish slices of nice tart apples; on these sprinkle
sugar and the grated oily rind of a lemon, and then crumbs of stale rusks which
have been soaked in milk; then more slices of apples, sugar, and crumbs of rusks;
cut very thin slices of butter and lay thickly on the top; over this sift thickly
pulverized sugar; bake one hour, and sent to table in the same dish."
---Cookery as it Should Be, by A Practical Housekeeper and pupil of Mrs. Goodfellow
[Willis P. Hazard:Philadelphia] 1853 (p. 222)
[NOTE: there is a handwritten entry in brown fountain pen ink adding this note to
the title "or Brown Betty."]
[1862]
"Jenny Lind's Pudding
Grate the crumbs of a half a loaf, butter and dish well, and lay a thick layer of
the crumbs; pare ten or twelve apples, cut them down, and put a layer of them and
sugar; then crumbs alternately, until the dish is full; put a bit of butter on the
top, and bake it in an oven or American reflector. An excellent and economical
pudding."
---Civil War Recipes: Receipts From the Pages of Godey's Lady's Book, compiled and
edited by Lily May Spaulding and John Spaulding [University Press of
Kentucky:Lexington KY] 1999 (p. 226)
[NOTE: Godey's Lady's Book was a popular American women's magazine of the 19th
century. It published many recipes, such as the one above.]

[1908]
"Apple Slump
Apple slump is another old fashioned dish, but none the less acceptable on account
of its antiquity. Pare, core and quarter a dozen tart, juicy apples, turn over them
a cupful of boiling water and set where they will begin to cook. Five minutes later
add to the apples two cups of molasses and cook five or more minutes while you
prepare a very soft biscuit dough, using for a pint of flour a teaspoonful of
sugar, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a half tablespoonful of shortening, and
milk to stir this over the apples, which should be tender, but not broken, cover
the kettle closely and cook twenty-five minutes without lifting the cover. Serve
with a hot sauce, made by heating to a cream a half cup of butter and one cup of
sugar, stirring in just before using a scant cupful of boiling milk or water and
seasoning to taste."
---New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford [Cupples & Leon:New
York] 1908 (p. 113) [NOTE: This "modern" version is closer to Apple crisp/Brown
Betty.

Related recipes? Apple crisp & Brown Betty & French Tarte Tatin.

Baklava & filo

The history and origin of baklava, a popular Middle Eastern pastry that is made of
many sheets of filo pastry laid flat in a pan and layered with sweet fillings, is
commonly attributed to medieval Turkey.
"Filo is the Greek name for a dough of many paper-thin layers separated by films of
butter...Although known to Europeans and North Americans by a Greek name, the dough
is clearly of Turkish origin. The medieval nomad Turks had an obsessive interest in
making layered bread, possibly in emulation of the thick oven breads of city
people. As early as the 11th century, a dictionary of Turkish dialects (Diwan
Lughat al-Turk) recorded pleated/folded bread as one meaning of the word yuvgha,
which is related to the word (yufka) which means a single sheet of file in modern
Turkish. This love of layering continues among the Turks of Central Asia...The idea
of making the sheets paper thins is a later development.The Azerbaijanis make the
usual sort of baklava with 50 or so layers of filo, but they also make a...pastry
called Baki pakhlavasi (Baku-style baklava) using ordinary noodle paste instead of
filo...This may represent the earliest form of baklava, resulting form the Turkish
nomads adapting their concept of layered bread--developed in the absence of
ovens...If this is so, baklava actually pre-dated filo, and the paper-thin pastry
we know today was probably an innovation of the Ottoman sultan's kitchens at
Topkapi palace in Istanbul. There is an established connection between the Topkapi
kitchens and baklava; on the 15th of Ramadan every year, the Janissary troops
stationed in Istanbul used to march to the palace, where every regiment was
presented with two trays of baklava. They would...march back to their barracks in
what was known as the Baklava Procession."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 299)

"[Syrian] baklava are renowned thoughout the Near East. Some (called kol wa shkor)
are made with extremely thin layers of filo pastry and have different shapes.
Others are made with a type of birds nest' pastry, shaped in cylinders, called
borma...All are filled with a mixture of nuts (pine nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts,
pistachios can all be used), sugar, and rose or orange blossom water, baked, and
then coated with sugar syrup."
---Oxford Companion to Food (p. 446)

"Persians, renowned patissiers since antiquity, invented the diamond-shaped Baklava

which contained a nut stuffing perfumed with jasmine or pussy willow blossoms. In
the sixth century the sweetmeat was introduced to the Byzantine court of Justinian
I at Constantinople, where they Greeks discovered phyllo (thin pastry) and adopted
the dessert which they serve today on New Year's and other joyous occasions."
---The Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking though the
Ages, [American Heritage:New York] 1968 (p. 690)

If you want to learn more about the history of food during the Ottoman Empire,
check out "Ottoman Culinary Culture: It's Effect Upon Contemporary Cuisine," Terrie
Wright Chrones, MA (Oregon State University) http://www.orst.edu/food-
resource/kelsey/chrones.html

Related foods? Mille feuille & Napoleons!

Mud pie
There seems to be some controversy regarding the history of this particular
dessert. Also sometimes known as "Missisippi Mud Pie" and "Louisiana Mud Pie," food
historians generally trace Mud pie to the 1970s and when it hit mainstream
restaurants. Most notably: The Chart House restaurant chain. Print evidence
confirms this recipe first surfaced in 1960s California. Noteriety grew in the
1970s and popularity exploded when it became a "signature" dessert of the
chocoholic 1980s.
What is Mud pie?
Excellent question with no definative answer. This recipe invites experimentation.
Early print descriptions suggest the original dessert was a frozen fudge infused
ice cream pie presented in chocolate cookie crumb pie crust. Ice cream flavors
varied; fudge ran from chocolate sauce to thick emulsion. Some recipes incorporate
marshmallow or whipped cream. Others have no ice cream at all and are served warm
or room temperature. "Adult" versions are laced with liqueur. Children's versions
(think: Dirt dessert & Dirt cake) are a study in commercial product assmeblage.
They are classically garnished with gummy worms.

When & where was Mud Pie invented?

The earliest print reference we find for Mud Pie suggests it was concocted by the
wife of a rising star chef based in Long Beach California, circa 1965. Early 1970s
newspapers offer key references to Mud Pie recipes in readers' exhange columns and
local fair contest winners. Clearly, the recipe was circulating locally among home
bakers. At some point in the early-mid 1970s, the Chart House restaurant chain
added Mud Pie to its dessert menu. While we can't confirm this restaurant
"invented" mud pie, it certainly merits credit for elevating popularity to the
national level. Upscale restaurants, foodservice operations, corporate kitchens,
and home cooks embraced the mud. With all sorts of interesting results. It is true
that Mud Pie recipes come from Mississippi. It is equally true they come from the
West, North, East and Midwest. MacArthur Park Mud Pie celebrates the mud in San
Francisco Bay.

Where did the idea come from?

Likely culinary ancestors are Elizabethan-era Trifle (cream & cake), 19th century
Viennese torten, 1900s double fudge brownies, 1920s Black Bottom Pie, and 1950s
novelty ice cream cakes.

[1965]
"Well, 'behind every successful husband there is a wife, and Sandy, the former
Sandra Lee Hicks of Long Beach, did win the $5 prize for her 'Mud Pie' recipe. it's
composed of chocolate cookie-crumb pastry, filled with coffee ice cream and topped
with chocolate frosting."
---"Chef of the Week: Gill, a gourmand, on the go," Mildred K. Flanary,
Independent-Press Telegram [Long Beach, CA] August 1, 1965 (p. W12)
[NOTE: The article profiles Don G. Gill, husband of the woman referenced above. No
recipe for Mud Pie included.]
[1974]
Melba Hearrell...sent recipes for Scotch shortbread (from Fannie Farmer cookbook).
Mississippi mud cake and creamy potato salad."
---Readers recipe Exchange: Short Bread Recipe Comes from Scotland," Abilene
Reporter-News (TX), March 7, 1974 (p. 3B)
[NOTE: Recipe not included.]

[1976]
"Dear SOS: Our family loves the Mud Pie served at the Chart House. We've had the
pie in Coronado, Santa Barbara and Sun Valley, Idaho. We'd love the recipe...The
pie does get around. A big football player-type waiter with a mustache at the
Westwood Chart House tells us that the recipe has been tossed up and down the coast
and landed in Los Angeles via the Chart House. No one we have asked so far seems to
know its origin, but the formula can't be more simple: chocolate wafer crust,
coffee or chocolate mint...ice cream, fudge sauce and whipped cream. The pie gets
its name from the fudge layer, which supposedly resembles you know what.

Mud Pie
2/3 (8 1/2-ounce package) dark chocolate wafers
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 gallon coffee ice cream
3/4 cup fudge sauce
Whipped cream
Toasted sliced almonds
Crush wafers and mix with softened butter. Press into a 9-inch pie plate. Chill
thoroughly or bake at 350 degrees 7 minutes, then chill. Pack ice cream into
chilled crust, smoothing surface. Freeze until firm. (Freezing before adding the
fudge sauce is essential to keep fudge from slipping off). Pour fudge sauce evenly
over the pie and freeze until ready to serve. To serve, dollop with whipped cream
and sprinkle with almond slices. Note: Commercial fudge sauce is used by
restaurants, but you may use your own recipe or the one given here.
Chocolate Fudge Sauce
5 squares unsweetened Swiss chocolate
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 small can evaporated milk
3 cups unsifted confectioners' sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
Melt the chocolate and butter. Remove form heat and mix in milk alternately with
sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 8
minutes or until thickened and creamy. Remove form heat and stir in vanilla. Store
in refrigerator and use as needed. Makes 3 cups.
---"Culinary SOS: A Sweetheart of a Fudge Cake," Rose Dosti, Los Angeles Times,
March 24, 1976 (p. G9)

[1977]
"The two desserts ($1.25 each) leaves little room for choice, particularly when one
is a cream cheesecake tasting strongly of condensed milk. However, a slice of mud
pie can certainly be recommended. The Chart House makes it with a chocolate crumb
crust filled with coffee ice cream, iced with fudge, topped with shipped cream of
undetermined origin, and frozen. It arrives still frozen but begins to thaw very
nicely thereafter."
---"Dining Out: California by the Hudson," Guy Henle, New York Times, September 25,
1977 (p. S26)
[1981]
"We were asked recently if there was such thing as a mud pie, and we offered a
vague definition from a book that spoke of a creation from Mississippi: a
chocolate-cookie crust filled which chocolate or coffee-brandy ice cream. To our
surprise, the printed question and answer elicited scores of recipes from all over
the nation, not only from Mississippi mud pies but for mud cakes as well. Both of
them, as our readers warned us, are sinfully rich. The Mississippi pie, with its
emphatic chocolate flavor, may be served lukewarm with a scoop of vanilla ice
cream. If allowed to cool, the filling becomes almost like fine chocolate candy.
The following mud pie recipe is from Dorothy Ann Webb, a native Mississippian...

"Dorothy Ann Webb's Mississippi mud pie

Six to eight servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes. Baking Time: 50 minutes
Pastry for a nine-inch pie...
8 tablespoons 91 stick) butter
3 ounces (squares) unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs
3 tablespoons white corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream, optional
1. Line a nine-inch pie tin with pastry. Mix butter and chocolate in a saucepan.
Heat gently, stirring often, until melted and blended.
2. Beat the eggs until light an frothy. Stir in the syrup, sugar and vanilla. Pour
the chocolate mixture, stirring. Pour the filling tin the prepared pie tin.
3. bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is slightly crunchy and
the filling is set. Do not overcook. The filling should remain soft inside. This is
best served warm with a spoon of vanilla ice cream on top, but it is excellent
served at room temperature or cold.

"Pastry for a nine-inch pie

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons cold butter
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
1. Put flour and sugar into the container of a food processor. Cut the butter into
small bits and add to the container>
2. Start processing and gradually add the water. Add only enough water until the
dough comes away from the sides of the bowl."
---"What's chocolate, sinfully rich, and Southern? Mud pie, y'all," Craig Claiborne
and Pierre Franey, New York Times News Service, Chicago Tribune, October 15, 1981
(p. W_A24A)

[1982]
"Six months after The Tribune food department, conducted a survey of that allegedly
deeply Southern dessert specialty, 'Mississippi Mud Pie.' Since then, my
correspondents have been assuring me that there is plenty of good solid mud beyond
the Mississippi-in bays, lakes and rivers in every state. One letter, however, led
me to the MacArthur Park restaurant in San Francisco, that sparkling, almost Paris-
style cafe filled with greenery and the sound of falling water, where the beautiful
people maintain figures on gourmet natural foods. A waitress offered what she
assured me as an authentic San Francisco Bay Mud Pie. it was so exceptionally
good--with a quite unusual hot fudge topping--that I at once tried for the recipe.
The MacArthur Park management are a charmingly secretive lot and I failed. Then I
discovered that MacArthur's secret code had been broken by one of the best of San
Francisco's food writers, Harvey Steinam, while working on his book, 'Great Recipes
from San Francisco--Favorite Dishes from the City's Leading Restuarnats' (Tarcher,
Los Angeles)."
---"Hot Fudge Poured Over a Rich Mud Pie for a Special Treat: Dessert Topped with
Hot Fudge," Roy Andreis de Groot, Chicago Tribune, April 25, 1982 (p. S_A4)
[NOTE: Recipe included.]

[1985]
"Mud pie is said to be the hottest dessert on restaurant menus in these trendy
times. It's even more fun to make at home. Easy, too, considering that one popular
version is simply mocha ice cream in a chocolate crumb crust served with lots of
whipped cream and warm fudge sauce...With the adult version of mud pie, you get to
crush things like Oreos, dabble in softened ice cream, sprinkle on Kahlua, stick
your finger in slowly melting chocolate...There are fluffy, no-bake mud pies, and
variations on the ice cream versions."
---"Trendy Mud Pie has Many Versions for All You Incurable Chocoholics," Joyce
Rosencranz, Chicago Tribune, October 10, 1985 (p. F18)

[1985]
Mississippi Mud Pie
1/2 (8 1/2-ounce) package chocolate wafers
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 quart coffee ice cream, softened
1 1/2 cups fudge sauce or chocolate fudge sauce ice cream toppings
Whipped cream, sliced almonds, or chocolate curls for garnish (optional)
Crush chocolate wafers and set aside. Melt butter in large frying pan over low
heat. Add crushed wafers and toss in butter to coat well. Press crumb mixture into
a 9-inch pie plate and allow to cool. Soften ice cream and spoon onto wafer crust.
Freeze until firm. Top with cold fudge sauce. Store in freezer about 8 to 10 hours.
To serve, top with whipped cream and sliced almonds or chocolate curls. Remove from
freezer and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes before service. Yield: 6 to 8
servings.--Mrs. Kenneth Kussmann, New Orleans, Louisiana."
---Vintage Vicksburg, Vicksburg [Mississippi] Jr. Auxiliary [Wimmer
Companies:Memphis] 1985.

[1988]
"Where did all this mud stuff start? Not many people are willing as John (Chappy)
Chapman...to venture an explanation. Chapman, who grew up in New Orleans has spent
all of his life in Gulf Coast towns, said mud pie was invented years ago in the
Vicksburg-Natchez area...It was [mud pie]...a pre-baked pie crust filled with "a
layer of [baked ] chocolate cake, a layer of chocolate pudding, another of cake,
another of pudding, another of cake, topped with chocolate icing." Sometimes people
added hot-fudge sauce and/or chocolate ice cream, he said."
---Mississippi Mud Pie (or Cake), Bernadette Wheeler, Newsday [New York], July 13,
1988 Food (p. 7)

Dirt dessert
Our survey of historicc USA magazines and newspapers suggest recipes called "dirt
cake" & "Dirt dessert" originated in the Midwest sometime in the 1980s. None of the
articles we checked attribute this recipe to a particular person or food company.
Nor do they reveal the story behind the name. It is plausable that "dirt cake"
borrowed its moniker from another trendy rich chocolate dessert: Mud pie. Whatever
the case, it was an immediate hit. Dirt cake was served at class parties, Brownie
meetings, birthday parties and the like. It didn't take long for food companies to
cash in on the deal. Dirt cake mixes were first marketed as packaged items in the
early 1990's.

The earliest mention we find of a recipe specifically called "Dirt Cake" was
printed in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette [newspaper], June 15, 1988 in a recipe
exchange column. This article references a local reader who sent in a recipe for
"Kansas Dirt Cake." The St. Louis Dispatch wrote an article on the topic July 24,
1989, Food section (p. 2): "Tickle Fancy With Dirt Cake." This article states "This
recipe is apparently making the rounds of the area..." attesting to its popularity
at that time.

[1988]
Kansas Dirt Cake
1 small package of Oreo cookies
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
8-ounce carton Cool Whip
2 boxes (3 1/2 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups milk
Crush cookies and spread half over bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan. Mix cream cheese
and margarine with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in confectioners' sugar. Then
fold in Cool Whip. In separate bowl, combine pudding mix, vanilla and milk until
smooth and mixture begins to thicken. Fold pudding mixture into cream cheese
mixture. Spread over cookie crumbs and sprinkle remaining crumbs over top. Freeze
overnight. Let sit at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes before servings.
---Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR), June 15, 1988
Napoleons
The general concensus among the food history books is that napoleons, a popular
flaky pastry dessert, were not named for the famous emperor. The name is thought to
be a corruption of the word "Napolitain," referring to a pastry made in the
tradition of Naples, Italy. The pastry used for making napoleons is mille feuilles,
literally meaning thousand leaves. While food historians place the creation of this
mille feuilles in 19th century Europe, it might possibly be a descendant of filo,
which was known to ancient middle eastern and Greek cooks. Filo is also composed of
many layers or leaves. One of the most famous filo recipes is baklava.
"Napoleons...have nothing to do with Bonaparte, the daring Corsican...The name is
the result of a misunderstanding of the French word Napolitain which should have
been translated as Neopolitan pertaining to Naples. They are very much like the
French mille-fueille or the Italian mille foglie both of which mean a thousand
leaves."
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricial Bunning Stevens [Ohio
University Press:Athens] 1998 (p.202).

"Mille-Fueilles...The original cream-filled Mille-fueille or thousand leaf puff

pastry was the probably creation of Careme, who may have used it as a grosse piece
d'entremets to adorn a banquet table. It often goes by the name Napoleon, not out
of respect for the corpulent corporal but as a corruption of Napolitain, referring
to the Neapolitan manner of making sweets and ices in layers of alternating texture
and color."
---The Horizon CookBook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking though the
Ages, William Harlan Hale [American Heritage:New York] 1968 (p. 685).

"Napolitains are large cakes which, like Breton and Savoie cakes, mille-feuilles
and croquembouche, were once used to decorate elaborate buffets. In former times it
was customary to place at each end of a table set for a large dinner party either
and imposing decorated pastry or a heap of crayfish of other shellfish. This
practice has now been abandoned; and although napolitains are still made, they are
now usually small. The name of this cake suggests that it was created in Naples,
but was this, in fact, the case? Or must we, as would seem more probable, ascribe
its invention to Careme, who, as is generally known, at the time when he was making
great set pieces, invented a certain number of large and magnificent pastries to
which he himself gave the names which they bear today? It is a question to which no
certain answer can be given."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne, editor [Crown:New York] 1961 (p.653).
"Mille Feuilles, French for thousand leaves and a term for any of several items
made from several layers of puff pastry...The invention of the form (but not of the
pastry itself) is usually attribued to the Hungarian town of Szeged, and a caramel-
coated mille feuilles is called Szegedinertorte. Careme, writing at the end of the
18th century, cautiously states only that it was of ancient origin...The most usual
kind of mille fueilles is made of three layers of pastry baked in a rectangle
shape, sandwiched with a cream filling containing nuts, or or some other cream or
apricot jam, the top sprinkled with icing sugar...One particular oval type
consisting of two layers joined around the edge, containing the same almond filling
as gateau Pithiviers and iced with the same mixture diluted with egg white, is
known in France as a "Napoleon'--probably a corruption of "Napolitain', from the
Neapolitan habit of making layered confections. In the USA the name Napoleon' may
be applied to any mille feuilles, and it is usually to to all kinds with royal
icing."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 505)

According to the food historians, filo/phyllo is of Turkish origin. One of the most
popular foods made with this kind of dough is Baklava.

The Careme connection?

Careme is generally regarded as the father of all modern French pastries. Ian
Kelly's Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Careme, the First Celebrity Chef
includes a (modernized, translated) recipe for Gateau Pithvieir, attributed to
Careme circa 1805 (p. 261). It is not so very different from modern Napoleons. La
Varenne's French Cook (we have the English version, circa 1653 published by
Southover Press c. 2001) does not offer a recipe for Napolitains. It does, however
offer several general instructions for pastry making (p. 192). It also offers
recipes for two layered tortes: Tourte of Franchipanne (p. 200) and Tourte of
Massepin [marzipan aka almond paste] (p. 201). It is interesting to note [but not
necessarily connected] that Marie-Antoine Careme [1783-1833], the famous french
pastry chef who managed Tallyrand's kitchens, was a contemporary of Napoleon I
[1769-1821].

Compare these recipes

[1869]
"Neapolitan Cake
Blanch, peel, wash and dry 1 lb. of Jordan almonds; pound them in a mortar,
moistening them with white of egg, to prevent their turning oily; when well pounded
add:
1 lb of pounded sugar
1/2 lb. of butter
1 1/4 lb. of flour
1 small pinch of salt
the grated peel of an orange;
Mix the whole to a stiffish paste, with 12 yolks of egg, and let it rest for an
hour; Roll out the paste to 3/16 inch thickness; cut it out with a plain round 5
1/2-inch cutter; put the rounds obtained on baking sheets, in the oven; When of a
light golden tinge, take the rounds out of the oven, and trim them with the same
cutter; When the rounds are cold, lay them one above the over spreading them over
alternately with apricot jam, and red currant jelly; All the pieces being stuck
together, trim the outside of the cake with a knife, and spread it over with
apricot jam; Roll out some twelve-turns puff paste, 1/8 inch thick; cut it into
patterns with some fancy cutters; lay these patterns on a baking-sheet; dredge some
fine sugar over them, and bake them in the oven, without colouring them; Decorate
the top and round the cake with these puff paste patterns; and serve.
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated from the French and adapted for
English use by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son and Marston:London] New edition
1869 (p. 532-3)
[1878]
"Neapolitainoes
Make enough puff-paste for a pie; roll out into a sheet half an inch thick, and cut
into strips three inches long and half as wide. Bake in a quick oven. When cold,
spread half fo them with sweet jam or jelly, and stick the others over them in
pairs--the jelly being, of course, in the middle. Ice with a frosting made of the
whites of two eggs, whipped stiff with a half a pound of sugar. Make these on
Saturday. Pass with them strong, hot coffee, with a great spoonful of whipped cream
on the surface of each cupful."
---The Dinner Year-Book, Marion Harland [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 1878 (p.
597-8)

[1961]
"Napolitain
Ingredients. For a large napolitain: 2 1/4 cups (365 grams) blanched sweet almonds;
1 tablepsoon (12 1/2 grams) blanched bitter almonds; 1 14 cups (175 grams) fine
sugar; 1/2 pound (250 grams) butter; 4 cups (500 grams) sieved cake flour; 1 3/4
cups (30 grams) sugar flavoured with lemon (or any other flavouring); a pinch of
salt.

Method. Pound the almonds in a mortar with a little white of egg to bind them. When
the almonds are pounded to a fine paste, add the fine sugar, the flavoured sugar,
the butter and flour. Pounding constantly, add as many whole eggs as are required
to make a very smooth and rather stiff paste. Take this paste out of the mortar and
leave to stand for a while in a cool place. Roll out the paste. Cut it into square,
round or hexagonal pieces. With a pastry cutter 2 inches in diameter, cut out the
middle of each piece, except for two which will serve for the top and bottom layer
of cake. Bake these layers of pastry in a hot oven. When the layers are quite cold
spread each one with a different fruit puree or jelly. Put the layers one on top of
the other, using an uncut layer to form the base, with alternate layers of jam or
jelly. Cover with the other uncut layer. When the cake is built up, coat with
golden apricot jam and pipe with royal icing.

Note. In former times, napolitain ckase were decorated with motifs in almond paste
or flaky pastry baked without browning."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne, editor [Crown:New York] 1961 (p.653).

[1972]
Napoleons-Millefueilles
For 16 pieces
Rolling out and baking the pastry
The preceding puff pastry
1 Tb softened butter
4 baking sheets, 12 by 18 inches
(Preheat oven to 450 degrees)
Roll the chilled pastry again into a rectangle; cut in half and chill one piece.
Roll the remaining piece rapidly into a 13-by-9 inch rectangle 1/8 inch thick. Run
cold water over a baking sheet, roll up pastry on your pin, and unroll over the
baking sheet. With a knife or pastry wheel, cut off 1/2 inch of dough all around.
To keep pastry from rising when baked, prick all over at 1/8-inch intervals with
two forks or a rotary pastry pricker. Chill for 30 minutes to relax dough. Repeat
with the second half of the pastry. Lightly butter undersides of the other baking
sheets and lay one over each sheet of dough. Set in upper-and lower-middle racks of
oven and bake for 5 minutes. Lift covering sheets, prick pastry again, and replace
covering sheets, pressing them down on pastry. Bake 5 minutes more, then remove
covering sheets to let pastry brown; if pastry begins to rise more than 1/4 inch,
or starts to curl, replace coverings. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in all, or until pastry
is nicely browned. Cool 5 minutes, with covering sheets, then unmold and cool on
racks. (Cooled baked pastry may be frozen).

Forming and cutting the Napoleons

1 cup apricot jam forced thorugh a sieve and boiled to 128 degress with 2 Tb sugar
2 cups pastry cream (see the Eighty-third Show) or stiffly beaten whipped cream,
sweetened and flavored with kirsch
1 cup white fondant icing (see The Hundred and Nineteenth Show) or powdered sugar
in a sieve
1 cup melted chocolate
A paper decorating cone (see The Hundred and Nineteenth Show)
Cut the baked pastry into even strips 4 inchese wide. Paint the top of each with
warm apricot, and spread about 1/4 inch of pastry cream or whipped cream on two
strips; mount one one top of each other, and cover with the third. Repeat with the
other three strips. Spread melted fondant icing ir a 1/8-inch coating of powdered
sugar on top of each. Make a cone of heavy freezer paper or foil, cut the point to
make a 1/8-inch opening, and fill cone with melted chocolate. Squeeze crosswise
lines of chocolate over the top of each strip, spacing lines about 3/8 inch apart.
Draw the dull edge of a knife down the middle of each strip, then draw another line
in the opposite direction on each side, to pull the chocolate into a decorative
pattern. Let chocolate set for a few minutes, then cut the strips into crosswise
pieces 2 inches wide, using a very sharp knife held upright; cut with an up-and-
down sawing motion.

Serving.
Arrange the Napoleons on a serving tray and chill and hour. Remove from
refrigerator 20 minutes before serving, so that chocolate (and fondant) will regain
their bloom. Napoleons are at their best when freshly made, though you may keep
them several days under refrigeration or you may freeze them."
---The French Chef Cookbook, Julia Child [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1972 (p. 330-2)

Banana cream pie

Pie is ancient. Cream, custard and pudding pies are Medieval. Bananas took the
American market by storm in the 1880s, due to impoved transpotration and savvy,
aggresive marketers. Late 19th/early 20th century cookbooks are full of banana
recipes. Bananas adapted well to most traditional fruit recipes. Hence: banana
cream pie, banana pudding, banana nut bread, banana ice cream, banana compote,
banana fruit salads, banana splits, etc. About pie, custards & creams & bananas.
The oldest recipes we find for banana pie in an American cookbook were published in
the late 19th century. They employ sliced bananas, not banana cream/custard.
[1880]
"Banana Pie
"Slice raw bananas, add butter, sugar, allspice and vinegar, or boiled cider, or
diluted jelly; bake with two crusts. Cold boiled sweet potatoes may be used instead
of bananas, and are very nice."
---Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, revised and enlarged [Buckeye
Publishing Company:Minneapolis MN] 1880 (p. 215)
[1901]
"Banana Pie.
Fill a pie shell, already baked, with sliced bananas and powdered sugar. Put in the
oven a few minutes until the fruit softens. Very nice so, but far better to cover
the top with whipped cream and serve at once. Flavor with lemon juice."
---Woman's Exchange Cook Book, Mrs. Minnie Palmer [W.B. Conkey Company:Chicago]
1901 (p. 252)

[1906]
Banana Cream Pie.
Line a pie pan with a crust and bake in a hot oven. When done, cover the bottom
with slices of banana cut lengthwise, very thin, (Two small bananas are enough for
one pie). The fill the pan with a custard made in the following manner: Two glasses
of milk, two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch dissolved in a little milk, yolks of two
eggs and one teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Boil in a double boiler until it
thickens; then pour it into the pie crust. Cover the top with the whites of the
eggs beaten stiff and slightly sweetened. Place in the oven just long enough to
give it a rich brown color.---Ella N. Mitchell"
---The Blue Ribbon Cook Book, Annie R. Gregory [Monarch Book Company:Chicago] 1906
(p. 206)

[1908]
"Banana Cream.
Whip half a pint of double cream until stiff and stir into it half an ounce of
gelatine dissoved in half a gill of warm water, a little lemon juice and one pound
of peeled bananas rubbed through a hair sieve with two ounces sugar. Put the
mixture into a mould and leave it in a cool place to set."
---New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock [Cupples & Leon:New York] 1908
(p. 112)
[NOTE: This recipes is found in the pastry chapter.]

[1950]
"Banana Whipped Cream Pie.
Dash of salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Few drops vanilla or almond flavoring
4 to 5 ripe bananas*
1 baked 9-inch pie shell
Toasted coconut.
*Use full ripe bananas...yellow peel flecked with brown
Add salt to cream and beat with rotary egg beater or electric mixer until stiff
enough to hold its shape. Fold in sugar and vanilla or almond flavoring. Cover
bottom of pie shell with small amount of whipped cream. Peel bananas and slice into
pie shell. Cover immediately with remaining whipped cream. Garnish with toasted
coconut. Makes one pie."
---Chiquita Banana's Recipe Book [United Fruit Company:1950] (p. 18)
[NOTE: This booklet also contains a recipe for Banana Chocolate Cream Pie.]

Bastilla
Bastilla (bastila, b'stila, bisteeya, pastilla), a savory bird pie associated with
Morocco, descends from middle eastern culinary traditions. There is some
controversy regarding the exact origins, as Morocco's gastronomic heritage is
unique and complicated. Linguistic evidence supports the theory this type of pie
circulated through Europe about the same time as the Crusades. Pigeon is generally
considered the traditional protein.
"Bstilla. Pronounced 'pastilla,' this is one of the Moroccan dishes said to have
been brought back by the 'Moriscos'; from Andalusia after the Reconquista. 'Food of
the Gods,' as it is described by the Moroccans, this magnificent pigeon pie is
baked on special occasions...The pie is unusually enormous and must be baked in a
gigantic tray."
---(p. 102-104)
[NOTE: Recipe is included.]

"Composed of a flaky pastry dough called warka surrounding a filling of chicken or

pigeon meat, butter almonds, lemony eggs, spices and sugar, bastilla, when properly
made, is considered one of the great dishes of the world. It may come in as many
versions as its name, which is printed variously as b'stilla, bastila, bastia,
pastila, bisteyya, bistylao and pastella (the latter name found most often on menus
designated for Americans). Bastilla is believed to have begin with a Berber dish
called bestila that consisted of chicken cooked in butter and flavored with
saffron. The first transformation occured with the initial wave of Arabs who, along
with their sweords, brought to Morocco an early form of pastry caled trid--made by
stretching dough over a hot surface. When trid was combined with the Berber dish of
chicken and saffron the first bastilla was born. By the time the Arabs had launched
their third wave they had perfected not only their invasion techniques but their
pastry. As a result, the standard bastila was transformed by adding lemony eggs,
sweetened almond layers, a variety of spices, onions, cinnamon and in some cases
substituting piegeon for chicken meat...Bastila is said to have originated in the
Medina in Fez."
---"The Search for Morocco's Best Bastilla," Edith Marks, New York Times, May 22,
1983 (p. XX20)

"Bastila is a pigeon pie, a sumptuous, utterly rich, and magnificent preparation

made for special occasions in Morocco such as holidays, weddings, or when esteemed
guests arrive. The pie is surrounded by a very thin pastry leaf called warqa (which
means 'leaf'), the top of which is sprinkled with powdered sugar and a latticework
of ground cinnamon. Warqa pastry begins as a spongy dough that is tapped or slapped
against a hot convex sheet of pounded metal, a kind of pan called tubsil set over a
hot charcoal brazier, in a series of overlapping concentric circles to form a large
film of pastry. This collection of leaves, now forming a whole thin sheet, is
carefully but quickly peeled off the metal and set aside. Warqa pastry is a bit
thinner than phyllo pastry...The name of the pigeon pie, bastila or bastal, comes
from the Spanish word for pastry, pastilla, after the transformation of the phoneme
'p' into 'b' that is specific to the Arabic language...Contemporary Moroccan
cuisine is essentially an Arab and Hispano-Muslim cuisine set upon the foundation
of an older and simpler Berber sustenance diet, with outside influences from sub-
Saharan West Africa and colonial-era France. The Arabs arrived in Morocco soon
after the date of the Prophet Muhammad and continued on into Spain by the early
eighth century. The Arabs and Muslimized Berbers in Spain merged with Hispano-Roman
population then ruled by the Visigoths, a German military aristocracy, and they
later came to be known by the historians as Hispano-Muslims and by popular writers
as Moors. Between 1462 and 1615, this population emigrated to Morocco and other
areas of North Africa as a result of the Christian Reconquest of Spain and
governmental policies that led to the Great Expulsion of 1609-1614. ...[There is]
some evidence of vestigial remain of the bastila or pastel around the
Mediterranean. Perhaps the original Spanish dish migrated to Turkey with the Jews,
as suggested in Claudia Roden's description of the dish called pasteles of the
Turkish Jews. Patricia Smouha, the author of a Middle Eastern cookbook, also tells
us of an 'old Syrian dish' called pastelis [sic], which is a pie stuffed with
either fried beef, onions, and pine nuts or brains. In any case, we know that as
late as the sixteenth century, Spain's King Philip II was still eating pastel. That
pastelis traveled is not in doubt. Besides the evidence of the eastern
Mediterranean, pastelis eventually appeared in Puerto Rican cookery stuffed with
almonds, raisins, and cornmeal. There is another evidence of the Andalusian origins
of and inspiration behind bastila. Andalusia had a rich court life under the
Spanish branch of the Umayyad dynasty (756-1031), and the Almonhad (1130-1269) and
Nasrid (1230-1492) caliphates and a concomitantly rich cuisine, whereas the Berbers
did not. Pre-Islamic Berber cooking in Morocco was subsistence cooking, not
cuisine. The French were making a kind of pie or cake called pastillys, a word that
was transformed into gastellus, guastellus, wastellus, and gastiel--all names of
different stuffed cakes that appear in texts from 1129 to 1200 in the areas of
Champagne, Ile-de-France, and Picardie. It was a luxury pasty made with very fine,
good-quality flour, and stuffed with meat or fish and spices and fat, corresponding
to Moroccan bastila. The term crossed the English Channel, where the Scottish king
William the Lion served wastelli dominici to Richard the Lion-Hearted. It also
appears in yet a different guise in Sicily as guastedde or vastieddi, a kind of
spleen calzone. It still appears today in Corsica as bestella, a meat-and-
vegetable-filled pie pastry... Bastila is a huge pigeon pie traditional in Fez, and
found throughout Morocco. One Moroccan cookbooks starts a recipe for bastila by
saying that one must have a dada come to the house to prepare it. A dada is a black
professional woman cook from Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa employed in bourgeois
and aristocratic households in Morocco to this day."
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow:New York] 1999 (p.
294-295)
[NOTE: Modern recipe follows.]

"B'stila is widely regarded as the crowning dish of Moroccan cuisine. In Fez, the
country's culinary capital, this delightful pastry is traditionally served to
newlyweds the morning after their wedding night to symbolize their family's wish
that their life together be as sweet as this sublime creation. The origin of
b'stila remains a subject of debate among food historians. Some believe it was
created by the Persians and adopted by their Arab neighbors, who popularized it
during the conquest of North Africa. Other experts argue that credit fo the dish
must go to the innovative cooks of Al Andus, the medieval Arabic name for Spain.
Whatever its origin, today b'stila is firmly established as a quintessentially
Moroccan specialty. B'stila was traditionally made with pigeon, although nowadays
chicken is more commonly used. The meat is simmered in a sauce redolent of saffron,
cinnamon, and ground ginger, then shredded and mixed with scrambled eggs, ground
almonds, and powdered sugar to form an exquisite filling that is layered between
sheets of paper-thin phyllolike dough called ouarka. A golden b'stila, just out of
the oven, garnished with powdered sugar and decorated with cinnamon, never fails to
elicit appreciative exclamations from around the table. A solicitous Moroccan host
will quickly poke several holes in the flaky outer crust to allow some of the
trapped fragrant steam to escape. He invokes be blessing 'Bismillah!' before deftly
breaking off a tasty morsel and offering it to one of his honored guests....B'stila
calls for a paper-thin pastry dough called ouarka, whose preparation is an art
requiring considerable experience. In Morocco, it is mainly the domain of the
dadas, women descended from Sudanese slaves. They are reputed for their skill at
creating the translucent round leaves. These ouarka specialists sit by the hour in
front of a small charcoal fire, dexterously dabbing a ball of moist, slippery dough
on the hot tin-plated outside surface of a round copper pan (much like a modern
upside-down crepe griddle) called a tabsil dial ouarka that rests just above the
glowing coals. The tabsil is evenly covered with overlapping circles of dough.
Within a minute, a leaf of transluscent ouarka as thin as onion skin is deftly
peeled from the pan. Most modern Moroccan housewives purchase ready-made ouarka at
their local market. Phyllo dough makes and excellent subsistute for ouarka."
---Cooking at the Kasbah, Kitty Morse [Chronicle Books:San Francisco] 1998 (p. 69,
71)
[NOTE: recipe for B'stila B'djej (Chicken B'stila) follows.]

Compare with English Shepherd's Pie.

Black bottom pie

Food historians tell us chocolate pie, as we know it today, was introduced in the
last decades of the 19th century. The earliest versions were topped with meringue
or a thin layer of whipped cream, creating a "black bottom" of sorts. Early
prototypes were baked in standard pastry shells and served room temperature.
Recipes titled "Black Bottom" surface in early 20th century. They were hailed as
'novel' in the 1920s. Modern chilled versions coincide with the introduction of
"icebox" (aka refrigerator) desserts. These new desserts typically incorporated
commercially prepared items. In the case of pie, standard pastry shells were
replaced by crushed cookie or graham cracker crusts. As time progressed, ratio of
chocolate filling to white topping flipped. Some versions introduce a layer in
between. About refrigerator pie.

Food historians generally associate "Black Bottom Pie" with Southern USA cuisine.
Our research confirms this is true, but not in the place most folks expect.
Latitude-wise. Our survey of historic USA newspapers suggest "Black Bottom Pie"
originated in southern California (Los Angeles). Variations slowly rolled eastward
(via Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Florida) to the Atlantic shore where they were
embraced without question. None of our Southern cookbooks published in 1930s
contain "Black Bottom" recipes.

This is what the food historians say:

"'I think this is the most delicious pie I have ever eaten,' exclaimed Marjorie
Kinnan Rawlings in her 1942 kitchen narrative, Cross Creek Cookery...Duncan Hines,
the wandering hotel and restaurant scout from Kentucky, published an almost
identical black bottom pie in his Adventures in Good Cooking in the early 1940s,
having found the dessert in a restaurant in Oklahoma City, but it isn't clear
whether his discovery receded Mrs. Rawlings' or drew its inspiration from hers.
James Beard, in his American Cookery, said black bottom pie 'began appearing in
cookbooks around the turn of the century,' but he cited none; it wasn't in Fannie
Farmer's magnum opus or Joy of Cooking until after Rawlings and Hines published it.
But the story of its origin has been lost, the basic formula for its unique
combinations of flavors is safe--and certain to remain with us. Let it suffice to
say that black bottom is a Southern pie that has been spreading joy in and out of
the region for close to fifty years or more."
---Southern Food, John Egerton [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill]
1993 (p. 328-329)

"Certain recipes are destined to catch the public fancy and become classics, though
not necessarily right away. One such recipe is Black Bottom Pie...appears not to
have caught on, however, until the late 1930s when Duncan Hines, author of
America's trusted Adventures in Good Eating, made note of it...Later Hines would
recall Black Bottom Pie as "one of those marvelous creations that has somehow
managed to keep its light under a bushel." In 1940 The Good Housekeeping Cook Book
and Woman's Home Companion Cook Book both printed recipes for Black Bottom
Pie...One of Black Bottom Pie's biggest fans was Floridian Marjorie Kinnan
Rawlings, author of the Yearling, who included her version of Black Bottom Pie in
her Cross Creek Cookery (1942)."
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century,
Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 370)

Monroe Boston Strause "The Pie King" included an entire chapter on Black Bottom Pie
in his classic book Pie Marches On. He prefaced the recipe with these headnotes:
"This is without doubt the most sensational pie that has ever been introduced, and
is one of the outstanding originals of the writer. Aside from being a sensation, I
believe it brought the highest price that any pie ever sold at commercially; $1.90
for a nine inch pie retail, and the volume in which it sold made pie history. This
pie was written up by newspapers and magazines all over the country, and on these
pages the recipe is published for the first time. Those who were among the
fortunate few to obtain this recipe guarded it very closely, and it is my
prediction that it will be the outstanding pie in this book. The sensation was not
in the pie alone, but in its design and make-up, as well as the crust beneath it.
On this pie was first introduced the Graham Cracker Crust and, of course, we will
start with the crust."
---Pie Marches On, Monroe Boston Strause [Ahrens Publishing:New York], 2nd edition
1951 (p. 231) [NOTES: (1) Recipe included; happy to scan or fax. (2) Mr. Strause is
credited for inventing Chiffon Pie (3) We cannot absolutely confirm this recipe
appeared in the original 1939 edition] Monroe Strause appears to be claiming to be
the inventor of Black Bottom Pie. He was from Los Angeles. The earliest recipes we
find titled "Black Bottom Pie" were published in California Newspapers.
Coincidence? Maybe not.

Additional notes & citings, courtesy of Barry Popik.

A survey of recipes through time

[1928]
"Seeking inspiration for a menu to present to her cooking class, meeting this
afternoon at 2 o'clock in the Times demonstration room...Mrs. Mabelle (Chef) Wyman
consulted her request bulletin with the result that the entire cuisine is made up
of suggested favorites. Includes are such novelties as black-bottom pie and baking-
powder Parker House rolls...Recipes will be distributed at the conclusion of the
lecture."
---"Class Will Get Request Menu," Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1928 (p. A5)
[1929]
"Black Bottom Pie. Ask for it at Old Chelsea. Where Wonderful luncheons and dinners
are served...at 4571 Melrose, near Normandie."
---"Peg O' Los Angeles," Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1929 (p. C23) [no recipe
included.]

"Black Bottom Pie,

Mrs. J. R., Alhambra Cal. mix three-quarters of a cupful of sugar with two
tablespoonfuls of sifted flour, and two squares of grated unsweetened chocolate,
add slowly to the mixture, stirring constantly, one and a third cupfuls of scalded
milk, and when it is well mixed, add the beaten yolks of two eggs, and one whole
egg. Add to the mixture, one teaspoonful of vanilla, place in a double-boiler and
stir over a slow fire, until the mixture is thick and smooth, pour into a baked pie
shell, cover with whipped cream, cover all over with a thick meringue, run into the
oven and brown quickly."
---"Practical Recipes," Los Angeles Times, November 22, 1929 (p. A9)

[1931]
"Mammy's Black Bottom Pie
With Graham Cracker Crust
...Dark Filling
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 3/4 Valley Sanitary milk
4 tablespoons Pillsbury' s flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Scald milk, mix sugar, cocoa and flour together. Add to milk and cook in double
boiler until thick. Then add egg yolks and cook 5 minutes longer. Cool and pour
into Graham cracker crust."
---Brownsville Herald [TX], November 22, 1931 (p.3)

[1932]
"A dessert that makes or 'breaks' a menu, someone said, and maybe they're right.
With the right kind of 'finis' you luncheon or dinner guests are bound to be
satisfied. If you don't want your guests to come back then DON'T give them one of
these desserts!
"Black Bottom Pie
(Part 1)
1 c. milk
4 tbsp. cocoa or ground chocolate
1 1/4 tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. gelatine dissolved in 1 tsp. cold water.
Method for part 1: Scald milk, mix dry ingredients, add to milk, cook in top of
double boiler 15 minutes, or until smooth. Remove, add gelatine and vanilla. When
cold, fold in beaten whites of 2 eggs.
(Part 2)
1 tbsp. gelatine
1/4 c. cold water
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 pint cream, whipped
Vanilla or rum flavoring
Method for part 2: Soak gelatine, beat sugar with egg yolk, add milk, cook until
cream. Remove from the fire and add soaked gelatine and stir until cool. When cold,
fold in egg whites, beaten stiff. Cover top with whipped cream sprinkled with
grated chocolate or chocolate shot."
---"Katherine Parsons' Cooking Column," Van Nuys News [CA], October 27, 1932 (p.
11)

[1934]
"Oasis Black Bottom Pie
(Makes two pies)
For the chocolate custard, scald two cupfuls of milk and mix three-fourths cupful
of sugar, four tablespoonfuls of Sieffa chocolate, two and one-half tablespoonfuls
cornstarch; then add to the milk and cook fifteen minutes in a double boiler, until
smooth. Let cool and add one teaspoonful of vanilla. For the second part, beat one
cupful of sugar and four egg yolks together until thick, add two cupfuls of milk
and cook until the spoon is coated, as for custard. Dissolve two tablespoonfuls of
plain Jell Well in one-half cupful boiling water and add to the custard mixture and
stir thoroughly. When cool, add the stiffly beaten egg whites and one teaspoonful
of rum extract. One hour before serving, fill the pie shells one-half full of the
chocolate mixture, then completely fill with the second custard and top with
whipped cream."
---"Requested Recipes," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1934 (p. 11)

[1939]
"497. Black Bottom Pie. (Makes a 9-inch pie)
Crust:
Ingredients: 14 crisp ginger snaps
5 tablespoons melted butter
Roll snaps out fine. Add butter to cookie crumbs and pat evenly into a 9-inch pan.
Bake 10 minutes in 300 F. oven. Allow to cool.
Filling:
2 cups milk--scalded
4 egg yolks--beaten
Add eggs slowly to hot milk.
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tablespoons cornstarch
Combine and stir into above. Cook in double boiler for 20 minutes, stirring
occasionally until it generously coats a spoon. Remove and take out 1 cup.
1 1/2 squares chocolate
Add to the cup of custard and beat well.
1 teaspoon vanilla
As custard cools, add vanilla, pour into pie crust and chill.
1 tablespoons gelatin
4 tablespoons cold water
Blend thoroughly and add to the remaining hot custard. Let cool, but not thick.
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream tartar
2 tablespoons rum
Beat into a meringue and fold into custard. Add rum. As soon as chocolate custard
has set, add this. Chill again until it sets.
1 cup whipped cream
Spread on top of pie.
1/2 square chocolate
Shave and sprinkle over pie and serve."
(Dolores Restaurant, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
---Adventures in Good Cooking and the Art of Carving in the Home, Duncan Hines
[Adventures in Good Eating:Bowling Green KY] 1939, 1952 (no page number, recipes
are numbered)

[1942]
"Black Bottom Pie.
I think this is the most delicious pie I have ever eaten. The recipe form which I
first made it was sent me by a generous correspondent, and originated at an old
hotel in Louisiana. It seemed to me it could be no better. Then another
correspondent sent me a recipe for Black Bottom Pie that varied in some details
from the first one. Having tried both, I now combine the two to make a pie so
delicate, so luscious, that I hope to be propped up on my dying bed and fed a
generous portion. The I think that I should refuse outright to die, for life would
be too good to relinquish. The pie seems fussy to make, but once a cook gets the
hang of it, it goes easily.
Crust
14 crisp ginger cookies
5 tablespoons melted butter
Roll the cookies fine. Mix with the melted butter. Line a nine-inch pie tin, sides
and bottom, with the buttered crumbs, pressing flat and firm. Bake ten minutes in a
slow oven to set.
Basic Filling
1 3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoon gelatine
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
For Chocolate Layer
2 squares melted chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
For Rum-Flavored Layer
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rum
Topping
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 cup whipping cream
Grated chocolate
Soak the gelatine in the cold water. Scald the nilk, add one-half cup sugar mixed
with the cornstarch, pinch of salt, then beaten egg yolks. Cook in double boiler,
stirring constantly, until custard thickens and will coat the back of the spoon.
Stir in the dissolved gelatine. Divide custard in half. To one-half add the melted
chocolate and the vanilla. Turn while hot into the cooled crust, dipping out
carefully so as not to disturb the crust. Let the remaining half of the custard
cool. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, adding one-half cup of sugar slowly.
Blend with the cooled custard. Add one tablespoon rum. Spread carefully over the
chocolate layer. Place in ice box to chill thoroughly. It may even stand over-
night. When ready to serve, whip the heavy cream stiff, adding two tablespoons
confectioners' sugar slowly. Pile over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with grated
bitter or semi-sweet chocolate."
---Cross Creek Cookery, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York]
1942 (p. 174-175)

Boston cream pie

There are some questions regarding the history Boston cream pie [Not! To be
confused with Boston Favorite Cake or Boston Pudding]. This is not an uncommon
occurrance in the world of culinary history.
[1864]
"Boston Cream Cakes.--Take qurt of new milk, and set it on the fire to boil.
Moisten four tablespoonfuls of sifted flour with three tablespoonfuls of cold milk.
Separate four eggs and beat them up well; add to the yelks five heaping
tablespoonfuls of sifted loaf-sugar; when the milk is hot--on the point of
boiling--stir in the moistened flour; let it thicken, but not boil. Now stir up the
whites and yelks of the eggs together; beat them up and stir to them a little of
the hot milk, and then stir the into the whole quart of milk. Let it boil for three
minutes, add the grated rind and the juuice of one lemon to it, and set it away to
cool. You must now proceed to make the paste. Take a pint of sifted flour and a
quarter of a pound off butter (fresh, of course); place it over hot water till the
butter melts, add a quart of milk, and stir in three-fourths of a pound of flour.
Let is scald through and become cold before you beat all the lumps out into a
paste; separate twelve eggs, beat them, and stir in (first the yelks, and then the
whites) to the paste. Butter twenty-four round tin pans, line and cover with this
paste, bake thoroughly; when cold, lift the lid, and fill up with your cream; put
the edges together, and wet them with a little egg. They should be eaten the day
they are made."
---"Cakes, Puddings, Etc.," Godey's Lady's Book and Magazie, September 1864, 69,
American Peridicals, (p. 259)
[1875]
�Boston Cream Pie
Cream part.�One pint of new milk, two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour,
five tablespoonfuls of sugar. Put two-thirds of the milk on to boil, and stir the
sugar and flour in what is left. When the rest boils, put in the whole, and stir
until it cooks thoroughly. When cool, flavor with vanilla or lemon.
Crust part.--Three eggs, beaten separately, one cup of granulated sugar, one and a
half cups of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder. Divide in half, put in
two pie tins, and bake in a quick oven to a straw color. When taken out, split in
halves and spread the cream between.�
---�Household Recipes,� New York Times, December 26, 1875 (p. 9)

[1882]
"Boston Cream Cakes.
1/2 lb butter
3/4 lb flour
8 eggs
1 pint water

Stir the butter into the water, which should be warm, set it on the fire in a
saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring it often. When it boils, put in the
flour, boil one minute, stirring all the while; take from the fire, turn into a
deep dish, and let it cool. Beat the eggs very light, and whip into this cooled
paste, first the yolks, then the whites. Drop, in great spoonfulls, upon buttered
paper, taking care not to let then touch or run into each other, and bake ten
minutes.

Cream for filling

1 quart milk
4 tablespoons corn-starch
2 eggs
2 cups sugar

Wet the corn-starch with enough milk to work it into a smooth paste. Boil the rest
of the milk. Beat the eggs, add the sugar and corn-starch to these, and so soon as
the milk boils pour in the mixture gradually, stirring all the time until smooth
and thick. Drop in a teaspoonful of butter, and when this is mixed in, set the
custard aside to cool. Then add vanilla or lemon seasoning; pass a sharp knife
lightly around the puffs, split them, and fill with the mixture. The best cream
cakes I have ever tasted were made by this somewhat odd receipt. Try it."
---Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery, Marion Harland
[New York: 1882] (p. 335-6)

It it interesting to note the the first Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A.
Lincoln [1884] DOES NOT contain a recipe for Boston pie or Boston cream cakes. This
book DOES contain several recipes using custard and cream [most notably Bavarian
cream] fillings for cakes [plain, sponge], pies and pastry [cream puffs, lady
fingers, trifles]. These were very popular both in America and abroad. If you want
to inspect these recipes ask your librarian can help you find a copy of this book.
It was reprinted in 1996 [Dover Publications/paperback] and is available full-text
online. Take a look at "Sponge cake for cream pies, or Berwick sponge cake," (p.
375).
Other recipes similar to Boston cream pie

Custard cakes, Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, Mrs. M.E. Porter [1879]
Custard or cream cake, White House Cook Book, Mrs. F. L. Gillette [1887]
Cream Pie & Washingon Pie, Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Farmer [1896]
[1997]
"Boston cream pie was invented by Monsieur Sanzian, a French pastry chef hired in
1855 by the former Parker House (now the Omni Parker House). Executive chef Joseph
Ribas, who has been with the hotel for 27 years, says Sanzian invented it "because
he was topping an English cream cake with chocolate. He started to play around with
the recipe, put almonds around the outside, and the guests loved it... According to
research conducted by Stephanie Seacord, former director of public relations for
the Omni Parker House, the original Boston cream pie had only two layers. Ribas's
version, however, consists of three layers of spongecake, which are soaked with rum
syrup, spread with whipped-cream-lightened custard, topped with chocolate and
vanilla icing, and garnished with toasted sliced almonds. This recipe makes 4 cups
of custard filling, a fine amount if you're going to cut the cake into three
layers. If you plan to cut the cake into two layers, however, I recommend making a
half portion of the pastry cream.

For the pastry cream:

1 tablespoon butter
2 cups milk
2 cups light cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 eggs
1 teaspoon dark rum

For the chocolate fondant icing:

2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup sliced almonds

For the cake:

7 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
To make the pastry cream, combine the butter, milk, and light cream in a medium
saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring just to a boil. In a medium bowl, whisk
together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the eggs and beat until ribbons form, about
5 minutes. Whisk into the hot-milk mixture and bring to a boil, whisking constantly
(to prevent the eggs from scrambling) until the mixture has thickened, about 1
minute. Transfer to a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap (to keep a skin
from forming). Refrigerate for several hours. Whisk in the rum.

To make the chocolate fondant icing, wipe a large cookie sheet (or marble slab)
with a damp cloth. Combine the sugar, cream of tartar, and water in a heavy-
bottomed pot over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve
the sugar. Cover and let boil for 3 minutes. Uncover and dip a pastry brush in cold
water to wash down the sides of the pot; boil until the syrup reaches the soft-ball
stage (238 degrees), about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour onto the damp
cookie sheet. Let it cool for 10 minutes, or until lukewarm.

Using a metal spatula, spread the sugar mixture out and turn it over on itself
until it starts to thicken and whiten. (It may be easier to knead the mixture with
your hands.) Continue kneading the sugar mixture until it is very stiff. Scrape it
off the sheet, place in an airtight container, and refrigerate for several hours.
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch
springform pan. Separate the eggs, putting the whites in one medium bowl and the
yolks in another. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to each bowl. Beat the egg whites until they
form stiff peaks; beat the egg yolks until they are thick and pale yellow in color,
about 5 minutes. Gently fold the stiff egg white mixture into the yolk mixture.

Gradually fold in the flour and then fold in the melted butter. Pour the batter
into the prepared cake pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester
comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Let cool. To assemble,
heat 3/4 cup of the fondant and the chocolate in a double boiler until warm. Stir
to a spreading consistency, adding a little water as necessary. Using a long
serrated knife, slice the cake into 2 layers. Spread the pastry cream over the
bottom layer, reserving approximately 1 cup of pastry cream to spread around the
sides of the cake (to help the almonds adhere). Place the second layer of cake over
the pastry cream and spread the reserved pastry cream around the sides of the cake.
Top with the chocolate icing (work rapidly, since the icing sets very quickly) and
press the almonds around the sides. Serve immediately at room temperature, or
refrigerate for up to 2 days and bring to room temperature before serving. (When
refrigerated, the fudgelike icing becomes quite heavy and stiff.) Serves 10.
---"Saluting the Boston Cream Pie," The Boston Globe, July 2, 1997 (p. E1)
Boston cream pie is the official dessert of the State of Massachusetts.

Related food? Chocolate pie.

Cannoli
Fried foods are associated with Christian Carnival (aka Mardi Gras) fare throughout
Europe from Medieval times forward. Sicilian cannoli descend from this tradition.
Classic Sicilian cannoli is filled with ricotta. Americanized versions are
sometimes filled with sweet custard or whipped cream. Mostly because Anglo-American
palates expect (require?) familiar creamy sweet fillings in their pastries.
"Cannolo (or cannoli, the plural form more familiar in N. America), a Sicilian
sweetmeat made from flour, mixed with Marsala, cinnamon, cocoa, egg, and a mixture
of water and vinegar (which is said to keep it crisp). The thinly rolled dough, cut
in circles, is wrapped around metal tubes and deep fried. When cool, the connolo is
filled with sweetened ricotta, chocolate chips, and candied orange peel, or
liqueur-flavoured ricotta in which case the ends are dipped in chocolate nuts.
These cakes are made for carnival, in February."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 131-2)

"Cannoli..."Pipes." Crisp fried pastry tubes...filled with sweetened ricotta...In

Naples, cannoli are usually flavored with rosewater or orange flower water and
cinnamon, with candied fruit, pistachios, and chocolate added to the filling...In
Sicily, the crust is flavored with wine or Marsala."
---The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York]
1998 (p. 57)

"Cannoli...The convents of Sicily are the great repositories of Arab-influenced

desserts, the so-called dolci de badia, or abbey sweets...sweets from the Convento
di Santa Caterina on Piazza Bellini in Palermo, where they make cannoli... The
great Sicilian gastronome...Alberto Denti di Pirajno proposed a theory as to how
the convents became home for so many Arab-influenced sweets. During Arab rule in
Sicily (827-1091), the inland town of Caltanissetta was called Qal'at al-nissa, the
castle of women, because of the fame of the harem of the emir of that city. In the
hours when they awaited their masters, the women prepared sweets and cakes. After
the Normans conquered Caltanissettta, the harems disappeared by the Muslims did
not. They were driven into the mountains, and some converted--perhaps the women
found refuge as crypto-Muslim nuns in the convents, bringing their secret
recipes...to be handed down through the confines of the convents."
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow:New York] 1999 (p.
177)

"...the king of Carnival is the cannolo, which in its plural form, cannoli, is now
part of the American language...To be good, cannoli have to be very fresh (the best
coffee houses and bars in Palermo offer cannoli espress--filled while you wait), so
if you are a cannoli fan and you can get good ricotta, it is worth the effort to
make them at home."
---Pomp and Sustentance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food, Mary Taylor Simeti
[ECCO Press:Hopewell NJ] 1989 (p. 164)
[NOTE: This book contains a recipe for cannoli and much more information about
local sweets & pastries. Your local public librarian will be happy to help you find
a copy.]

About ricotta
"Ricotta is an Italian cottage cheese made originally from the whey left after
making other cheeses--from cow's, ewe's, or even goat's milk--but nowadays often
with full or skimmed milk added. It is widely used in Italian cookery: applications
include fillings for ravioli and cannelloni, cheesecakes, and ice cream. Its name
means literally 'recooked', from the method of manufacture; it goes back to Latin
recocta, feminine past participle of recoquere, cook again.'"
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
282)

"Ricotta is known as an albumin or serum cheese, a cheese made as a by-product of

provolone cheese from the recooked whey, hence the name, ricotta, "recooked."
Ricotta cheese, which is generally recognized as having been invented in Sicily, is
known in the language of the island by another name: zammataru, a word in Sicilian
meaning "dairy farmer." This word is derived form the Arabic za'ama, meaning "cow,"
leading to the supposition that ricotta might have had its origins in the Arab-
Sicilian era. The Greek antiquarian who wrote volumes on food, Atheneus (c. A.D.
170-230), talks about "tender cheese" at a banquet. We don't know if this is
ricotta, but he also mentions a cheese from Sicily that was well known. Two of the
earliest mentions or depictions of ricotta are related to Sicily. Professor Santi
Correnti, chairman of the history department of the University of Catania and a
preeminent historian of Sicily, told me that during the reign of the Sicilian king
Frederick II, in the early thirteenth century, the king, and his hunting party came
across the hut of a dairy farmer making ricotta and, being ravenous, asked for
some. Frederic pulled out his bread loaf, poured the hot ricotta and when you top,
and advised his retinue that "Cu; non manica ccu' so' cucchiaru lassa tutto o
zammatary" (Those who don't eat with a spoon will leave all their ricotta behind).
The first depiction of the making of ricotta is an illustration in the medical
treatise known as the Tacuinum sanitas (medieval health handbook), the Latin
translation of Ibn Butlan's eleventh-century Taqwim al-sihha."
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow:New York] 1999 (p.
467)

"Salted ricotta belongs to all the summer; from October to May ricotta is eaten
fresh, both as a cheese and as the basis of Sicilian confectionery. We have already
met sweetened ricotta mixed with cuccia, and while the renowned cannoli and the
cassate siciliane with their ricotta cream fillings belong not to the classical but
to a later period in Sicilan history, this is the place for a recipe that uses
sugar and ricotta in a different fashion."
---Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food, Mary Taylor Simeti
[Ecco Press:Hopewell NJ] 1989 (p. 40)

Chess pie
Chess pie (also known as chess cake, chess tart, & sugar pie) belongs to a long
Southern American tradition of sweet egg-rich custard pies. Popular culinary
folklore offers several interesting explanations for the name of this recipe. The
most plausible is the connection between it and 17th century English cheeseless
cheesecakes. Foodways expert Karen Hess confirms:
"Since the archaic spellings of cheese often had but one "e" we have the answer to
the riddle of the name of that southern favorite "Chess Pie," recipes for which
vary no more from that for "Transparent Pudding" than those do among themselves;
"Chess Cake: is also akin, if less directly. (The tradition of making cheesecake
without the cheese goes back to early seventeenth century and beyond...)"
---The Virginia House-wife, Mary Randolph, with Historical Notes and Commentaries
by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] 1984 (p. 289)
About cheesecake and custard.

"The Southern chess pie carries and old--even ancient--tradition of puddings and
pastries with the rich texture of cheese. "Chess" is probably derived from the word
"cheese," although various other theories have arisen about the origin of the name.
Elizabeth Hedgecock Sparks, author of North Carolina and Old Salem Cookery, says it
is "an old, old tart which may have obtained its name from the town of Chester,
England." Others believe that "chess" is a corruption of the world "chest" (as in a
pie chest) where pies are often kept. Then there is the story about the cook who
was asked what she put in the pie, and she replied, "Anything in our chest." Or the
one who was asked about the kind of pie. The answer was "Oh, jes' pie." The cheese
etymology seems the most likely one, because in old cookbooks, cheesecakes and pies
that were sometimes made with cheese sometimes without (referring to cheese in the
textural sense--lemon card, for example, is often referred to as lemon cheese), are
often included in a single category. A selection of cheeseless "cheese" pastries in
Housekeeping in Old Virginia (1879) are made with egg yolks, sugar, butter, milk,
and lemon juice--very much like chess pie filling. Sometimes called "Cheesecake
Pudding" (the filling is made of yolks, brown sugar, butter, nutmeg, and brandy or
rum) is baked in a crust in small tins..."
---Around the Southern Table, Sarah Belk [Simon and Schuster:New York] 1991 (p.
367-8)
[NOTE: this author observes "sugar pies" were chess pies made with white sugar,
"brown sugar pies" were the same recipe made with brown sugar and "Osgood" pies
included raisins.]

"Chess pie is the classic Southern pastry, rich, sweet, and intense. The name is a
corruption of cheese, for in the British culinary tradition eggs and cheese share
the same terminology...The Oxford English Dictionary says a cheesecake is "a cake
or tart of light pastry, orginally containing cheese; now filled with a yellow
butterlike compound of milk-curds, sugar, and butter, or a preparation of whipped
egg and sugar." The Southern version is the latter...The classic chess pie is
pointed up with vanilla and/or nutmeg. Lemon chess, perhaps the favorite, receive
just enough citrus flavor to name, but not dominate, the custard...Variations on
the chess theme are Brown Sugar Pie, and with nuts, Pecan Pie."
---Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie, Bill Neal [Knopf:New York] 1996 (p.
262)

About lemons

Cheeseless cheescake & chess pie recipes through time

[17th century]
"To make very good chee[secakes without] cheese curd
Take a quart of cream, & when it boyles take 14 eggs; If they be very yallow take
out 2 or 3 of the youlks; put them into [the] cream when it boyles & keep it with
continuall stirring till it be thick like curd. [Then] put into it sugar & currans,
of each halfe a pound; ye currans must first be plumpt in faire water; then take a
pound of butter & put into the curd a quarter of [that] butter; [then] take a quart
of fine flowre, & put [the] resto of [the] butter to it in little bits, with 4 or 5
spoonsfulls of faire water, make [the] paste of it & when it is well mingled beat
it on a table & soe roule it out.. Then put [the] curd into [the] paste, first
putting therein 2 nutmeggs slyced, a little salt, & a little rosewater; [the] eggs
must be well beaten before you put them in; & for [your] paste you may make them up
into what fashion you please..."
---Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess [Columbia
University Press:New York] 1995 (p. 130-1)
[1653]
To Make Cheese-Cakes
---A True Gentlewoman's Delight [England]

[1747]
"To make Lemon Cheesecakes
Take the Peel of two large Leons, boil it very tender, then pound it well in a
Mortar, with a quarter of a Pound or more of Laf-sugar, the Yolks of six Eggs, and
a half a Pound of fresh Butter; pound a mix all well together, lay a Puff-paste in
your Patty-pans, and fil them half full, and bake them. Orange Cheesecakes are don
the same Way, only you boil the Peel in tow or three Waters, to take out the
Bitterness."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy, Hannah Glasse, Facsimile edition [Prospect
Books:Devon England] 1995 (p. 142)

[1803]
Cheesecakes without rennet
---The Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter [G.R. Waite:New York] (p. 157)
[NOTE: see next page for "Potato and Lemon Cheesesake."]

[1871]
"Lemon cheesecake
Three ounces of butter, half a pound of loaf sugar, three eggs, leaving out the
whites of two, the grated rind and juice of one large lemon; boil it till the sugar
is dissolved and it becomes the consistence of honey; line the pan with egg-paste,
in the above mixture, and bake in a quick oven."
---Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, Mrs. M. E. Porter, Introduction and
Suggested Recipes by Louis Szathmary [Promontory Press:New York] 1974 (p. 189)

[1877]
Chess pie
---Buckeye Cookery, Estelle Woods Wilcox [Buckeye Publishers:Minneapolis] (p. 187)

[1879]
"Lemon Cheese Cake
Yolks of sixteen eggs, one pound sugar, three-quarters pound butter, four lemons,
boiling rinds twice before using, two tablespoonfuls powdered cracker. Bake in
paste. --Mrs. Dr. E.
---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree [John P. Morton:Louisville KY]
1879 (p. 414)

[1884]
Chess pie
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln [Roberts Brothers:Boston]
(p. 324-5)

[1928]
"Janet's Chess Pie
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
3 egg yolks and 1 white
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream butter and sugar as if for one cake. Add egg yolks and 1 white and beat until
foamy; add water and flavoring, again beating until well mixed. Pour this into pan
lined with raw pastry and cook..."Southern Cooking, Mrs. S.R. Dull [Grosset &
Dunlap:New York] 1928 (p. 188)

Related food? Shoofly pie (based on brown sugar & molasses).

Chiffon pie
Our survey of historic recipes suggests chiffon pie first surfaced in the United
States during the 1920s. Precursors can be found under different names. The
ultimate underlying inspiration is probably meringue. The person credited for
"inventing" chiffon pie is Monroe Boston Strause.
What is chiffon?
"A chiffon pie is a light fluffy confection in which flavoring, usually in an egg-
yolk base, is supported by stiffly beaten egg whites and/or whipped heavy cream.
Often gelatin is added as well, as a stabilizer. Without gelatin, the chiffon is
essentially a bousse, a French term meaning, literally, 'froth,' or 'foam.'...When
gelatin is added to the egg yolk base along with whipped cream, it becomes,
strictly speaking, a Bavarian cream."
---The Perfect Pie, Susan G. Purdy [Broadway Books:New York] 2000 (p. 290)

"Chiffon. A very light, sweet fluffy filling for a pie, cake, or pudding. The word
is from the French, meaning "rag," and ultimately the Middle English word for
"chip," as chiffon also refers to pieces of sheer, delicate ribbon or fabric for
women's clothing. Chiffon pie is first mentioned in American print in 1929 as a
"chiffon pumpkin pie," in the Beverly Hills Women's Club's Fashions in Food. The
1931 edition of Irma S. Rombauer's Joy of Cooking gave a recipe for lemon chiffon."
---Encylopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 74)

"Chiffon Pie. My research tells me that these fluffy unbaked pies debuted in the
early 1920s as "souffle" or "gelatin" pies. A headnote to the Eggnog Chiffon Pie
recipe in Woman's Day Old Fashioned Desserts (1978) says that "Chiffon pies were
invented in 1921 by a professional baker who lived in Iowa. By beating egg whites
with a fruit-flavored syrup until the mixture was light and fluffy, he achieved a
filling that his mother said looked like a pie of "chiffon." It's a story I've been
unable to substantiate. Besides, Knox Gelatine's 1915 booklet, Dainty Desserts for
Dainty People, features gelatin "sponges," "marshmallow puddings," and "marshmallow
creams"--the airy mixes that would one day emerge as chiffon fillings...Searches of
several dozen early-twentieth-century cookbooks turn up a few "souffle" and
"sponge" pies, but these contained no gelatin and/or whipped cream. They were baked
pies with stiffly beaten egg whites folded in just before they went into the
oven...The earliest fluffy gelatin pies that I was able to locate both appeared in
Good Housekeeping's Book of Menus, Recipes and Household Discoveries. The date:
1922. The first, Coffee Souffle Pie, qualifies on all counts as a chiffon pie...The
second Good Housekeeping recipe, Pineapple Gelatin Pie, contains gelatin and heavy
cream...but no egg whites. Still, it is very chiffonlike. Leafing through 1930s
cookbooks, I find four chiffon pies in My Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book (1939);
lemon, chocolate, pineapple, and pumpkin. All begin with a gelatin "custard," are
fluffed with stiffly peaking egg whites, and, in the case of the pineapple, with
whipped cream as well. Here too, the crusts are the standard pastry, baked and
cooled (crumb-crusted chiffon pies come later--with pies such as grasshopper...and
Black Bottom..). Two 1940 cookbooks featured a great variety of chiffon pies:
Women's Home Companion Cook Book (with nineteen) and the Good Housekeeping Cook
Book (with thirteen). Despite World War II sugar shortages, chiffon pies surged
into popularity during '40s, driven perhaps by The Joy of Cooking, which devoted a
special section to them. Chiffon pies remained popular right through the '70s. Then
in the 1980s when salmonella began compromising the wholesomeness of our eggs, they
fell from favor. But only briefly. Savvy food manufacturers discovered that
powdered egg whites, cream cheese, whipped toppings, and marshmallow cream could
double nicely for raw egg whites. Thus, '90s chiffon pies are likely to contain no
eggs at all. And sometimes no gelatin. There's usually no stinting, however, on
whipped cream."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 364)

[1922]
"Coffee Souffle Pie
2 tablespoons granulated gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cupsfuls hot coffee infusion
1/2 cupful sugar
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoonful vanilla
1 cupful cream
1 tablespoonful sugar
Pastry
Soak the gelatin in the cold water and add the hot coffee infusion and one-half
cupful of sugar. Stir until dissolved and our into the egg-yolks beaten slightly
with one tablespoonful of sugar. Cook in the top of a double-boiler until
thickened. Remove from the fire and add the salt and vanilla. Let cool, stirring
often. When beginning to set, beat hard, fold in the egg-whites and cream, both
stiffly beaten. Cook until the mixture is stiff enough to pile up well on the
spoon, then turn into a baked pastry shell. Chill thoroughly before serving. Good
Housekeeping Institute."
---Good Housekeeping Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries [Good
Housekeeping:New York] 1922 (p. 183)
[1931]
"Chiffon Pumpkin Pie
1 1/2 cups mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons corntarch
Yolk of two eggs
Mix pumpkin, sugar, egg yolks and spices together and place in double boiler and
boil for five minutes after adding corstarch to milk. When cool beat whites of eggs
and fold into pumpkin. Put into pie shell previously baked and served with whipped
cream.--- Mrs. Katharine Parmelee."
---Fashions in Foods in Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Woman's Club [Beverly Hills
CA] 3rd edition, August 1931 (p. 189)

[1931]
"Fairy Lemon Tart
1 Large or 2 Small Pies
I. Soak 2 teaspoons of gelatine and 1/3 cup of cold water.
II. Place 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten, in a double boiler, add the rind and juice
of 1 large lemon and 1 1/8 cups sugar. Cook these ingredients over hot water,
stirring them constantly until they are smooth and thick. Add the dissolved
gelatine and cool the mixture.
III. Beat the whites of 4 eggs until they are stiff, and fold them into I. and II.
Have a baked pie shell in readiness and fill it with the lemon mixture. Chill the
tart for several hours. Before serving it cover it with 1 cup of cream whipped, to
which 1 teaspoon of vanilla and (if desired) 3 tablespoonsful of sugar have been
added. This tart may be made a day in advance."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombaurer, facsimile 1931 edition [Scribner:New
York] 1998 (p. 217)

[1932]
"Lemon Chiffon Pie
Mix 2 tablespoon of butteer with 1 cup of sugar. Stir into this the yolks of 2
eggs, well beaten. Add three tablespoons flour. Beat. Add 1 cup of milk. Beat. Add
the juice and grated rind of 1 lemon. Fold in 2 stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour
into a pie plate lined with uncooked pastry. Bake 10 minutes in a hot oven (450
degrees F.). Finish baking for 20 minutes in a moderate oven (325 degrees F.)."
---Bamburger's Cook Book, Mabel Claire [Greenberg:New York] 1932 (p. 340)

[1937]
"Lemon Chiffon Pie
1 tablespoon gelatin
1/4 cup water
4 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 baked (9-inch) pastry or Cream Cheese Pastry shell
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Soften gelatin in 2 tablespoons water. Combine slightly beaten egg yolks, 1/2 cup
sugar, salt, lemon rind and juice, add remaining 2 tablespoons water; cook over
boiling water until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add softened gelatin,
stirring until gelatin is dissolved; cool until mixture begins to thicken. Then
gradually beat remaining 1/2 cup sugar into stiffly beaten egg whites and fold into
lemon-gelatin miture. Turn into baked pastry shell and chill until firm. When ready
to serve, top with whipped cream. Yield: 1 one-crust pie."
---America's Cook Book, Compiled by the Home Institute of the New York Herald
Tribune [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 1937 (p. 653)

"Orange Chiffon Pie

1 cup water
14 tablepsoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon orange rind, grated
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice 4 egg whites
1 baked (9-inch)pastry shell
Combine water, 6 tablespoons sugar, salt, grated orange rind, and bring to a boil.
Add cornstarch dissoved in citrus juices, and cook until mixture boils and
thickens, stirring constantly. Beat egg whites until stiff. Then gradually beat in
remaining sugar and continue beating until sugar dissolves. Add the cooked mixture
to the whites as it is take from the heat. Fold together with a bowl-shaped wire
whip, dipping it down, bringing it up, repeating until the mixtures are blended.
Pour filling immediately to a pre-baked, pre-chilled pie shell; fill generously and
pyramid to stand high in the middle. When cool, top with meringue."
---"Food for Conversation," Clementine Paddleford, Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1945
(p. F21)

[1946]
"Gelatine Chiffon Cream Pies
The following rules are for baked pie shell or crumb crusts filled with gelatin
mixtures and cream. They make delicious desserts. As they may be prepared well in
advance they have a practical value that is desirable in many instances...
"Gelatine Chocolate Chiffon Pie with Bananas
1 nine inch pie
Prepare: A baked Pie Shell
Soak: 1 tablespoon gelatine
in: 1/4 cup cold water
Combine and stir until smooth:
6 tablespoons cocoa or 2 ounces melted chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
Stir in the soaked gelatine until it is dissolved. Stir in: 4 lightly beaten egg
yolks, 1/2 cup sugar
Chill these ingredients until they are about to set. Add: 1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat them with a wire whisk until they are light. Whip until stiff: 4 egg whites,
1/4 teaspoon salt.
Fold them into the chocolate mixture with: 1/2 cup sugar
Fill the pie shell. Chill the pie thorougly. Shortly before serving it cover the
top with thinly sliced: Bananas.
Spread it with: Whipped cream."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker [Bobbs-
Merrill:Indianapolis] 1946 (p. 590)
[NOTE: this book offers recipes for Chiffon Pies flavored with maple sirup, rum,
pumpkin, fruit, coffee, lemon, lime, strawberry, pineapple, and orange.]

In Mr. Strause's own words: "Orange and Lemon Chiffon Pies...Thirteen years ago,
when 'chiffon' pies were originated, I did not know that the word would ever be
known to anyone but myself. It was purely and simply a crazy idea at that time, and
yet today chiffon pie is known to people in every walk of life; and is probably the
most talked of and the highest publicized of all pies. Are you taking full
advantage of its possibilities? If no, then read this chapter carefully, because
herein lies the original chiffon pie recipes. These recipes have been imitated by
many, but seldom equaled. Don't be fooled by their simplicity because the simplest
things often give the best results. To be successful with these recipes, it will
only be necessary for you to follow the instructions very closely. So take
thedoctor's advice in reading this presecription. Read it three times before
attempting to fill it."
---Pie Marches On, Monroe Boston Strause [Ahrens Publishing:New York] second
edition, 1951(p. 161)
[NOTE: We are not told if this "13 years" counts back from this 2nd edition [1951]
or the first edition [1939].]

[1951]
"Lemon Chiffon Filling
First place on the stove and bring to a boil:
1 quart water
12 oz. sugar
1/4 oz. salt
3/4 oz. grated lemon rind
2 or 3 drops lemon color
Bring this to a boil and thicken with 5 ounces of cornstarch dissolved in 6 ounces
of fresh lemon juice. After the cornstarch solution has been added, cook until
thick. Next place in the cake machine 1 pint of egg whites and 1/2 pound of sugar
and beat dry stiff. Then add an additional half pound of sugar to the beaten egg
whites and continue beating the whites until this last part of the sugar is
thoroughly dissolved. This will only take a few revolutions of the machine. Remove
the beaten egg whites from the cake machine bowl and place them in a round-bottom
mixing bowl. The pour the cooked part over the beaten egg whites and with a wire-
hand whip fold together easily but well. The filling whould be placed in the shell
immediately. Do not allow to stand. Fill the shell generously full and with a
spatula pyramid to the center of the pie, making the center higher than the sides.
Allow to cool and top with whipped cream. It is very important that the cooked
portion of the mix be thickened after the egg whites have been properly beaten, and
they must then be folded together immedatiely. If the cooked portion of the mix is
allowed to stand waiting for the egg whites to attain the proper stiffness, a skin
will form, and on folding this mix into the egg whites, a lumpy filling will
result. Smoothness and texture are important to the successful chiffon pie. Soft or
underbeaten egg whites will cause the pie to be soft and runny, and the definition
of 'dry stiff' in this case means beating the egg whites beyond any stiffness that
you would consider using for a meringue."
---Pie Marches On, Monroe Boston Strause [Ahrens Publishing:New York] second
edition, 1951(p. 161,162)
[NOTE: this book also offers recipes for Toasted almond chiffon, Banana chiffon,
Berry chiffon, Blackbottom chiffon, Cherry Chiffon, Chocolate Chiffon, Fruit salad
chiffon (with canned fruit & with fresh fruit), Orange chiffon, Peach chiffon,
Pumpkin chiffon, Raspberry chiffon, Strawberry chiffon (fresh & canned), Sunkist
chiffon and Vanilla chiffon. Happy to send recipes, let us know which one(s) you
want.]

Who was Monroe Boston Strause, "The Pie King?"

"Monroe Boston Strause, pie engineer. Here is the man who invented chiffon pie--and
his recipe...Fruit-fragrant chiffon will be the pie star on the menus of tomorrow,
is the prediction of Monroe Boston Strause, number-one pie engineer of the nation.
And pie man Strause ought to know: Commercial bakers in 48 states look to him as
style leader in the building of America's favorite dessert. Monroe Boston Strause
has a weakness for that pie called chiffon; it's an invention all his own. But
chiffon pies postwar will have a different kind of thickening from those of today.
Cornstarch is being outmoded by new gelatinizing agents, tasteless, clear as glass,
that can be combined with the filling without beating. Fresh fruit chiffons will
taste like fresh fruit. It was in 1921 that ambitious, redheaded Monroe Strause,
16, went into the business with an uncle who fancied himself a pie baker. Cream
pies were Uncle Mike's specialty--stiff with cornstarch. Monroe couldn't bear the
sight of them, let alone promote their sale...Determined to make his first business
venture succeed, the youngster began fooling around with pie fillings. He started
with a recipe for the French cream used in eclairs in which boiled sugar syrup is
added to beaten egg whites, then the cornstarch filling folded into this. Anything
for lightness, so Monroe began piling in the egg whites. First thing he knew he had
a filling ethereal. This creation he carried home to show off to his mother. 'Why,
it looks just like a pile of chiffon,' she said. So the pie was christened. Mere
piecrust seemed unworthy support for such a delicate dainty. Monroe's mother
suggested graham crackers for a shell. Then crumb crusts were unknown. More
experimentation. Eventually a shell light, crisp, tender--the ideal mate for
chiffon. Monroe's first chiffon pies sold as a restaurant novelty, 35 cents a thin
wedge. Within three years he boasted the largest pie business in the West. Bakers
from everywhere were asking, 'How did you do it?' Monroe sold his pie company to be
a pie engineer. Anyone, he claims, can turn out a chiffon nothing short of
perfection by following his blueprint directions."
---"Food for Conversation," Clementine Paddleford, Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1945
(p. F21)
[NOTE: Orange chiffon pie recipe from this article here.]

[1935]
"It isn't the pie, but overeating, that brings on that 'Great American tummy ache,'
Monroe Strause, Los Angeles, told the National Restaurant Association today. 'The
properly made pie is highly digestible,' Strause, who was introduced as the
nation's champion pie-maker, asserted. 'But it gets the blame for the pains and
overstuffed feeling when the real trouble is overeating before the dessert course
is reached.' The best advice on dining was mother's injunction" 'Save room for that
pie, sonny.' he said."
---"Pie-Maker Contends Stuffing, not Pie, Causes Tummy Ache," Associated Press, San
Antonio Express [TX], October 11, 1935 (p. 3)

[1937]
"Monroe 'Boston' Strause, hailed as the Nation's No. 1 pie expert, rolled out a
neat pie crust and proclaimed that inn his 20 year's experience, he has found apple
pie is the No. 1 pie in the nation. Peach pie is second he enumerated...Fruit pies
reank high in the the United States, but recently the cream pie has taken on
popularity by leaps and bounds...Strause, whose home is in Hollywood, gave a pie-
baking demonstration last night before the International Stewards' and Caterer's
Association convention."
---"Mere Man is No. 1 Pie Expert," Indiana Evening Gazette, [PA] August 17, 1937
(p. 2)

"Monroe Boston Strause of New York was proclaimed pie king after he baked 300 apple
pies for the [National Restaurant] association breakfast yesterday."
---"Girl called 'perfect waitress,'" New York Times, October 8, 1937 (p. 25)

[1947]
"San Diego, Calif.---Frozen pie in the sky is another preoucct of the modern
progress. The sky angle, shipment by air was used for initial 'rush' orders,
explained Monroe Boston Strause, who developed the freezing process for pies during
the war. Strause's bakery and freezing plant truning out 15,0000 pies daily, is
also shipping by railroad refrigerator car."
---"Frozen Pie in the Sky May be Bakery Salvation," Amarillo Daily News [TX], April
4, 1947 (p. 12)

[1968]
"'The secret is to slice the apples, add the sugar and cinnamon, then place them in
a collander to drain into a pan for an hour or two.' So states Boston Strause--and
if anyone ought to know pie secrets, it's Boston Strause, currently chief pie maker
for Jane Dobbins Pie shop in Pasadena. Boston, who is the creator of the graham
crust and the chiffon pie, and who has been master baker for several hotel chains
an has judged hundreds of contests for both professional and amateur pie pie-makers
all over the United States, began baking when he was sixteen years old, in his
father's bakery. He later added color and excitement to his career by becoming the
exclusive supplier of pies to comedian Buster Keaton. Keaton and Mary Pickford, we
understand, threw (and ate) pies made only by Boston Strause. More recently the
American Medical Association called on Boston for advice on how to create a low
calorie pie."
---"Recipes of the Week: Apple, Pumpkin Pies are Favorite Treat All Year," Patricia
McCune, Pasadena Independent [CA] December 19, 1968 (p. 18)
Additional bio notes courtesy of Charles Perry: I & II.

What about Chiffon cake?

Cobbler
Cobbler is an amalgam of European tradition and American ingenuity. According to
the food historians, cobbler (peach, apple, plum, cherrry, etc.) originated in the
American West during the second half of the 19th century. It was a deep-dish thick,
quick crust filled with whatever fruit (fresh, canned, dried) was on hand.
Necessity required westward-bound pioneer cooks to adapt traditional oven-baked pie
recipes to quick biscuit treats that could be cooked in Dutch ovens. Pot pie is a
closely related recipe.
Why call it cobbler?
Our dictionaries, word history books and food history reference sources generally
agree the term cobbler, as it applies to a fruit dessert covered with rough biscuit
dough, originated in the American west in the middle of the 19th century. Where did
the name come from? Most of our books simply state "source unknown." The Barnhart
Dictionary of Etymology/Barnhart adds: "A kind of pie baked in a deep dish,. 1859,
American English, but perhaps ultimately related to, or even developed from
unrecorded use of cobeler, n. 1385, a kind of wooden bowl or dish." (p. 184)

In the absence of documented evidence, educated guesses may be constructed. It is

possible the name derived from the look of the final product. Cob/cobble/cobber
convey many meanings in the English language. Elizabeth David (English Bread and
Yeast Cookery)tells us traditional English "cob" bread was small, brown and round.
Similar, perhaps to cobbletones. Perhaps this is what the the first cobbler
resembled?

While American dictionaries date the first print instance of the term "cobbler" in
1859, Nancy Baggett (fellow IACP member and cookbook author) recently located this
older reference. Proving? Culinary history sleuthing is often the result of careful
reading and research.

[1839]
"A Peach Pot-Pie.
A Peach pot pie, or cobler, as it is often termed, should be made of clingstone
peaches, that are very ripe, and then pared and sliced from the stones. Prepare a
pot or oven with paste, as directed for the apple pot-pie, put in the prepared
peaches, sprinkle on a large handful of brown sugar, pour in plenty of water to
cook the peaches without burning them, though there should be but very little
liquor or syrup when the pie is done. Put a paste over the top, and bake it with
moderate heat, raising the lid occasionally, to see how it is baking. When the
crust is brown, and the peaches very soft, invert the crust on a large dish, put
the peaches evenly on, and grate loaf sugar thickly over it. Eat it warm or cold.
Although it is not a fashionable pie for company, it is very excellent for family
use, with cold sweet milk." ---The Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile
reprint of 1839 edition stereotyped by Shepard & Stearns:Cincinnati [Image
Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 268)
The Dictionary of Americanisms traces the first instance of the word cobbler (as it
applies to a pie dish) in print to 1859: "Cobbler...a sort of pie, baked in a pot
lined with dough of great thickness, upon which fruit is placed."

"Another kind of cobbler is a western- deep-dish pie with a thick crust and a fruit
filling. This dish is called bird's nest pudding or crow's nest pudding in New
England; it is served with a custard by no topping in Connecticut, with maple sugar
in Massachusetts, and with a sour sauce in Vermont."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 87)
"Cobbler, also cobbler pie: A deep-dish fruit pie with crust, often biscuit dough,
on the top and sometimes lining the pan. Chiefly South, South Middle (parts of the
United States.)."
---Dictionary of American Regional English, Frederic G. Cassidy, editor, [Belknap
Press:Cambridge MA: 1985] Volume 1 (p. 704)
[NOTE: This book has a map of where cobbler is popular.]

[1877]
Plum cobbler
[NOTE: the end of this recipe references peaches, both canned and fresh.]

Fanchonettes
Q: I find a reference to "Pumpkin Franchonettes" being served for a hospital
Thanksgiving dinner, 1937. What were these?
A: When we didn't find any references to Franchonettes in any culinary sources
(food dictionaries, French texts, dictionaries (OED, Larousse), historic newspapers
or magazines), we did what everyone else does. We Googled. There we found a few
references to Franchonettes. The source that provided the was this an advertisment
from the Ladies Home Journal May 1921 (p. 51). The seller labeled the ad
"Franchonettes" The actual photo of the recipe is clearly "Fanchonettes." Once we
had the correct spelling the rest of the answer was easy. Our research (see recipes
below) identified "Pumpkin Fanchonettes" as mini pumpkin pies. Makes perfect sense
in your original context. Bon appetit!
? What is a Fanchonette?
"Varieties of small, puff pastries, usually filled with custard, cream or jam, and
covered with meringue."
---Master Dictionary of Food & Cookery, Henry Smith [Philosophical Library:New
York] 1952 (p. 92)

[1882]
"Fanchonettes.
One cupful of sugar, half a cupful of water, one table-spoonful of corn-starch, one
teaspoonful of butter, the yolks of four eggs, the juice and rind of two lemons.
Mix the corn-starch with a little cold water, and stir in half a cupful of boiling
water. Beat the sugar, eggs and lemon together, and stir into the boiling corn-
starch. Place the basin in another of boiling water, and stir (over the fire) until
it thickens, perhaps from eight to ten minutes; then add the butter and set away to
cool. Line little patty pans with puff paste, or any rich paste, rolled very thin.
Put a spoonful of the mixture in each one, and bake in a slow oven from twelve to
twenty minutes. When cool, slip out of the pans, and serve on a napkin. They are
nice for lunch, tea or children's parties, only for parties make them small. The
mixture for fanchonettes will keep a number of weeks in a cool place, so that if
one makes a quantity at one time, portions can be used with the trimmings of pastry
left from pies."
---Miss Parloa's Cook Book, 1882
[1914]
"Rhubarb Fanchonettes.--2 pounds rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup strained orange
juice, 1 tablespoon powdered gelatine, 1 piece orange peel, 1 cup cream, whipped,
flavored and sweetened, number of individual pastry shells. Cut rhubarb into inch
pieces. Hot house variety needs no peeling. Place in baking dish in layers,
sprinkling sugar between layers. Add 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon Crisco, and
a few thin strips orange peel, place in moderate oven, cover and bake 1 hour.
Dissolve gelatine in orange juice and when rhubarb is cooked remove it from oven
and add this mixture to it. Let it get cold. When ready to serve fill shells with
rhubarb mixture, heap with whipped cream and decorate with crystallized orange
peel."
---A Calendar of Dinners with 615 Recipes, including the Story of Crisco, Marion
Harris Neil [Proctor & Gamble] 1913, 1914 eighth edition (p. 192)
[NOTE: This is the same recipe as the one published in the Ladies Home Journal,
1921.]

[1927]
"Pumpkin Fanchonettes.
Mix with 1/2 cupful of sugar and 1 teaspoonful each of salt and cinnamon and 3/4
teaspoonful of ginger. Bring to the boiling pint, stirring constantly to prevent
burning 1 quart sifted cooked pumpkin, then stir in the well-beaten yolks of 2 eggs
and cook slowly for 3 minutes longer. Add the sugar mixture, 1 cupful dates cut
into small pieces and 1/2 cupful of nut meats, then the stiffly beaten whites of
the eggs. Turn the filling into baked individual pie shells and return to the oven
for above [about] 5 minutes. Serve cold garnished with whipped cream and a candied
cherry in the middle of each mound."
---"Novelties for Thanksgiving Week: Cranberry Jelly and an Unusual Cabbage," The
Christian Science Monitor, November 18, 1927 (p. 7)

[1930]
"Pumpkin Fanchonettes.
Cut large circles from flaky pastry rolled to a very thin sheet. Fit into small
fluted pans. Pinch with fingers to make a fancy edge. Fill with pumpkin pie
filling. Bake in a quick oven (425 degrees F.) 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish before
serving with a spoonful of whipped cream."
---"San Antonio Express Womans Department," Martha Jane Heath editor, San Antonio
Express [TX], October 29, 1930 (p. 11)

[1961]
"Fanchette or Fanchonette (Confectionery)--This gateau, which was very popular in
the past, is scarcely ever made today. This is a pity because it is excellent. It
is made in a deep round baking tin similar to that used for hot pates. Line this
baking tin with flaky pastry dough which has been rolled out and folded into 3 upon
itself six times (Twelfth Night galette...) Fill this crust with a cream made like
French pastry cream, with the following ingredients: 12 yolks of eggs, 3/4 cup (100
grams) of powdered sugar, 3/4 cup (100 grams) of unsifted flour, 2 1/2 cups (5
decilitres) of fresh thick cream, a tablespoon of vanilla-floured sugar, or 1
teaspoon of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt. Bake the gateau in a slow oven. When
it is cold, cover with meringue. Decorate the top with meringue, piping it through
a forcing bag. Sprinkle with sugar. Brown in the oven. Serve warm."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne, edited by Charlotte Turgeon and Nina
Froud [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961 (p. 408)

Frisbie Pies
According to the records of the US Patent & Trademark Office, Wham-O introduced its
iconic Frisbee flying disc June 17, 1957. The inventor? Walter Fred Morrison. The
original prototype? Inexpensive metal pie plates. The inspiration? Throwing empty
pie plates was popular on college student diversion during the Great Depression.
The name? Frisbie Baking Company, Bridgeport, Ct. Who was the first person to throw
a pie plate and yell Frisbee? We will never know. There are several claimants to
this honor. Because Frisbie pies were sold in New England, we can assume the fad
with this name began there. This does not preclude the possibility of other people
hurling similar objects in other parts of the country (world?) achieving the same
purpose. What did a Frisbie pie tin look like?
"The Frisbee started as an obscure fad with a beginning as modest as a five-cent
pie tin. It is widely believed that restless Yale students discovered it when they
decided to throw pie tins instead of returning them to the Frisbie Pie Company in
Bridgeport, Conn., for their nickel deposit."
---"Technology: The Wonders of the Frisbee," New York Times, July 5, 1978 (p. D5)

"It's one of Richard Burton's favorite forms of exercise. Carol Greiltzer, a New
York City councilwoman, does it at every opportunity....What they do is fly
Frisbees, and they have lots of company. A Frisbee is a plastic disk about the size
of a pie pan that can soar, dip or bank like a glider when thrown properly. First
introduced commercially about a dozen years ago by Wham-O Manufacturing Co.,
Frisbees until recently were regarded primarily as novelties for children. But of
lately the flying of Frisbees has become something of a national craze among
adults...Soldiers in Vietnam find a Frisbee session relaxing after a day in the
bush chasing the Vietcong...Guts Frisbee is played by two five-man teams standing
about 15 yards apart. They hurl the plastic disks at each other with awesome force,
scoring points when an opponent fails to catch a throw one-handed...Legends about
the origins of Frisbee are many--all probably apocryphal. One has it that way back
in 1837 a Yale man named Frisbee sailed a church collection plate 200 feet across
the campus in protest against compulsory chapel. Movie people claim it all started
in Hollywood in the 1940s when film editors relaxed at lunch by scaling empty film
tins. But most Frisbee historians agree that the modern era began after World War
II when the clientele of the now-defunct Frisbie Baking Co. of Bridgeport Conn.,
found that the tin plates holding Mother Frisbie's pies were great for soaring. In
the late 1950s, Fred Morrison, a pie-tin tosser of notable skill, took the idea to
Wham-O. The company. The company has since sold several million Frisbees, and Mr.
Morrison has raked in close to $500,000. in royalties."
---"Frisbee Fad Attracts Fans Seeking Sport." W. Stewart Pinkerton, Wall Street
Journal, July 2, 1969 (p. 1)

"In the beginning, of course, a Frisbee was a tin plate holding a pie that was
produced by the thousands in a Bridgeport bakery. The Frisbee Pie Company was its
name, and somewhere between 1871 (When William R. Frisbie started the business) and
1920 (when somebody saw the fun in tossing the empty tins), Frisbee started on its
way to becoming one of America's rare native sports. A mispelling early in the game
changed an 'i' to 'e' a man on the West Coast (W. Fred Morrison) began
manufacturing aerodynamically improved version of the disk in 1957. ..A lot has
happened to a Frisbee since it held a pie, but a lot more has happened to the
ability of Frisbee tossers. This becomes very evident in an Ultimate Frisbee match,
where a team, of seven players tries to pass a Frisbee down a 60-yard field without
letting it hit the ground or be blocked by an opposing team of seven...The ball is
dead, as far as Frisbee freaks are concerned. A ball holds no mystery, they
contend, has a slavish attachment to the earth and falls quickly if missed in the
initial attempt to catch it. But not the Frisbee, which exists just to fly."
---"To Frisbee Fans, It's the Ultimate," Parton Keese, New York Times, August 7,
1977 (p. CN1)

"Students at Yale University insist they were the first to pick up a Frisbie Pie
Company plate and fling it into the air. But similar claims have come from
Princeton and other Easter colleges and universities. Olin Robinson, Middlebury
College's president, said both were wrong...'it started here.' To honor its
certainty, the college unveiled a bronze sculpture a few weeks ago by Patrick
Farrow, and artist, of a dog catching a flying disc in its mouth. Middlebury
officials contend that a group of Delta Upsilon fraternity brothers tumbled into
the game while traveling to a fraternity convention in Nebraska 50 years ago. Short
on cash while on the road, the men took Frisbie fruit pies with them to eat, the
story goes. They tossed the leftover tin back and forth to amuse themselves while
waiting for a flat tire to be repaireid. Frist Pie-Tin Throwers. It was 1939. 'That
fall in Middlebury the air was filled with flying pans, every size and shape,' said
a story in Middlebury's alumni newspaper in the spring of 1976. 'Grade-point
averages dropped, football atttendance suffered and all stores were out of pie
pans.' But even the college's official version is disputed by one of the Middlebury
students, who said he had participated in the fateful event. Elbert Cole, a retired
chemist living in Palo Alto, Calif., said he and another fraternity brother found a
pie tin in a Nebraska cornfield and tossed it to each other, yelling 'Frisbie.'
'People have been throwing pie pans forever, but that's how it got to be called
Frisbie.' [said] Mr. Cole...Yale suggests that its students were the first to throw
pie-tins because the Frisbie Pie Company, which was based in Bridgeport, Conn.,
likely sold pies near Yale. David Iovanne, director of the New Haven Convention and
Visitor Bureau, said it is part of New Haven lor that Yale students were the first
pie-tin tossers...After World War II, the travels of the flying pie tins became
easier to document, said Daniel Roddick of the Wham-O Manufacturing Company in San
Gabriel, Calif., which makes the modern plastic Frisbee. In 1948, Walter Fred
Morrison, a West Coast inventor and building inspector, made plastic versions and
marked them as flying saucers, In 1957, Wham-O discovered the popularity of a game
called Frisbie that was played mostly on college campuses on the East Coast. The
company liked the name and began selling Frisbees under a registered trademark.
They later learned of the Frisbie Pie Company...'As to the documentation on who
cast the first one without a blueberry pie in it, that's a bit of a challenge,'...I
think what you have here is a pretty spontaneous response to a natural
opportunity...It just brought a lot of happiness and joy to people at a time when
the world was getting ready for World War II...It just brought release."
---"It All Started With Pie Tins in the Air," New York Times, July 9, 1989 (p. 31)

Gateau St. Honore

Food historians generally agree Gateau Saint Honore belongs to Paris (because St.
Honore is the patron Saint of patisserie and has a street name in Paris after him),
but are collectively vague regarding the period. Neither do they attibute the
creation of this confection to a specific chef or agree on the history behind the
name. Chiboust (for whom the creme used in this recipe was named) was a mid-19th
century patissiere. Quite the mystery, yes?
The ingredients and method of Gateau Saint Honore date the possibility of this
recipe to the 17th century. Primary evidence confirms master Parisian patissieres
often employed choux and cream to effect grand dessert presentations. Croquant was
"invented" at this time. Chantilly creme (sometimes referred to as Chiboust) was
also "invented" in the 17th century. We find nothing close to Saint Honore in La
Varenne [1651], but Ude's French Cook [1828] contains several recipes which might
been precursors. These are generally composed of choux artfully arranged and filled
with chantilly cream. Unlike Gateau Saint Honore, however, do not employ
shortcrust.

Escoffier [1903] contains a recipe for Creme a Saint-Honore (#4345), but not (at
least that we can find) Gateau Saint Honore. Neither does it show up in Richardin
[1913]. The original edition of Larousse Gastronomique [1938] includes both
description and recipe (en Francais, we can send if you like).

What is Gateau Saint Honore?

Gateau Saint Honore, a confection of two kinds of pastry with a cream filling.
Shortcrust pastry provides a firm base for the soft and flexible choux pastry piled
round it on top. Glazed profiteroles are stuck to the ring of choux. The centre of
the ring is filled with a creamy mixture (creme chiboust) stiffened with gelatin
and lightened with stiffly beaten egg whites. This cake is sometimes said to have
been named after St. Honore, the patron saint of bakers, but others say that it
owes its name to the rue Saint-Honore in Paris, where it was created (possibly as a
development of some existing product) in 1846 by a patissiere, Chiboust. The
learned authors of the Ile-de-France volume listed under IPCF (1993) explain why
they regard the matter as an unsolved mystery."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 333)
[NOTE: Mr. Davidson's reference to IPCF (1993) refers to Inventaire du Patrimoine
Culinare de la France, 27 volumes published between 1992-2000. The Ile-de-France
contains the information on gateau St. Honore. We don't have ready access to this
volume, but your librarian may be able to locate/borrow a copy.]

"Saint Honore, a gateau consisting of a layer of shortcrust pastry (basic pie

dough) or puff pastry on top of which is arranged a crown of choux pastry, which is
itself garnished with small choux glazed with caramel. The inside of the crown is
filled with Chiboust cream (also known as Saint Honore cream') or Chantilly cream.
A Parisian gateau, Saint Honore takes its name from the patron saint of bakers and
pastrycooks. It is also said that its name comes from the fact that the pastrycook
Chiboust, who create the cream which is used in it, set himself up in the Rue
Saint-Honore in Paris."
--- Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York] (p. 1016)

Pastry: notes on shortcrust, puff paste, choux, and profiteroles

Grasshopper pie
Food historians and primary evidence place the genesis of this American pie in the
late 1950s/early 1960s. Chiffon pies were very popular at that time. The
"grasshopper" name is borrowed from a popular green-colored cocktail, also
*invented* about this time. There is speculation this recipe was invented by
food/drink companies to promote their products. It is quite likely, although we
cannot verify in print. This is what the food historians have to say: "I suspect--
but cannot verify--that [Grasshopper Pie] recipes descend from one that appeared in
High Spirited Desserts, a recipe flier publsihed jointly by Knox Unflavored
Gelatine and Heublein Cordials. It begins "Dinner guests sometimes click their
heels with glee over a superb dessert." Then it goes on to urge the reader to be
"devil-may-care. Knox Unflavored Gelatine provides a variety of handsome and
delectable dishes. Heublein Cordials provide the spirits that give each sweet
masterpiece inimitable flavor. Serve with pride. Await applause modestly."
Unfortunately, there's no date on the leaflet. Given its yellowing state, however,
its purple prose, and whimsical Jester illustrations, I suspect that it belongs to
the late 50s or, possible, the early 60s."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes fo the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 372)
"Grasshopper pie. A dessert pie made with green creme de menthe cordial, gelatin,
and whipped cream. It derives its name from the green color of the cordial. The pie
is popular in the South, where it is customarily served with a cookie crust, and
probably dates from the 1950s."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 144)

"Grasshopper pie. The name of this mint-chocolate pie corms from the after-dinner
drink, which is made by shaking 1/2 ounce cream, 1/2 ounce white creme de cacao,
and 1 ounce creme de methe together with ice cubes, then straining. This pie may
have had its start in the Fifties when creme de menthe had considerable cachet, and
by the Sixties it had quite a following."
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [Simon &
Schuster:New York] 1995 (p . 256)

"Q. Do you know the origin of the name chiffon as related to cooking and the origin
of a chiffon pie known as a grasshopper? A. The word chiffon obviously applies to
foods that have a delicate or light and fluffy consistency. I seriously doubt that
any book could date the exact origin of the word. A grasshopper pie is made with
green creme de menthe, white creme de cacao and cream. The filling comes out a
delicate green color. The word derives from the cocktail that bears the name
grasshopper, It is made with those ingredients, which are shaken with ice and
strained."
---"Q & A," New York Times, December 21, 1983 (p. C11)

"Grasshopper Pie. That Queen of Pies, the Grasshopper. Here's the recipe from the
Hiram Walker people just as it appeared in all sorts of advertising a couple of
years ago."
---Best Recipes from the Backs fo Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars, Ceil Dyer [Galahad
Books:New York] 1979 (p. 393)
[NOTE: Book contains recipe, no date.]

The earliest reference to grasshopper pie in the New York Times was published in
1904. It is for the "real" thing:"

"Big grasshoppers, such as grow fat and buzz loudly in the Orient, are looked upon
as table delicacies in the Philippines. There are several methods used by the
natives for catching grasshoppers. The most effective is the net...The hopper is
first so thoroughly dried out in the head of the sun or in the bake oven that there
is nothing left that is really objectionable, and a nice crispy article of food
results. This states sweet of itself, and something like ginger biscuits. The
natives usually sweetend the grasshopeer more by using a sprinkling of brown sugar.
Then the confectioners make up grasshoppers with sugar, chocolate trimmings, and
colored candies in such a way a very nice tasting piece of confectionery is
obtained. The housewife of the Philippines takes considerable delight in placing
before you a nice grasshopper pie or cake. The grashopper pie is the most wonderful
dish, as the big hoppers are prepared in such a way that they do not lose their
form."
---"Grasshoppers for the Table," New York Times, March 27, 1904 (p. SM8)

The earliest NYT recipe for Grasshopper Pie, as we Americans know it today, was
published in 1963. It does not reference any specific name-brand products. It does,
however, confirm the propularity of this dessert in the time frame established by
the food historians:

"Grasshopper Pie
Crumb shell:
1 1/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix the chocolate crumbs, sugar and butter. Press the mixture against the bottom
and sides of a nine-inch pie plate. Bake five minutes and chill.
Filling:
1 envelope gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup green creme de menthe
2 tablespoons cognac or creme de cacao
1 cup heavy cream, whipped.
1. Combine in the top of a double boiler the gelatin, half the sugar and salt. Stir
in the water and blend in the egg yolks, one at a time. Place the mixture over
boiling water, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved and mixture thickens
slightly, four to five minutes.
2. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the creme de menthe and cognac.
Chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture has a consistency resembling unbeaten
egg white.
3. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then gradually stir in remaining
sugar. Continue beating until whites are very stiff. Fold them into the gelatin
mixture. Fold in the whipped cream and turn mixture into chocolate crumb shell.
Chill until firm and garnish. If desired, with additional whipped cream. Yield: One
nine-inch pie."
---"New Menus and Recipes Suggested for Weekend," New York Times, May 9, 1963 (p.
43)
Impossible pie
Is it possible to mix up several ingredients, pour it into a baking recepticle and
have the layers naturally settle into a pie formation (crust on the bottom; filling
on the top). Yes, according to the makers of Impossible pie. This 20th century
novelty recipe took some parts of our country by storm.
The origins of Impossible Pie (aka mystery pie, coconut amazing pie) are sketchy at
best. A survey of newspaper/magazine articles suggests this recipe originated in
the south (where coconut custard pies are popular). It was *discovered* by General
Mills (Bisquick) and General Foods, who capitalized on the opportunity to promote
their products. Corporate recipes surfaced in the mid-1970s. There are conflicting
reports about the dates of introduction. The earliest recipe we have on file was
published in 1968. None of the ingredients are name-brand.

This article sums up it best:

"Amazing. Mysterious. It could be none other than Impossible Pie, one of the most
successful corporate recipe projects in the U.S. food-marketing history. Versions
of Impossible Pie were also named Mystery Pie or Amazing Coconut Pie. By any name,
though, Americans took to the easy recipe that is adaptable for making both sweet
dessert pies and savory meat, vegetable and cheese pies. Back when quiche was
trendy, the Impossible Pie formula called for ingredients similar to those for
quiche yet eliminated the need to make a separate pastry crust...Not one but two
huge food corporations benefited by popularizing the simple recipe formula for the
Impossible Pie mixtures: the two big "Generals." One was the Minneapolis-based
General Mills, home of mythical Betty Crocker and maker of Bisquick all-purpose
baking mix. The other was General Foods of White Plains, N.Y., marketer of Angel
Flake processed coconut...The real mystery: Where did this recipe originate? We
know the two "Generals" took a basic formula and then developed variations to
showcase their respective products. Lisa Van Riper, spokeswoman for Kraft General
Foods, said the company's well-advertised recipe for Amazing Coconut Pie, "was
developed as a result of a creative adaptation of the Bisquick Impossible Pies. We
took a Bisquick Impossible Pie and did a creative twist by adding coconut, raisins
and some other things. That was developed in June 1976 by our test-kitchen's task
force from a recipe submitted by various sources. Essentially that source was the
Bisquick Impossible Pie. The Amazing Coconut Pie recipe also forms its own crust--
with the baking mix sinking to the bottom of a custard mixture--and has been used
ever since 1976, according to Van Riper. General Mills' Marcia Copeland, director
of Betty Crocker foods and publications, recalls that "we first saw the recipe for
(crustless) coconut custard pies in Southern community cookbooks." So it was a
grass-roots recipe first, origin unknown. Some very old community cookbooks contain
pie recipes that make their own crusts just from flour; others call for homemade
biscuit mix. Copeland said that the Impossible Pie phenomenon lasted from the late
1970s through the 80s... General Mills' home economists developed variations for
Impossible Chicken n' Broccoli Pie, for Enchilada, Lasagna, Taco, Pizza and Beef
Mushroom Impossible Pies, even an Impossible Turkey n' Stuffing Pie..."
---"Mission: Impossible Pie: The Secret's in the Batter," Joyce Rosencranz, Houston
Chronicle, June 9, 1993, Foo (p. 1)

[1968]
"Impossible Pie
4 eggs, beaten well
2 cups milk
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 can (7 ounces) flaked coconut
Blend together sugar and flour. Add milk to beaten eggs; stir in melted butter and
coconut. Pour into two buttered nine-inch pie pans; bake at 350 degrees 30 to 40
minutes."
---"New Cake Easy to Take," Evelyn Comer, Charleston Gazette [WV], May 27, 1968 (p.
19)
[1971]
"Impossible Pie
4 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
1 3/4 cujp self-rising flour
2 cups milk
1 4-oz. can shredded coconut
Beat eggs thoroughly. Add melted butter, sugar, flour and milk and beat again unti
well blended. Stir in coconut. Pour filling into two ungreased deep 8-in. pie
plates and bake at 350 deg. 40 min. Cool thoroughly, then cut into wedges and
serve. Note: Do not use a pie crust as this pie makes its own top and botton. The
mixture is rather thin when poured into the pan but after baking and cooling, cuts
clean."
---"My Best Recipe: Different Treatment for Pie," Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1971
(p. J7)

[1978]
"Blender Impossible Pie
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk biscuit mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup margarine, cut in bits
Place milk, sugar, coconut, vanilla, biscuit mix, eggs and bits of margarine in a
blender and whirl for 3 minutes. Turn batter into a greased and floured 10-inc pie
plate and bake at 350 degrees 40 to 45 minutes or until a brown crust is formed. If
desired, sprinkle addtional coconut on top before baking. Note: Regular flour may
be substituted for biscuit mix, but add 3/4 teaspoon baking powder."
---"Culinary SOS: Blending Your Way to the Impossible Pie," Rose Dosti, Los Angeles
Times, August 17, 1978 (p. M26)

[1979]
"Impossible Reuben Pie
8-ounce can sauerkraut
1/2 pound cooked corned beef, diced medium-fine (1 3/4 cups)
4 ounces Swiss cheese, chredded medium-fine (1 cup packed)
1 cup milk
3/4 cup biscuit mix
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tabplesooons chili sauce
3 large eggs
Drain sauerkraut, pressing out liquid--there should be 1/2 cup kraut. Sprinkle the
bottom of a buttered, clear-glass, 9- by 1 1/4-inch pie plate with corned beef; top
with the cheese and then with the kraut. In an electri blender, at high speed,
whirl together until smooth the milk, biscuit mix, mayonnaise, chili sauce and
eggs--about 15 seconds; pour into pie plage. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven
until bottom and sides are well-browned and top is golden--30 minutes. Let stand
about 5 minutes and serve at once. Makes 6 servings. Note: In testing this recipe I
used real (not imitation) mayonnaise.--C.B."
---"'Impossible' Reuben Pie is New, Savory," Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1979
(p. OC_D40)

[1983]
The Best of Bisquick from Betty Crocker (company booklet) offers a section titled
"The Best of Impossible Pies." Here you will find recipes for: Impossible Cicken 'N
Broccoli Pie, Impossible Beef Enchilada Pie, Impossible Pizza pie, Impossible
Lasagne Pie, Impossible Cheeseburger Pie, Impossible Beef and Mushroom Pie,
Impossible Turkey 'N Stuffing Pie, Impossible Chicken Pot Pie, Impossible Ham and
Vegetable Pie, Impossible Ham 'N Swiss Pie, Impossible Shrimp Pie, Impossible Tuna-
Dill Pie, Impossible Spinach Pie, Impossible Green Chili-Cheese Pie, Impossible
Pumpkin Pie, Impossible French Apple Pie, Impossible Coconut Pie, Impossible Cherry
Pie, Impossible Banana Cream Pie, Impossible Cheesecake, Impossible Pecan Pie,
Impossible Brownie Pie & Impossible Chocolate Cream Pie. Happy to share recipes,
let us know what you need.

Key lime pie

Certainly, such a popular pie would have much available in the way of history. Not!
Food historians confirm the popularity of limes (a gift from 16th century Spanish
explorers), presence of pies (an "Old World" recipe), and eager acceptance of
condensed milk (mid-19th century). Presumably, the "inspiration" for Key Lime pie
is Lemon meringue.
"According to John Egerton (Southern Food, 1987), Key Lime Pie was known in the
Florida Keys "as far back as the 1890s." It don't doubt it a bit because in those
pre-refrigerator days, fresh milk was a poor keeper. What local cooks had learned
to rely on was the sweetened condensed milk Gail Borden had begun canning shortly
before the Civil War."
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century,
Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 377)
[NOTE: This book has a recipe for Key Lime Pie.]

"Key lime pies were first made in the Keys in the 1850s. Jean A. Voltz, in The
Flavor of the South (1993), explains that the recipe developed with the advent of
sweetened condensed milk in 1856. Since there were few cows on the Keys, the new
canned milk was welcomed by the residents and introduced into a pie made with lime
juice. The original pies were made with a pastry crust, but a crust made from
graham crackers later became popular and today is a matter of preference, as is the
choice between whipped cream and meringue toppings. There are three recipes for Key
lime pie in The Key West Cook Book (1949), only one of which refers to a graham-
cracker crust, and two of which do not require the pie to be baked. One has no
topping, one whipped cream, and one meringue."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 184)

[1940]
�Key West has also an unusual menu to whet the appetite�turtle steaks, black bean
soup and delicious lime pie, are epicurean pleasures not to be overlooked.�
---�Key West, Unique Resort City,� S.R. Bayley, Washington Post, January 14, 1940
(p. A7)

[1947]
�Food costs are most reasonable in comparison with the mainland, and the menus are
slightly exotic to make up for the lunch-room appearance of most downtown
restaurants. Their appeal is in their lime pie, the equivalent of a lemon meringue
pie made with the small, juicy key limes��
---�Manana in Key West, Paul J.C. Friedlander, New York Times, February 23, 1947
(p. X14)

[1948]
"Famous Key Lime Pie has been popular with residents and visitors on the Florida
keys for many years. Until now Key Lime Pie has been unknown in Biloxi and other
sections of the United States. At considerable expense, we sent our chef to the
Florida Keys to learn te method of making this most delicious Pie, under the
direction of the Wills Famiy, who conceied the iea and originated the recipe."
---display ad, Sport Center Coffee Shop, Biloxi Daily Herald [MS], April 17, 1948
(p. 10)

[1949]
�Mrs. Moore likes unusual foods and has a special recipe she obtained from the
Cubans in Key West, Florida. It is for Key Lime Pie which Mrs. Moore says is very
good, but also expensive and the type of dessert used only on special occasions.�
---�Time For Picnics: Recipes Better for Spring Days,� Barbara Reed, Denton Record
Chronicle, April 28, 1949 (p. 11)

[1949]
"Key Lime Pie
4 eggs
1 can condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
Break eggs in bowl and beat lightly. Add condensed milk and beat until well
blended. Add lime juice slowly mixing well. Custard will thicken as you add lime
juice. Pour into baked pie shell and top with meringue. Bake in slow oven until
brown.
Meringue
Beat whites of 2 eggs unitl stiffl. Add 3 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon baking
powder beating constantly. Put on custard and brown.--Eva Navarro (Mrs. Dan
Navarro)."

"Key Lime Ice Box Pie

1/3 cold water
1/2 tablespoon gelatine
4 eggs
3 tablespoons lime juice or more. (Lemon juice and 1/3 lemon rind may be used)
1 cup whipped cream
1 cup granulated sugar
few grains salt
Set gelatine to soak in 1/3 cup water. Place egg yolks, lime juice, and 1/2 cup
sugar in round bottom bowl. Place over water kept at boiling point, whipping until
it cooks firm and creamy. Remove from stove and fold in gelatine. When cook add
stiffly beaten egg whites which have been combined with other 1/2 cup sugar. Our
into large baked pastry and set in ice box for 2 hours or more. Whip cream & spread
over top of pie.--Annie Hicks.

Heavenly Lime Pie

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
4 eggs separated
3 tbsps. Lime juice
1/8 tsp salt
1 pint Whipping cream.
Sift one cup sugar and cream of tartar. Beat egg whites stiff and gradually add
sugar. Beat until thoroughly blended. Grease lightly 1 deep 9" or 10" pie pan.
Spread above mixture into pan but do not spread too close to rim of pan. Bake in
middle of oven for 1 hour at 275 degrees F. Cool. Beat egg yolks slightly with 1/2
cup sugar, lime juice and salt. Taste for tartness. Cook over boiling water until
very thick. Cool. Whip cream and fold half of it into the thick lemon mixture.
Spread in shell. Spread remaining cream over top. Chill 12 hours or more. Serves 8.
--Mrs. B.C. Moreno."

"Lime Pie Supreme

(4 large pies)
1 pound butter
4 cups sugar
2 dozen eggs
Juice of 15 to 18 limes, to taste.
Cream butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time, reserving the whites of 12 for
meringue. Beat, smooth and add the juice of the limes to desired tartness. Place
mixture in pie shells which have been slightly browned, and bake at 400 degrees
till filling is firm. Heap with meringue, and return to oven till meringue is
brown.--Mrs. John B. Hayes"

"Fluffyruffle Lime Pie

4 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
Grated rind and juice of 2 small limes
Beat sugar and yolks of eggs together, add juice and grated rind. Cook in double
boiler until thick. Remove from fire, fold in whites, stiffly beaten, to which you
have added 3 tablespoons sugar. Pile lightly in baked pie shell, chill and
serve..--Mrs. John Wardlow"
---Key West Cook Book, Woman's Club, Key West Florida [1949] (p. 215-218)

Recipe for The Breakers Key Lime Pie?

"Q. I would like to make a good key lime pie. I think the version at The Breakers
in Palm Beach is outstanding. Could you get the recipe?-- M. Herzog, Highland Beach

A. Executive chef Michael Norton provided the recipe, which uses typical key lime
pie ingredients -- but with several significant differences in their use. The
recipe calls for about twice as much condensed milk as the standard recipe, and
then the pie is baked, rather than simply refrigerated. The result is a very creamy
filling, a bit stiffer and higher than the usual, that lacks the raw egg flavor one
sometimes encounters in a key lime pie. The use of cake flour in the pastry makes
the crust very tender and delicate; use some extra care in the rolling process.

THE BREAKERS' KEY LIME PIE

Crust:
5 tablespoons shortening
7 tablespoons cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
Filling:
3 egg yolks
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) lime juice
2 14-ounce cans, minus 4 tablespoons, sweetened condensed milk
Garnish:
Lightly sweetened whipped cream
Lime slices
To make the crust: Cut the shortening into the flour. Sprinkle on the sugar, then
blend in the egg and milk. Roll on a lightly floured surface into a circle to fit a
deep, 10-inch pie plate. Place in plate, prick bottom and sides, weight with beans
or rice and bake about 6 minutes at 375 degrees, or until pastry is a light brown.
Cool before filling. To make the filling: Beat the egg yolks, lime juice and
condensed milk until smooth and creamy. Pour into pre-baked pie shell and bake 15
minutes at 350 degrees. Watch pastry crust during this time; if the rim starts to
get too brown, shield with foil. Cool pie and then top with whipped cream. Garnish
with slices of fresh lime. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Several readers wrote with
suggestions for those who suffer from the hard brown sugar blues. "I take it out of
the cardboard box as soon as I bring it home from the store," said Sally Lewis of
Miami. "I then repack it in an airtight Tupperware container. In 11 years of using
this method I've never had a case of hard brown sugar, even when I've kept the same
sugar for a year." Dorothy Ligush of Pompano Beach advocates using the same method.
"It will save a lot of tempers." She says that if the sugar does pack some from
nonuse, "I just run a fork or knife through it to fluff it." J. Pierce says she
uses a wide-mouth glass jar to store her brown and confectioners' sugars and never
is faced with hardness or too much moisture."
---"Breaker's Key Lime Pie is Creamier Than MostREAKERS' KEY LIME PIE," Linda
Cicero, The Miami Herald, April 21, 1988 (p. E10)

About condensed milk About Key (Mexican) limes

Frozen lime pie is an interation of Key lime pie. The oldest mention we find in
print for the frozen pie implies the recipe existed at least as early as the 1970s.
Of course, most recipes exist long before they appear in print.

"Mabel Brotzman asked for help in finding a lost recipe for a Key Lime Pie that can
be frozen for serving later. We received dozens of replies from readers. Marcia H.
Kenward said she'd clipped the recipe from The Miami Herald "at least 30 years
ago." That recipe calls for stirring in 1 to 2 drops of green food coloring if
desired. As Dot Schuck of Key Largo puts it: "Most folks from up North think Key
lime should be green." The vintage recipe calls for separated eggs in the filling,
which makes it more involved but airier in texture. The more popular recipe, at
least as far as our mail indicates, is made with frozen whipped topping. Barbara
Bliss sent her boyfriend Dave's incredibly easy recipe, which is similar to many we
received. Tips: If you are making your own graham cracker crust, try brushing egg
white on the top just before baking to keep the crust crisp. Remove the pie from
the freezer no more than 5 minutes before serving. Paula Prouty of Key West and
Scarborough, Maine, where she is a newspaper food editor, simply makes a regular
Key lime pie, with a meringue top, and then freezes it.

Dave's Frozen Key Lime Pie

2 graham cracker pie crusts
8 ounces Key lime juice
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 8-ounce tubs frozen whipped topping, defrosted
Bake pie crusts following package instructions and cool. Beat together the Key lime
juice and condensed milk. Fold in 1 tub of the whipped topping. Divide filling into
the 2 crusts. Top both pies with the remaining frozen whipped topping. Chill, or
freeze as desired. Makes 2 pies, 16 servings. Per serving: 338 calories (40 percent
from fat), 15 g fat (8.1 g saturated), 11.3 mg cholesterol, 4 g protein, 45.4 g
carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 214 mg sodium.
Vintage Frozen Key Lime Pie
2 eggs, separated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest (if desired)
1/2 cup sugar
1 graham cracker pie crust
Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Combine with sweetened condensed
milk. Stir in lime juice and zest, stirring until mixture thickens. Beat egg whites
until they stand in soft peaks. Gradually add sugar and continue beating just until
mixture stands in firm peaks. Do not overbeat. Fold egg whites into lime mixture.
Pour into crust and freeze six hours or overnight. Makes 8 servings. Per serving:
431 calories (30 percent from fat), 14.5 g fat (5.6 g saturated), 75.8 mg
cholesterol, 8.2 g protein, 69.4 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 271 mg sodium.

---"Frozen Key Lime Pie; Poached Salmon with Cucumber Sauce," Miami Herald, The
(FL), Apr 09, 2001
Lemon meringue pie
According to the food historians, lemon flavored custards, puddings and pies have
been enjoyed since Medieval times. While Renaissance European cooks used whisked
egg-whites in several dishes, it was not until the 17th century that they perfected
meringue. Lemon meringue pie, as we know it today, is a 19th century product. About
lemons.
ABOUT LEMON MERINGUE PIE IN AMERICA
"Lemon-meringue pie, made with lemon curd and topped with meringue, has been a
favorite American dessert since the nineteenth century."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 182)

Elizabeth Coane Goodfellow (1767-1851) is credited for introducing lemon meringue

pie to America in her Philadelphia shops [The Larder Invaded: Reflections on Three
Centuries of Philadelphia Food and Drink, Mary Anne Hines, Gordon Marshall &
William Woys Weaver, Historical Society of Philadelphia, Philadelphia 1987 (p. 66).
Becky L. Diamond's Mrs Goodfellow: The Story of America's First Cooking School
[2012] devotes an entire chapter to the evolution of Lemon Meringue pie. The author
states "no one know...exactly how or when [lemon meringue pie] was originally
conceived." (p. 158). Mrs. Goodfellow's Cookery as it Should Be (1865) offers three
recipes for lemon pudding, some in pastry shells (p. 229, 230 & 243), no lemon
pies, and the sole reference to meringue(s) (p. 199) is for small confections, not
as topping.

Where is lemon meringue pie considered a "traditional" dessert?

Many places are associated for this particular pie. Most of them are in the South.
Lemons are a favorite component of southern cooking. Think lemon chess pie and
lemonade.

"Lemon meringue pie has been around a long time in the South and most likely grew
out of the vast repertoire of puddings, whose popularity pies eclipsed in the late
nineteenth century. It is remarkably similar ot the Queen of Puddings."
---Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie, Bill Neal [Alfred A. Knopf:New York]
1996 (p. 275)

"A pie can always be turned out for dessert as long as there are lemons in the
house, and American cooks have devised many recipes. President Calvin Coolidge is
said to have favored a simple lemon custard pie. The even more common lemon
meringue, ever present in public eating places, is one more dish served at Boston's
Parker House that has become a classic in the American repertoire. And a special
version gained fame swiftly when it went on the menu of the Lion House Social
Center in Salt Lake. The following version is based on a method worked out in the
1960s by the late Michael Field in collaboration with Dr. Paul Buck, a food
scientist at Cornell University. The determined Mr. Field devoted days to making
lemon meringue pie after another until he eliminated the "weeping" common to
meringues that sit around on counter; his trick was to use a little calcium
phosphate powder, a food-grade phosphate product available in drugstores and
suggested by Dr. Buck."
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones [Vintage Books:New York] 1981,
2nd edition (p. 465-6) [includes recipe]

Many 17th and 18th century cookbooks contain recipes for lemon custard, pudding
(sometimes served in a puff-paste base), pies, and tarts. These are often topped
with pulverized sugar. It is not until the middle of the 19th century we find
recipes that would produce lemon meringue pie, though they are not titled as such:

[1769] "A Lemon Pudding

Blanch and beat eight ounces of Jordan almonds with orange flower water. Add to
them half a pound of cold butter, the yolks of ten eggs, the juice of a large
lemon, half the rind grated fine, work them in a marble mortar or wooden basin till
they look white and light. Lay a good puff paste pretty thin in the bottom of a
china dish and pour in your pudding. It will take half an hour baking."
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, with an introduction by
Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 82)

[1847] "Meringue Pie

This may be made by adding to a nicely made and baked tart, a nice whip, made as
follows: to the white of a fresh egg, add two tablespoons of finely pulverized
white sugar; flavor with lemon, vanilla, or any other flavor, which may be liked,
whip the same as for kisses, then with a knife lay it on the top of the tart, and
whape it nicely off at the edges, then set it into an oven and close it for a few
minutes until it is delicately browned."
---Mrs. Crowen's American Lady's Cook Book, Mrs. T. J. Crowen [Dick &
Fitzgerald:New York] 1847 (p. 256)
[NOTE: A recipe for lemon pie immediately precedes this recipe. It has both top and
bottom crust.]

[1871] "Lemon Custard Pie No. 2

Grate one-half outside of a lemon and squeeze out the juice, yolks of two eggs, two
tablespoonsful heaped of sugar, half a cup of water, one teaspoonful of butter;
stir well, and bake in a deep dish lined with crust; beat the whites of the eggs to
a stiff froth; stir in two tablespoonsful of pulverized sugar and spread over the
top of the pie as soon as it is baked set in the oven till the top is nicely
browned."
---Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, Mrs. M. E. Porter [1871] (p. 296)

[1879] "Lemon Pie.

Yolks of four eggs, white of one, beaten very light; grated rind and juice of one
large lemon; five heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar. Bake in an undercrust till the
pastry is done. Froth the whites of three eggs with five tablespoonfuls sugar.
Spread over the pies and bake again till brown.--Mrs. Col. S."
---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree [1879] (p. 406)

[1882] "Lemon Pie (no. 3)

3 eggs
1 great spoonful butter
3/4 cup white sugar
Juice and grated peel of lemon
Bake in open shells of paste.
Cream the sugar and butter, stir in the beaten yolks and the lemon, and bake. Beat
the whites to a stiff meringue with three tablespoonfuls powdered sugar and a
little rose-water. When the pies are done, take from the oven just long enough to
spread the meringue over the top, and set back for three minutes. This mixture is
enough for two small, or one good-sized pie. Eat cold."
---Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery, Marion Harland
[1882] (p. 350)

[1885]
"Lemon pie.
Grate the rind and express the juice of three lemons; rub together a cup and a half
of powdered sugar and three tablespoonfuls of butter; beat up the yolks of four
eggs, and add to the butter and sugar, lastly the lemon; bake on a rich puff paste
without an upper crust. While the pie is baking beat up the whites of the four eggs
with powdered loaf sugar, spread it over the top of the pie when done; then set
back in the oven a few moments to brown slightly."
---La Cuisine Creole, second edition [F.F. Hansell & Bro:New Orleans] 1885 (p. 191)

ABOUT MERINGUE

Food historians tell us the precursor for meringue was an Elizabethan-era dish
called "Snow". (aka snow eggs). What exactly is meringue and who is credited for
the discovery?

"Meringue...an airy, crisp confection of beaten egg white and sugar. The word
probably entered French from German, as did many other French words ending in
-ingue. It first appeared in print in Massailot [1691], although earlier recipes
for the same thing but without the name had been published. The name travelled to
England almost at once and first appeared in print there in 1706....It seems to
have been only in the 16th century that European cooks discovered that beating egg
whites, e.g. with a whisk of birch twigs (in the absense of any better implement),
produced an attractive foam. At first the technique was used to make a simple,
uncooked dish called snow, made from egg white and cream. However, cooking such a
foam would not have resulted in meringue, for any fat in the mixture, as
represented by the cream, prevents the egg whites from taking on the proper
texture...When true meringue made its appearance in the 17th century, it still
lacked its name and was often called "sugar puff.""
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 197)

"Meringue. The name for this confection of sugar and beaten egg white is a direct
borrowing from French "meringue." but beyond that its origins are obscure. Legend
has it variously that it was named after the town of Meringen in central
Switzerland of after the Saxon town of Mehringyghen, seat of the operations of the
Swiss pastrycook Gasparini who supposedly invented it there in 1720. However, the
fact that the word had even entered the English language before this (it is first
mentioned in Edward Phillip's dictionary The New World of English Words, in John
Kersey's 1706 edition) casts considerable doubt on the story. In fact, mixtures of
beaten egg white and sugar cooked in a slow oven had been popular since the early
seventeenth century (they were called "Italian biscuit"), and it was the great
increase in the proportion of egg white which marked the inception of the
superlight meringue towards the end of the century."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
211)
[The 2008 online Oxford English Dictionary confirms the earliest Englis print
reference for meringue dates to 1706:
1. a. A light mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar, baked until crisp; a
shell or other item of confectionery made of this mixture, typically decorated or
filled with whipped cream. In some recipes, esp. when meringue is used as a
topping, cooking of the mixture is stopped before it is completely crisp: cf. SNOW
n.1 5a. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (ed. 6), Meringues (Fr. in Cookery), a
sort of Confection made of the Whites of Eggs whipt; fine Sugar, and grated Lemmon-
peel, of the bigness of a Wal-nut; being proper for the garnishing of several
Dishes.

"Whites of eggs produced the Elizabethan dishful of snow, a spectacular centrepiece

for the banquet course following a festal meal...The beating of egg whites was not
altogether easy before the fork came into common use late in the seventeenth
century...A 1655 recipe for cream with snow suggested a cleft stick, or a bundle of
reeds tied together and roll between your hands standing upright in your
cream....at the turn of the [17th] century a still lighter creation was introduced
from France, in which the proportion of frothed egg white to sugar was greatly
increased. The new arrival was quickly added to the sweetmeats of Britain, among
which it is still to be found. Its French name remains unaltered. It was the
meringue."
---Food and Drink in Great Britain from the Stone Age to the Nineteenth Century, C.
Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 148)

The 1938 edition of Larousse Gastronomique tell us that meringue was invented in
1720 by a Swiss pastry chef named Gasparani. Queen Marie Antoinette is said to have
enjoyed these. Recent editions of this book do not reference the 1720 date and they
attribute the invention of meringue to Gasparini, a Swiss pastrycook who practiced
his art in a small the small German town of Meiringen. Recent editions also add
that until the early 19th century, meringues cooked in the oven were shaped with a
spoon; it was Careme who first had the idea of using a piping bag. Meringue recipes
here.

RECIPES FOR MERINGUE through time:

[1604]
"To Make White Bisket Bread
Take a pound & a half of sugar, & an handfull of fine white flower, the whites of
twelve eggs, beaten verie finelie, and a little annisseed brused, temper all this
together, till it bee no thicker than pap, make coffins with paper, and put it into
the oven, after the manchet is drawn."
---Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book, original recipes published in London, 1604;
edited and modern notes added by Hilary Spurling [Elisabeth Sifton Books:London]
1986 (p. 118)
[NOTE: The editor of this book states this recipe produced meringues. Our survey of
historic meringue recipes indicates flour was never a traditional ingredient. Book
includes modernized recipe/instructions.]

[1828]
"Dry Meringues.
It is to be observed, that meringues, to be well made, require the eggs to be
fresh, and that you are not to break them till the very moment you are going to use
them. Have some pounded sugar that is quite dry, break the white of the eggs into a
clean and very deep pan, break them without loss of time, tell they are very firm,
then take as many spoonsful of sugar as you have whites, and beat them lightly with
the eggs till the whole is well mixed. Observe, that you are to be very expedtious
in making the meringues, to prevent the sugar from melting in the eggs. Have some
boards thick enough to prevent the bottom of the meringues from getting baked in
the oven. Cut slips of paper two inches broad, on which place the meringues with a
spoon; give them the shape of an egg cut in half, and let them all be of an equal
size: sift some sugar over them, and blow off the sugar that may have fallen on the
paper; next lay your slips of paper on a board, and bake them in an oven moderately
hot. As soon as they begin to colour remove them from the oven: take each slip of
paper by the two ends, and turn it gently on a table; take off a little of the
middle with a small spoon. Spread some clean paper on the board, turn the meringues
upside down on that paper, and put them into the oven, that the crumb or soft part
may be baked and acquire substance. When you have done this, keep them in a dry
place till wanted. Then you send them up to table, fill them with creme a la
Chantilli, or with something acid. Remember, however, that you are not to use
articles that are very sweet, the meringues being sweet in themselves. Mind that
the spoon is to be filled with sugar to the brim, for the sweeter the meringues
are, the better and crisper they are; but if, on the contrary, you do not sugar
enough, the meringues are tough. The pink is sometimes made by adding a little
carmine diluted in some of the apareil, but the white ones are preferable; if a
clean sheet of paper is put into a small stock-pot, and the meringues also put
therein, and well covered, they will keep for one or two months as good and crisp
as the first day: on which account, if you have a vacancy for one dish, which is
wanted in haste, it will be found very advantageous to have them made beforehand."
---The French Cook, Louis Eustache Ude, photoreprint of 1828 edition published by
Carey, Lean and Carey:Philadelphia [Arco Publishing Company:New York] 1978 (p. 408)

"Meringues au Marasquin au Sucre Chaud

For a pound of sugar take the whites of ten eggs, and clarify the sugar as directed
in its proper place. Reduce it almost au casse, then let it cool, while you beat
your eggs well; next put them with the sugar. When the sugar begins to get cool,
mix the eggs well with it with a wooden spoon; then mix two spoonsful of marasquin
with the whole; dress the meringues on some paper as above, and glaze with sugar
sifted over them, before you put them into the oven, which, by the by, is not to be
so hot as for other meringues. As soon as the top gets a substance, take them from
the paper, stick two together, and put them into the hot closet to dry. Leave the
most part in the middle. These meringues belong more particularly to confectionary,
as they are sweeter than any other."
---ibid (p. 408-9)

[1869]
"Meringues.
Put 10 whites of egg in a whipping bowl, and whip them very firm; add 1 lb. of
pounded sugar; mix; and, with a spoon, set the mixture at intervals on sheets of
paper, in portions of the shape and size of an egg; dredge some pounded sugar over
the meringues, and, after a minute, shape off the superfluous sugar; Cook the
meringues in the oven of some baking boards; and, when they assume a pale yellow
tinge, take them off the paper; Remove some of the inside with a spoon,--being
careful not to spoil the shape of the meringues; dredge a little sugar over, and
put them on a baking-sheet, in a slack oven, to dry; Reduce 1/2 pint of very stron
coffee with 3/4 lb. of sugar, to obtain a syrup registering 38 degrees F. On the
syrup gauge; when cold, mix this syrup to some well-shipped double cream; Fill the
meringues with the cream, reversing one, meringue over the other, and pile them up
on a napkin on a dish."
---Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Goufee [Sampson Low,
Son, & Marston:London] 1869 (p. 517)

"Meringue with Coffee Cream

Whip 6 whites of egg, and, when very firm, mix in 1/2 lb. of pounded sugar; Cut 5
rounds of paper, 6 1/2 inches diameter; Put the meringue in a paper funnel, and
press it out on each round of paper into rings 5 1/2 inches in diameter; sprinkle
some sifted sugar over the rings, and put them on baking boards in the oven; When
they are of a nice yellow colour, turn the rings over on to a baking-sheet, and dry
them in a slack oven; Make some Geonoise Paste, as directed for Timbale de Genoise
with Orange Jelly (vide page 527); When the paste is done and cold, cut out a
round, 5 1/2 inches diameter, and put the 5 rings of meringue on it, one above the
other; Reduce 1 gill of strong coffee and 1/4 lb. of sugar to a syrup registering
36 degrees F.; when cold, add it to one quart of well-whipped double cream; Fill
the centre of the meringue with this cream, piling it up 2 inches above the
meringue; and serve."
---ibid (p. 529)
[NOTE: This books also contains recipes for meringues filled with
creams...chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla creams.]

[1907]
"4347: Ordinary Meringue
Whisk 8 egg whites until they become as stiff as possible. Rain in 500 g (1 lb 2
oz) fine caster sugar mixing lightly with a spoon so that the egg whites do not
lose their lightness. Note: The proportion of whites used in the making of
meringues is variable and it is posible to use as many as 12 egg whites for 500
g...of sugar. It should be noted, however, that the lighter the meringue the lower
the cooking temperature should be; they should be dried rather than cooked."
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, A. Escoffier, translated by
H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufman [John Wiley:New York] 1979 (p. 518)

"4348: Italian Meringue

Place 500 g. Fine caster sugar and 8 egg whites into a copper bowl and mix
together. Place over a gentle heat so as to warm the mixture slightly and whisk
until it is thick enough to hold its shape between the wires of the whisk. If not
for immediate use, place the meringue in a small basin and keep in a cool place
covered with a round of paper."
---ibid (p. 518)

"4349: Italian Meringue made with cooked sugar

Whisk 8 egg whites until very stiff whilst 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) sugar is cooking to
the hard ball stage. Pour the sugar on to the whites in a continuous thin stream
whisking vigorously intil it has all been absorbed."
---ibid (p. 518)

[1929]
"Meringues or Kisses
Whites 4 eggs, 1 cup fine granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Beat whites until stiff and add, a spoonful at a time, two thirds cup sugar,
beating vigorously between each addition, and continue to beat until mixture will
hold its shape. Carefully cut and fold in vanilla and remaining sugar. Drop from
tip of spoon, or force through pastry bag and tube on tin sheet or wet board
covered with a sheet of paper. Bake thirty minutes in a very slow oven, not
allowing them to change color until the last few minutes, when they should become a
very delicate brown. Remove from oven, invert paper and kisses, and wet paper with
a damp cloth, wehn kisses many be easily removed."
------The Candy Cook Book, Alice Bradley [Little,Boewn & Company:Boston] 1929 (p.
175-6)
[NOTE: This book also contains recipes for French Meringues (2 cups sugar, whites 5
eggs, 2/3 cup water, 1 teaspoon vanilla), Mushroom Meringues (meringue mixture
shaped like mushroom caps & stems, topped with grated chocolate or cocoa), Turkey
Meringues (ice-cream filled meringues shaped like turkeys served on spun green
sugar), Nut Meringues (any kind of chopped nutmeats) and Cocoanut Meringues (whites
of 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup fine granulated sugar, few grains of salt,
1/2 cup cocoanut shredded).

[1941]
"Iced Meringue
10 egg whites, 1 lb granulated or powdered sugar.
Whip the egg white almost stiff and then gradually add the sugar and continue
whipping until very stiff. Put the mixture in a big pastry bag with a large plain
tube and form into round or oblong shapes on white paper placed on a baking sheet.
Bake in a very slow oven of about 250 degrees F. until very lightly browned. Remove
from the paper and press the bottom lightly with the thumb to make a slight
impression. To serve, put two of these meringues together with ice cream of any
desired flavor. Decorate with whipped cream."
---Cooking a la Ritz, Louis Diat [J.B. Lippincott Company:New York] 1941 (p. 399)

Where did lemons come from?

Lemons (and other citrus fruits) were known to ancient cooks. This fruit's acid
flavor was appreciated and incorporated into many dishes. In the beginning, lemons
were expensive and usually preserved (dried) then used in cakes reserved for
special occasions. Fruitcake, great bride's cake, Gallette du Roi are European
examples. The lemon cakes, we know today, trace their roots to Medieval European
cooks. These cooks often used "perfumed waters" (such as rosewater) to flavor their
foods and for medicial purposes. Recipes for these "perfumes" were later employed
to make fruit flavorings. Orange water (aka orangeflower water) was popular in
France during the seventeenth century. Culinary evidence confirms cakes, cookies,
puddings, cheesecakes, tarts, jellies, and other sweet desserts often incorporated
orange flavoring. Lemon recipes followed, often as a simple ingredent substitition
for oranges. 18th century English cookbooks list lemon cakes as a recipe variation
for Orange Cakes (Mrs. Raffald, The Experienced English Housekeeper [1769]. By the
19th century, lemon cakes were standard fare in American cookbooks. Popular
American recipes featuring lemons include: Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Bars &
Lemonade.

Where did lemons originate?

"Lemon The fruit of Citrus medica, a tree whose original home may have been in the
north of India. It only reached the Mediterranean towards the end of the 1st
century AD, whemn the Romans discovered a direct sea route from the sourthern end
of the Red Sea to India. Tolkowsky...adduces complex arguments in favour of this
view (as against the earlier view that the lemon did not arrive until the 10th
century), and refers to frescos found at Pompeii (and therefore prior to AD 70)
which show what he regards as indisputably lemons; also a mosaic pavement probably
from Tusculum...of about 100 AD in which a lemon is shown with an orange and a
citron. Thus the fruit which can reasonably be regarded as the most important for
European cookery was a comparatively late arrival. Nor was its use in cookery, as
an acid element, appreciated at once. Nor, indeed, was there a Latin word for
lemon. It seems likely that in classical Rome the fruit was treated as a curiosity
and a decoration, and that lemon trees were not grown in Italy until later. The
Arabs seem to have been largely responsible for the spread of lemon cultivation in
the Mediterranean region...Arab traders also spread the lemon eastward to
China...During the Middle Ages lemons were rare and expensive in N. Europe, and
available only to the rich...Lemons reached the New World...in 1493, when Columbus,
on his second voyage, established a settlement on Haiti."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 449)
[NOTE: this book has much more information on the history of lemons than can be
paraphrased here. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy of this book.]

"The lemon...owes its name entirely to the botanists, for it was unkown to
classical writers. However, it was widely used from the Middle Ages onwards. It was
regarded as an essential in the seventeenth century...Originally from the foothills
of the Kashmir, the lemon did not reach China...until around 1900BC. In China, it
was given the name limung, which it retained almost unchanged when it moved on to
Persia and Media. From the tenth century AD onwards the Arabs, who called it li
mum...took it all around the Mediterranean basin, eastwards to Greece by way of
Constantinople, westwards to Spain by way of Maghreb and Fezzan. The Spanish and
Russians retained the name limon, which becomes lemon in English..."
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat [Barnes & Noble Books:New York] 1992
(p. 662)

"Lemons were one of the most sought after fruits in early modern Europe. Being
associated with sunny southern Europe they were considered healthy, much the same
way we think of Mediterranean foods today. Their juice was used as a condiment,
especially on fish because its acidity was thought to cut through the "gluey
humors" abounding in seafood, making them more digestible. Northern Europeans
generally had to import lemons, but eventually a way to grow them indoors was
devised. Lemon peel, grated or candied lemon was also a typical garnish."
---Food in Early Modern Europe, Ken Albala [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2003 (p.
51-2)

Lemons and scurvy

"In the eighteenth century and earlier, citrus juices were among many articles of
diet used in attempts to find a cure for scurvy...Lemon juice was favored by the
early Spanish explorers as an antiscorbutic, and Dutch and English voyagers also
included it in their ships' stores, although it was more likely to find a place
among the medicines than as a regular article of diet....Captain Cook...was
supplied with lemon juice as a concentrated syrup, with most of the vitamin C
unwittingly boiled out in the preparation..."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas,
[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000 Volume 1 (p. 704)

Lemons, Fruits of Warm Climates/Morton

Lemons in 19th century America

"Legend has it that Columbus brought lemon seeds to Florida, and Spanish friars
grew the fruit in California, where it flourished in the middle of the nineteenth
century--especially in Eureka (possibly first cultivated in California or brought
from Sicily)...In 1874 James W. Parkinson, writing of American dishes at the
Philadelphia Centennial, noted that "citron"...a lemon-like fruit, had "lately been
transplanted in California..." In 1934 Irvin Swartzberg of Chicago began selling
gallon bottles of fresh lemon juice to bars and restaurants, and, after perfecting
a method of concentrating the juice with water, sold the prdouct in the market
under the name Puritan-ReaLemon."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 182)

Grocer's notes, circa 1883

"Lemon.--The fruit of a tree closely related to the orange, citron and lime...The
lemon grows wild in the north of India and has been long cultivated among the Arabs
who carried its culture into Europe and Africa. It is now naturalized in the West
Indies and other parts of tropical America...The pulp of the fruit abounds in
citric acid. There is, however, a variety cultivated in the south of Europe, the
juice of which is very sweet. The acid juice of the common kind is laregley
employed in preparing the beverage known as lemonade...Lemons vary very much in
size, and the ordinary boxes contain from two hundred and forty to four hundred and
twenty lemons each; the brands L and LL being used to designate sizes, single L;'s
being the largest. They are wrapped separately in order to prevent decay by
crushing together. Thin-skinned lemons are the juiciest. There are over thirty
varieties of lemons in cultivation, but they are generally classified according to
the place of growth or shipping. The principal importations into this country are
from Sicily (Messina lemons) and from Valencia. The lemon can be successfully grown
in Florida and California--products which are receiving great attention. The oil of
lemon is largley used in cooking and confectionery; the extract of lemon, sold for
domestic use, being simply a dilute solution of the oil in alcohol. The pure juice
of the lemon is extremely efficacious in attacks of acute rheumatism."
---The Grocer's Companion and Merchant's Hand-Book [New England Grocer
Office:Boston] 1883 (p. 74-5)

These notes illustrate the growing popularity of lemons, as imported fruit, in the
19th century.
"Volume of Average Annual Imports and Exports at Cincinnati by Canal, River, and
Railway for Five-Year Intervals, 1846-1860 (years Ended August 31). Seleccted
Textiles and Groceries:

Lemons: Unit=box
Imports (in thousands)
1846-1850=3.1
1851-1855=5.9
1856-1860=9.9
SOURCE: Western Prices Before 1861, Thomas Senior Berry [Harvard University
Press:Cambridge MA] 1943 (p. 320)

How much did lemons cost?

[1888]
The cargo of 2,400 boxes of oranges and 5,500 boxes of lemons that the steamer
Iniziativa brought from Messina was sold yesterday by Brown & Seccomb of 25 State
Street. Prices of lemons had been steadily advancing for over a week, until an
advance of $1 per box was reached, and a story was started that a storm in the
Mediterranean had shaken down a very large number of lemons from the trees at
Messina, and that consequently there was a scarcity of that fruit, as the shaken
lemons had rotted on the ground. Mr. Brown, however, denied that there had been any
storm about Messina, and said that the advance in price was owing to the light
receipts and the warm weather. There were plenty of lemons in Messina, and as soon
as prices advanced here the shippers there would sent on all that were needed.
After the first sale yesterday prices declined 50 cents per box."
---"Lemons Going Down," New York Times, June 15, 1888 (p. 8)

[1895]
"There has been a considerable advance in the price of lemons, owing partly to the
increased demand for them, caused by the hot weather and partly to a shortage in
the Sicilian crop. A box of lemons which would sell in ordinary seasons for $2.50,
is now worth between $5 and $6. The dealers in this crop feel sure that nothing but
prolonged cool weather can diminish the present price of the fruit."
---"Lemons Advance in Price," New York Times, June 21, 1895 (p. 2)

[1928]
Our survey of historic newspapers confirms lemons were sold by the dozen in 1928.
Prices ranged from 21 to 41 cents a dozen, 39 cents most prevalent. The majority of
the ads were for Sunkist brand lemons. We cannot confirm packaging (sold in
prepacked bags?). Of course, it is possible the were sold as individual units.
Generally, individual items are priced higher than larger quantities. Take the
price of a dozen, divide by 12, and add extra (round up for profit).

Lemons were actively promoted in 1928 for several different uses besides eating:
"In this era of beautiful women, lemons are becoming very popular as cosmetics for
the hands, face and hair. There seems to be some kind of belief that a highly
decorated jar with a pretty ribbon helps the beautifier, but lemons are probably
the most inexpensive as well as one of the most effective cosmetics obtainable.
Every beauty shop uses lemons in some of its preparations, and many housewives make
it a rule to use the juice of a lemon on their hands after washing the dishes or on
their hair after a shampoo. The mild citric acid removes the soap curd that
attaches itself to the hair after washing...[lemons] make an excellent dentifrice
to use on sore and bleeding gums. Used night and morning it will make a remarkable
change in tightening up loose gums and improving the circulation and cleanliness of
the mouth. There are a number of household uses of lemon juice for removing rust,
ink or fruit stains, polishing aluminum ware and piano keys. The lemon is chiefly
valuable for its antiscorbutic vitamins. Bottled lemon juice, sterilized at low
temperature may be kept for a long time and should be carried by those who are
compelled to make long trips into regions that will be deficient in fresh fruit and
vegetables. Lemons may be preserved from drying out by immersing in fresh cold
water."
---"Many Uses for Lemons," Dr. Frank McCoy, Muscatine Journal [IA], July 11, 1928
(p. 3)

How many kinds of lemons were available in 1928?

"Fancy Sunkist Lemons, 29 cents dozen. These are Southern California lemons. There
is a big difference between Southern California and Northern California Lemons."---
display ad, Reno Evening Gazette [NV], February 24, 1928 (p. 2)

"A new fruit--sweet lemons.

Sweet lemons may take their place besides oranges and plumbs as a table delicacy. A
new variety, as large as grape fruit and sweet enough to eat without sugar, has
been developed by growers in Porto Rico, it is reported. Another unusual quality of
the fruits, says Popular Science Monthly, is said to be a reasonably sweet
penetrating odor. The lemons are being used as perfume in linen closets an the
Island. Cultivators of the new fruit claim that the flavor lasts as long as two
months."
---"A New Fruit--Sweet Lemons," Syracuse Herald [NY], December 12, 1928 (p. 8)
[NOTE: We wonder if this variety is related to Meyer lemons.]

MEYER LEMONS
Sweet, tangy, delicious and amazing. If you have the opportunity to taste one of
these special lemons, go for it! Originating in China, introduced to the USA in
1908, popular in the 1930s. Who was Frank Meyer?

"The Meyer Lemon is not a hybrid but is a distinct citrus species found only a few
years ago in a remote region of China by one of the famous plant explorers of the
United States Department of Agriculture, Mr. Fred Meyer. It is sometimes called the
Chinese Dwarf Lemon because it does not grow as large as the ordinary Lemon tree.
If it bore no fruit at all, the Meyer would still be worth planting as an
ornamental in our gardens because it makes a spendid, bush, dense-foliaged shrub,
growing to about eight feet and with flowers on it during almost the entire
year....The fruit...is almost double the size of the usual Lemon, roundish-oval in
shape, and of a rich orange-yellow color; about halfway between the Orange and the
ordinary Lemon in appearance. It will serve any purpose to which a Lemon can be put
and is available almost from the time the plant is put out, because the plants bear
immediately and are almost never without fruit form that time on."
---"Garden Notes," John A. Armstrong, Los Angeles Times, February 12, 1933 (p. H12)

"...for home places where room is not plentiful, the new Chinese dwarf lemon, the
Meyer, is possibly the finest lemon that can be planted. The late Frank Meyer,
plant explorer of the United States Department of Agriculture, did California a
great service when he found this lemon in the door-yard plantings of China. It is
much hardier and easier to grow than the commercial lemons of California. It will
thrive anywhere in Southern California, not only producing big juicy orange-colored
fruits, which can be used for all the purposes for which lemons are needed, but
making a handsome ornamental plant. It reaches a height of eight feet and has
luxuriant foliage, with big fragrant blooms which are even more highly perfumed
than those of the orange."
---"Why Mourn About Peaches?," John A. Armstrong, Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1934
(p. H3)

"One of the best varities for back-yard production is the Meyer lemon, which has
proven its value since its introduction in 1908. Discovered in dwarf form growing
in the gardens of China by Frank Meyer, this particualr variety will stand slightly
colder temperatrues than other types, although all lemons are susceptible to frost
damage. Fruit is of medium size, thin-skinned and smooth. Size of the tree may be
an advantage in most gardens since it will only reach 8 ft. in height in 20 years,
while producting an abundance of fragrant flowers and yellow-orange fruit. Lemons
ripen and begin to fall during the month of May."
---"Sunday's Gardener," Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1960 (p. M50)

Related fruits: Oranges & grapefruit.

Palmiers
The practice of fashioning sweet desserts from many-layered pastry is an ancient
tradition originating in the Middle East. Baked or fried, thick or thin, large or
small, they are often served at festive occasions. According to the food
historians, filo/phyllo was of Turkish origin. One of the most popular foods made
with this kind of dough is baklava. Milles-feuilles (literally, thousand leaves)
was a 19th century French invention based on the same principle and adapted to the
tastes of the day. Today there are several variations on this culinary theme.
French Palmiers, Afghan Elephant Ears Spanish sopaipillas, & Native American fry
bread descend from these traditions.
Our food reference books state palmiers (also known as palm leaves) were invented
around the turn of the 20th century. The name suggests they were first made in
France, but we find no evidence confirming this. In fact, we find a recipe for palm
leaves (Palmenblatter) in Viennese Cooking, O. And A. Hess [Crown:New York] 1960
(p. 213), which suggests this pastry might have commanded a broader swath of
geography. We also find no attribute to the first person/restaurant credited for
cooking/serving this cookie. In the world of food history, this is not uncommon.
"Palmier. A small pastry made of a sugared and double-rolled sheet of puff pastry
cut into slices, the distinctive shape of which resembles the foliage of a palm
tree. First made at the beginning of the 20th century, palmiers are served with tea
or as an accompaniment to ices and desserts."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter] 2001 p.
832)

"Palmiers are small sweet biscuits made from puff pastry and shaped somewhat like
butterflies. To their anonymous early twentieth-century inventor their shape
evidently suggested more the topknot of leaves on a palm, for French palmier means
literally 'palm tree'."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
237)

"Palmier. Also called palm leaves, palmiers are small pastries made from sugar-
encrusted puff pastry. The sides of a rectangle of puff pastry are folded into the
center, then folded over to make four layers, and cut across the width into thin
strips. These are laid on their sides on a baking sheet and they fan out as they
bake to resemble the leaves of palm trees. Palmiers are baked until they are crisp
and the sugar caramelizes to a rich golden brown. They are served with tea or
coffee or as an accompaniment to ice cream and other desserts. France."
---The International Dictionary of Desserts, Pastries and Confections, Carole Bloom
[Hearst Books:New York ] 1995 (p. 210)

"Sometimes, you just have to hand it to French culinary genius. Take the palmier
(palm-YAY). It's a cookie, nothing more than flour, water, salt, a light sprinkling
of sugar and immoderate amounts of butter. Yet as the palmiers bake, the moisture
in the butter-riddled layers evaporates, causing the dough to puff into hundreds of
paper-thin flakes. Meanwhile, the sugar caramelizes ever so slightly, casting a
glassy sheen. The result? A pastry whose crisp, caramelized exterior gives way at
the slightest pressure to countless crisp layers. Ironically, such a delicacy
originated as a means for resourceful pastry chefs to salvage leftover puff pastry
dough. (When you consider the labor-intensive nature of puff pastry, you understand
why one would want to use every last piece.) Though simple, the technique used to
make palmiers can be fraught with peril. When rolled too tightly, sliced a smidgen
too thick or underbaked by even a minute, the interior remains soggy and leaden.
When rolled too loosely or baked at excessive temperatures, the pastry becomes
brittle and shatters upon touch. And when caked with sugar, the delicate balance is
lost and the pastry becomes one-dimensional. Athough ubiquitous throughout France,
the proper palmier is hard to find here. At some American bakeries the Frisbee-size
confection is as sweet as saccharin and dubbed the "Elephant Ear." At Latin
American markets, they may be labeled orejas ("ears" in Spanish) though the only
ones I have come across are packaged in plastic, which suffocates the crisp pastry.
And at a German bakery, I once requested a palmier and received nothing more than a
polite, though perplexed, stare. It seems I should have requested the rather
inelegantly named "Pig's Ear." Some franchise French bakeries, such as La
Madeleine, have "palmiers" that are far inferior to the "elephant ears" offered by
Fresh Fields/Whole Foods Market. Though mass production is no friend to the palmier
because the slicing and sprinkling go largely unpoliced, a notable exception is the
downtown Washington location of Fresh Fields/Whole Foods Market, whose elephant
ears put most palmiers to shame. (Though all of the stores use the same frozen puff
pastry dough shipped from a French bakery in Manhattan, the P Street store's bakery
consistently turns out a crisp, buttery, flaky palmier, albeit the size of a dinner
plate.) Buonaparte Breads at Historic Savage Mill in Savage and in Baltimore
produces a fine palmier, but they no longer ship them to their retail customers in
the District since they are too fragile. Whether sent out with after-dinner
espresso at Michel Richard's Citronelle in Georgetown or nibbled as an elegant
something to satisfy a sweet tooth on a leisurely afternoon, the palmier can be an
amazing thing. When you can find them. They are usually priced by the pound and
vary greatly in size. SEN5ES For the palmier lover, the pastry case at Georgetown's
sedate Sen5es Bakery and Restaurant is a sight to behold. Row after flawless row of
compact, perfectly wound palmiers are nestled against one another. While they last.
"Believe me," says pastry chef, Bruno Feldeisen. "If I don't have them, I hear
about it!" Feldeisen says he doesn't make a profit on the palmiers. But it's one of
the little things that chefs do for their clientele. Most days, that is. "It needs
to be made with love, and sometimes we don't have the love," explains
Feldeisen...PATISSERIE POUPON Ruth Poupon's rendition of a palmier defines
daintiness. Slightly larger than a silver dollar (or rather, a French franc) and so
thin as to be almost diaphanous, it seems as though it might shatter if breathed
upon. But it is surprising sturdy. (Those at the bottom of the bag do tend to break
though.) The appropriately faint sweetness is underscored by a crisp, barely
colored pastry that, lacking much caramelization, in truth seems almost more butter
cookie than palmier...AMERNICK At first glance, Amernick bakery in Cleveland Park
may seem an unlikely source for a palmier. Yet Ann Amernick, who has held pastry
chef positions with Michel Richard and White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier,
chose to include, amid her eclectic assortment of pastries, a rendition laced not
with sugar but a sharp, salty blend of Parmigiano-Reggiano and aged Dutch Gouda
cheeses. Amernick's savory rendition is best appreciated when taken home and warmed
in the oven. Why a savory palmier? It's a carry-over from the days when Amernick's
bakery was in Wheaton, on the site of a former Dutch bakery. The palmiers were a
favorite of customers, says Amernick. "And I liked them." An equally laudatory
stick version is also available..."
--- "A Palmier by Any Other Name . . .," Renee Schettler, The Washington Post,
November 7, 2001 (p. F7)

The earliest recipe we find for palm leaves (aka palmiers) in an American cookbook
is from Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cook Book [1896]

Elephant Ears & Goash-e-feel

This sweet pastry means different things to different people. From Afhgan national
cuisine to USA country fair fare. Each is delicious in its own right. Recipes and
cooking methods vary according to place and expectation.
Recipe for traditional Afghani Goash-e-Feel (iced with nuts) here:

"Goash-E-Feel (Elephant's ear pastry)

makes 8
Elephant's ear pastry is the literal meaning of goash-e-feel, a name given because
of the shape and size of these crisp, bubbly, sweet pastries. They are usually
served with tea; and often a bride's family sends them to the bride and groom the
day after the wedding. They are also made for Nauroz (New Year's Day, 21 March, the
first day of spring). "For the best results, the pastry must be rolled paper thin,
and the oil for frying must be very hot.

"1 egg
milk
8 oz (225 g) plain white flour
salt
vegetable oil for frying
2 oz (50 g) icing sugar
2 oz (50 g) ground pistachio
Break the egg into a bowl, beat it, and add enough milk to make the liquid up to 8
fl oz (225 ml). Sift the flour with a pinch of salt, add it to the egg and milk
mixture, and mix well to form a firm dough. Knead on a lightly floured board for
about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into eight equal balls,
cover with a moistened cloth and set to one side in a cool place for about half an
hour. On a lightly floured board, roll out each of the eight balls until paper
thin; they should be approximately 7" (18 cm) in diameter. Shape the 'ears' by
pleating one side of each round piece of dough. Nip together with wet fingers, to
prevent the pleats from opening during drying. In a frying-pan of similar diameter,
heat enough oil to shallow-fry the pastries. When the oil is very hot, put in the
'ears' one at a time and fry until golden brown and bubbly, then turn and fry the
other side until golden brown. As you remove the pastries from the pan, shake off
the excess oil gently, then sprinkle them on both sides with a mixture of sifted
icing sugar and ground pistachio. "There are many variations of goash-e-feel, so do
not feel limited as to the size and shapes you can make."
---Noshe Djan: Afghan Food and Cookery, Helen Saberi [Prospect Books:London] 1986
(p. 136-137)

Compare with this sampler of modern American Elephant Ear recipes

[1939]
"Elephants' Ears
Beat three eggs, add pinch of salt and a tablespoon of milk. Mix very stiff with
flour. Pinch off a piece about the size of a walnt, roll out very thin, fry in deep
hot fat. Serve with hot maple syrup.
---New York World's Fair Cook Book, Crosby Gaige [Doubleday, Doran & Company:New
York] 1939 (p. 115)
[1977]
"Elephant Ears
2 to 2 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup margarine
1 egg (at room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
Melted margarine
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix three-fourths cup of the flour, the quarter-cup
sugar and undissolved dry yeast. Combine milk, water and quarter-cup margarine in a
saucepan. Heat over how heat until liquids are warm. (Margarine doesn't need to
melt.) Gradually add dry ingredients and beat two minutes on medium speed of
electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and another quarter-cup of the
flour, or enough flour to make a thick batter. Beat at high speed two minutes,
scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough.
Turn out on lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about eight to
10 minutes. Cover: let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk,
about one hour. Punch down and let rise an additional 30 minutes. Combine one cup
sugar and pecans. Punch down dough; run out on lightly floured board. Roll dough
into a rectangle, nine by 18 inches. Brush with melted margarine. Sprinkle dough
with half the sugar-nut mixture. Roll up fro long side as for jelly roll; seal
edges. Cut into one-inch slices. Roll each slice into a four-inch circle, using
remaining sugar-nut mixture in place of flour on board, coating both top and bottom
of each circle. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in warm place, free
from draft, until double in bulk, about 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375-degree
F. oven about 10 to 15 minutes, or until done. Remove from baking sheets and cool
on wire racks. makes 18."
---"The Kitchen Hot Line," Evelyn Larson, Winnipeg Free Press [Canada], January 8,
1977 (p. 46)

[1997]
"Dear readers: We have had great fun over the past month of so reading the letters
that have poured in about elephant ears and funnel cake. It all began when we
pubished a letter from Ann Mehr of Schaumberg, who wanted a recipe for the elephant
ears sold at Wisconsin county fairs. She described them as batter fried in deep fat
and sprinkled with cinnamon. We replied that they sounded like the fried dough we
get at our country fairs here in the East. We then got a letter from Linda Mao or
Rocky Mount, N. C., who said, no, no, a thousand times no! What Ann is looking for
is funnel cake, and she kindly sent us a recipe, which we published. Letters poured
in from Nebraska to New Hampshire, telling us that funnel cake and elephant ears
are totally different, and depending on who was writing, that elephant ears aren't
deep-fat fried anyway; they are BAKED. From Faye Bean of Friend, Neb.: "Here's the
elephant ears recipe (my father used to call them 'shoe soles'). You can use any
dinner-roll or bread recipe if you want to make them from scratch our you can use
frozen dinner rolls instead of frozen bread."

"Elephant Ears
1 loaf frozen white (or sweet) bread dough, thawed
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teasoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Let dough rise untildoubled in size. Combine sugars and cinamon. Roll out dough on
a floured surface to a 16-by-12-inch rectangle. Brush with half the butter and
sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture. Fold in half and roll out again
into a 16-by-12-inch rectangle. Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with 2
tablespoons of sugar mixture. Roll up, starting with the 16-inch side. Cut into 16
pieces. Sprinkle rolling surface with sugar mixture. Roll out each piece into 1/8
to 1/4 inch, turning to coat both sides with sugar. Place on well-greased cookie
sheets. Let rise 15 minutes and bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.

"The farther east the letters came from, the more frequently their writers
suggested the deep-fry method using bread dough (either frozen or homemade). Lots
of our readers sent in this one. Shape a loaf-size portion of dough into 15 ovals
or rounds, roll out until 5 1/2 inches round and 1/8 inch thick. Deep fry in 375
degree oil for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain well and sprinkle
with sugar and cinnamon. By the time we got to New Hampshire, elephant ears had
turned into the following. This recipe was sent to us by Lanceine Frizzel of
Claremont, N.H.

"Elephant ears
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
6 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
Confectioners' sugar
Beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in water and salt. Stir in flour, working with hands.
Roll out dough onto a floured board and knead until not sticky but soft. Divide
into 12 portions and roll out VERY thin. These will be very large. Heat 1 inch of
oil (she uses her electric frying pan) to 375 degrees. Fry until golden. Drain and
sprinkle with confectioners' sugar."
---"Letters get to 'sole' ear debate," Daily Herald [Chicago IL], June 3, 1997 (p.
78)

Related food? French palmiers, Mexican sopaipillas & Navajo fry bread and funnel
cakes.

Pecan pie
Food historians generally agree pecan pie is a twentieth century invention inspired
by traditional sugar pies and sweet nut confections. It is a favorite of the
American south, as are pralines and other pecan infused foods. Late 19th newspapers
offer pecan pie recipes. A Texas connection? German settlers might have been
recreating nusstorte in the Lone Star state.
"As a good daughter of the South practically weaned on pecan pie, I had always
assumed that it dated back to Colonial days. Apparently not. Still, I find it
difficult to believe that some good plantation cook didn't stir pecans into her
syrup pie or brown sugar pie. Alas, there are not records to prove it. In fact, I
could if no cookbooks printing pecan pie recipes before the early twentieth
century. And only in the 1940s did "Fannie" and "Joy" begin offering recipes for
it. In Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History (1987)...John Egerton
writes: "We have heard the claim that Louisianans were eating pecan candies before
1800, and with sugar and syrup produced from cane at that time, it is conceivable
theat they were eating pecan pies, too, but there are no recipes or other bits of
evidence to prove it."...If Karo did not originate pecan pie, it certainly
popularized the recipe as a rifle through twentieth-century cookbooks large and
small quickly suggests. Nearly all pecan pie recipes call for Karo corn syrup."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 384)

[1886]
"Pecan Pie.
Is not only delicious, but is capable of being made a 'real state pie,' as an
enthusiastic admirer said. The pecans must be very carefully hulled, and the meat
thoroughly freed from any bark or husk. When ready, throw the nuts into boiling
milk, and let them boil while you are preparing a rich custard. Have your pie
plates lined with a good pastry, and when the custard is ready, strain the milk
from the nuts and add them to the custard. A meringue may be added, if liked, but
very careful baking is necessary."
---"Pecan Pie," Harper's Bazaar, February 6, 1886 (p. 95)
[1898]
"Texas Pecan Pie.
One cup of sugar, one cup of sweet milk, half a cup of pecan kernels chopped fine,
three eggs and a tablespoonful of flour. When cooked, spread the well-beaten whites
of two eggs on top, brown, sprinkle a few of the chopped kernels over. These
quantities will make one pie.--Ladies' Home Journal."
---Goshen Daily Democrat, [IN] November 26, 1898 (p. 6)

[1914]
"Texas Pecan Pie
Cook together one cup of sweet milk, one cupful of sugar, three well beaten eggs,
one tablespoonful of flour and one half cupful of finely chopped pecan meats. Line
a pie tin with rich crust, fill with the mixture and bake until done. Whip the
whites of two eggs with two tablespoonfuls of sugar until stiff, spread over the
top of the pie and brown slightly in the oven, sprinkling a few chopped nuts over
the top."
---"Tried Recipes," Christian Science Monitor, March 24, 1914 (p. 6)

[1931]
"Karo Pecan Pie
By: Mrs. Frank Herring
3 eggs, 1 cup Karo (blue label), 4 tablespoons corn meal, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup
chopped pecans or less if desired, 2 tablespoons melted butter, pastry. Method:
Beat whole eggs slightly, add Karo, corn meal, sugar and melted butter, then stir
all thoroughly. Line pie tin with flaky pastry andfill generously with mixture.
Sprinkle chopped pecans on top, bake pie in a moderate oven until well set when
slightly shaken."
---"Favorite Recipe," The Democrat-American [Sallisaw OK], February 19, 1931 (p. 3)

[1938]
"White House Pecan Pie
1 cup unbroken pecan meats
1 cup dark table syrup
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream the butter and sugar, add the table syrup, the beaten eggs, the pecans and
vanilla. Beat together well. Put in unbaked pie shell and bake in a slow oven (275
degrees F.) for about 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream."
---The Southern Cook Book of Fine Old Recipes, Lillie S. Lustig compiler [Three
Mountaineers::Asheville NC] 1938 (p. 38)

[1941]
"Surprise the Folks with karo Pecan Pie Tonight...it's wonderful!
Try this Texas favorite"
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo (Blue Label)
2/3 cup pecan meats, coarsely chopped
Mix together all ingredients, adding nut meats last. Pour into 9-inch pie pan lined
with your favorite pie crust. Bake in hot oven (450 degrees F.) ten minutes, then
reduce heat to moderate (350 degrees F.) and continue baking until a silver knife
blade inserted in center of filling comes out clean."
---display ad, Karo, Big Spring Daily Herald [TX], April 17, 1941 (p. 8)

[1942]
Pecan Pie
True Southern pecan pie is one of the richest, most deadly desserts of my
knowledge. It is more overpowering than English treacle pie, which it resembles in
textrue, for to the insult of the cooked-down syrup is added the injury of the rich
pecan meats. It is a favorite with folk who have a sweet tooth, and fat men in
particular are addicted to it.

"Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups Southern cane syrup
1 1/2 cups broken pecan meats
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Boil sugar and syrup together two or three minutes. Beat eggs not too stiff, pour
in slowly the hot syrup, add the butter, vanilla, and the pecan meats, broken
rather coarsely. Turn into a raw pie shell and bake in a moderate oven about forty-
five minutes, or untl set.

"My Reasonable Pecan Pie

I have nibbled at the Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie, and have served it to
those in whose welfare I took no interest, but being included to plumpness, and
having as well a desire to see out my days on earth, I have never eaten a full
portion. I do make a pecan pie that is not a confection, like the other, not as
good, if one is all set for a confection, but that I consider very pleasing and
definately reasonable. Make a thick custard as for Banana Cream Pie, using brown
sugar instead of white, and adding two tablespoons butter. Chill the custard, add
one cup coarsley broken peanc meats, one teaspoon vanilla, and turn into a baked
crisp pie crust. Top with sweetened whipped cream. Dear knows, this is deadly
enough."
---Cross Creek Cookery, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York]
1942 (p. 179-181)
[1952]
"Karo Pecan Pie
Crispy nut-brown top...carmel-y filling
1/2 recipe pastry
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup KARO Syrup, Blue Label
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 cup pecan meats
Roll pastry 1/8 inch thick. Line a 9-inch pie pan. Mix remaining ingredients
together, adding pecans last. Pour into pastry shell. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees
F.) 15 minutes; reduce heat to moderate (350 degrees F.) and bake 30 to 35 minutes
longer or until a silver knife inserted in center of filling comes out clean. *If
salted nuts are used omit salt in recipe.
---display ad Better Homes & Gardens, December 1952 (p. 87)
[NOTE: "Blue Label" Karo was dark-colored corn syrup.]

[1960s]
"De Luxe Pecan Pie
(A traditional Southern favorite)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup KARO Syrup, Blue label
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 cup pecans, whole or chopped
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell
Mix eggs, KARO syrup, salt, vanilla, sugar and butter. Stir in pecans. Pour into
shell. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees F.) 15 minutes; reduce heat to moderate (350
degrees F.) and bake 30 to 35 minutes longer. Filling should appear slightly less
set in center."
---Happy Holidays: recipes and 'Goodies for Giving,', Corn Products Refining
Company [New York] undated, probably early 1960s](p. L)
[NOTE: Karo Kookery, 1956, offers a recipe for "De Luxe Peanut Pie," but no pecan
pie. The recipes are identical except for the nutmeats.]

[1970]
"Pecan Pie # 1
Makes a crispy nut-brown top.
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo syrup (Blue label)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. melted butter
1 cup pecan halves
1 unbaked 8-inch pie shell
Beat eggs until lemon-colored, then add sugar, Karo, vanilla, salt and melted
butter. Spread pecan halves in unbaked pie shell. Pour egg mixture over nuts. Bake
in hot oven (400 degrees F.) 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake 30
or 35 minutes longer.

"Pecan Pie #2
3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup broken peanut meats
1 unbaked 8-inch pie shell
Beat eggs slightly; add sugar and Karo and beat again. Stir in salt, vanilla and
pecan meats. Bake pie shell for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Do not brown. Beat
filling once again and pour into partially baked pie shell. Bake pie at 350 degrees
F. for about 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold. Serves 6 to 8."
---The Wide, Wide World of Texas Cooking, Morton Gill Clark [Funk & Wagnalls:New
York] 1970 (p. 349)

Related desserts? Syrup/Shoofly pie & Sugar/Chess pie.

Pecans
Pecans are a "new world" food. They are indigenous to North America and were known
to Native Americans long before the Europeans settled there. Traditionally, these
nuts are connected with the American south where they have been incorporated into
many sweet treats, especially pecan pie and candy. The earliest print references
come from European explorers.

"Pecan. The most important nut of N. America, is bourne by one of the hickory
trees, Carya illinoiensis. The hickories, which are related to walnut trees,
include several species of edible nuts...but the pecan is much the best. Its native
habitat is the central southern region of the USA. The name comes from the
Algonquin Indian paccan, which denoted hickories, including pecans...Most pecans
now some from cultivated trees, although many old, wild trees continue to produce
nuts which are gathered and marketed. ..The main uses of pecans are in sweet dishes
and confectionery, although they are also used in a stuffing for turkey. Pecan pie
is one of the most famous American desserts. Pecan butter is also made."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 592)

"Pecan. A North American nut (actually a kind of hickory nut) sometimes said to be
a native of Oklahoma, the pecan...is really indigenous to an area extending from
the U.S. Midwest throughout the South and Southwest into Mexico--a region where it
still grows wild today. Pecans are commerically cultivated in the band of states
running from Georgia west to New Mexico, as well as in Mexico, Brazil, and outside
of the Western Hemisphere, in Israel, South America, and Australia. The first
recorded instance of pecan cultivation is said to have been when Thomas Jefferson
carried the trees from the Mississippi and gave them to George Washington. But long
before this--eons before the Europeans arrived--pecans were an important item in
the diet of Native Americans living in the south-central region of North America."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas
[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume Two (p. 1831)

"Pecan. The nut of the tall hickory tree native to America, ranging from Illinois
down to Mexico...The name comes from various Indian words (Algonquian paccan, Cree
pakan, and others) and was first mentioned in print in 1773. Thomas Jefferson
introduced the tree to the eastern shores of Virginia, and he gave some to George
Washington fo planting at Mount Vernon. A Louisiana slave named Antoine was the
first successfuly to graft and cultivated pecan trees in 1846."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 236)

Related food? pralines.

Pizza
Where did pizza come from?
Why do we call it "pizza?"
Neapolitan pizza
Pizza Margherita
American pizza
New York pizza
Chicago style
Tomato pie (South NJ/Philadelphia)
French style: pissaladiere
Pizza delivery & takeout
Frozen pizza in America
Fresh-baked pizza from a vending machine?
Where did pizza come from?
Various combinations of cheese and flat bread [baked and fried] were commonly eaten
by ancient peoples. The tomato is a new world food introduced to Europe by
returning Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the 16th century. By the 17th
century, tomatoes and their byproducts (sauces, soups) were staple ingredients of
many southern European recipes. We will probably never know the name of the first
person to combine and serve tomatoes, cheese and flat bread. References to
Neapolitan-style pizza surface in English print in the mid-19th century. Pizza
Margarita, generally cited as the "first modern pizza" occurred a generation later.
"...there is no earlier evidence than third century Macedonia for the use of a flat
loaf of bread as a plate for meat, a function which bread continued to perform in
the pide of Turkey, the pita of Greece and Bulgaria, the pizza of southern Italy
and the trencher of medieval Europe. Although meat and other relishes were seen
earlier in Greece as accompaniments to cereal, the cereal had taken other forms."
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby
[Routledge:London] 1996 (p. 157)

"It has been argued that the Italians did not "invent" pizza. Perhaps this is
technically true, but there can be no denying that Italy was most certainly the
seedbed out of which the concept would flourish to the fullest. In one form or
another, pizza has been a basic part of the Italian diet since the Stone Age, and
Italians have devised more ways of interpreting the dish than anyone else...Italian
pizza evolved from the basic concepts initiated by two different cultures: the
Etrucans in the north and the Greeks in the south...The earliest pizza prototypes
originated when Neolithic tribes first gathered wild grains, made them into a crude
batter, and cooked them on the hot stones of their campfires...Italians may have
made pizza famous, but they certainly did not invent the concept of the dish...the
Greeks, who occupied the southernmost regions of Italy for over 600 years (from
about 730B.C. to 130 B.C.), were the greatest bakers of ancient times...Flat, round
breads were baked with an assortment of "relishes" (in ancient Greek, a relish
meant anything spread or baked on bread), such as oils, onions, garlic, herbs,
olives, vegetables, and cheese, on tip. A rim of crust was left around the bread to
serve as a kind of handle..."
---The Pizza Book: Everything There is to Know About the World's Greatest Pie,
Evelyn Slomon [Times Books:New York] 1984 (p. 3)
NOTE this book has much more information on the the history of pizza...ask your
librarian to help you find a copy or obtain reprints of pages 3-13.

"A pizza consists mainly of a flat disc of bread. This is normally the base for
various toppings, and it is safe to assume that since early classical times people
in the general region of the Mediterranean were at least sometimes putting a
topping on their flat breads [ie foccacia]...the word pizza itself was used as
early as the year 997 AD in Gaeta, a port between Naples and Rome...Abruzzi had
something called pizza in the twelfth century. Calabria made pitta or petta, Apulia
pizzella or pizzetta, Sicily sfincione. Tuscany's schiacciata...was first roasted
on stones by the ancestral Etruscans...The napoletana, i.e. pizza of Naples, can
indeed be seen, and has been so far seen for over a century, as the archtype of
modern pizzas..."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 611)

Why do we call it "pizza?"

"The origins of its name are not altogether clear. Its extreme similarity to the
Provencal pissaladiere, a dough base covered generally with onions, olives, and
anchovies, would make it tempting to assume that Italian somehow acquired the word
from French, were it not for the fact that Italian pizza actually denotes a far
wider range of items than what English-speakers would recognize as pizza.
Essentially it means 'pie', and this can cover for example a cloased fruit pie as
well as the open pizza. The usual course suggested for it is Vulgar Latin *picea, a
dervative of Latin pix, 'pitch' (in which case it would be an amost directly
parallel formation with English pikelet), but it could also be related to Greek
pitta."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 259)

"The term pizza is clouded in some ambiguity, though it may derive from an Old
Italian word meaning a point, which in turn led to the Italian word pizzicare, to
pinch or pluck. The word shows up for the first time in print as a Neapolitan
dialect word--piza or picea--about 1000 A.D., possibly referring to the manner in
which something is plucked from a hot oven...While many Mediterranean cultures and
regions of Italy have long had their versions of flatbreads...the baked flatbread
most people now think of as pizza originated in Naples, and was a favorite snack of
occupying Spanish soldiers at the Taverna Cerriglio in the 17th century. The soft,
baked crispy dough that the Neapolitans called sfiziosa would be folded over into a
libretto (little book) and consumed in the hand. It was baked by men called
pizzaioli, who worked in small shops called laboratori. By the middle of the 19th
century the word pizza had become common parlance for the food item..."
---Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York]
1998 (p. 196-199)

Neapolitan pizza
"I refer to the Neapolitan pizza. 'The pizza!' I hear your readers exclaim 'what do
you mean by the pizza?' Well, the pizza is a favourite Neapolitan delicacy which is
only made and eaten between sunset and two or three in the morning, and it must be
baked five minutes in the the oven; at the very moment when it is ordered it is
pulled out of the oven and served up piping hot, otherwise it is not worth a grano.
The pizza baker takes a ball of dough, kneads it, and speads it out with the palm
of his hand, giving it about half the thickness of a muffin, then pours over it
mozzerella, which is nothing more than rich cream, beaten almost like a cream
cheese; then he adds grated cheese, herbs, and tomato, puts the cake--which, made
after this fashion, is termed pizza--just for five minutes into the oven, and
serves it up as hot as possible. The cheese and the cream are of source all melted,
and unite with the herbs and the tomato. The outside crust must, in the case of the
perfect pizza, possess a certain orthodox crispness. Now, at this season of the
year there is no person, high or low, from the first Neapolitan duke to the lowest
lazzaroni, with who it is not aprimary article of faith to eat pizza. The pizza
cake is your only social leveller, for in the pizza shops rich and poor
harmoniously congregate; they are the only places where the members of the
Neapolitan aristocracy--far haughtier than those in any other part of Italy--may be
seen masticating their favourite delicacy side by side with their coachmen, and
valets, and barbers. The pizza shops are abou the filthiest in Naples, and whoever
knows Naples will admit that is saying a good deal. They are generally in the
meanest alleys and in the midst of the most disreputable quarters. No matter, at
this season of the year they are thronged all the same. At night, when the
exquisites of the first water leave from the San Carlino or from the Sevoto, they
both meeet at the common centre of attraction in the haunts perfumed by the
steaming fragrance of the pizza. There are other modes of preparing the pizza, by
the substition of freshly-caught anchovies, or slices of sausage, or mushrooms for
the cream and grated cheese; but the highest authorities on these points treat with
disdain all such modern innovatoins, and protest that a pizza compounded after that
fashion has no right ot the name at all. The pizza season is now at its height.
Even graceful and elegant duchesses and marchionesses exchange the velvet cushions
of their opera boxes for the dirty wooden benches or straw-bottomed chairs of the
pizza shop. A new feature is at the present moment imparted to them by the
Garibaldians who, just before starting, by this tribute to Neapolitan fashion, and,
like all the rest of the world, find it capital fun to vary the monotomy of life by
making acquaintance with the pizza."
---The Morning Post [London] December 17, 1860 (p. 6)
[NOTE: This early pizza account was pubished in global UK media. Text strongly
suggests the UK world was not yet familiar with this Neapolitan dish. There is no
idication that pizza is readily available/for sale in London. An abbreviated
version of this article was published in The Argus [Melbourn Australia], March 19,
1861 (p. 5).]

Pizza alla Margherita?

Current popular story credits Raffaele Esposito for "inventing" this pizza, circa
1889. In sum: "...on June 11, 1889, an official of the Royal Palace asked a local
pazaiolo named Raffaele Esposito to create a special pizza for the visit of King
Umberto I's consort, Queen Margherita, to Capodimonte. Esposito created three
examples, but the one most favored by the Queen was made with ingredients in the
three colors (tricolore) of the Italian flag--red (tomato), white (mozzarella) and
green (basil) atop the pizza dough. Esposito quickly named the newly fashionable
pizza after the queen, and thus was born the pizza alla Margherita and that was to
become the classic Neapolitan pizza, recognized as such by the Associazone Vera
Pizza Napoletana (The True Neapolitan Pizza Association)..."
---The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York]
1998 (p. 197)

Primary evidence suggests this popular story is a fanciful recounting of earlier

events:
"Queen Margartet is in Naples at the palace of Capedimonte, and a story is related
of her which explains the secret of her popularity among the people. A favorite
eatable with the Neapolitans is the pizza, a sort of cake...that is in a round
form, and seasoned with various condiments. The Queen sent for a pizzainolo who is
famous for his skill in making these cakes, as she said 'she wanted to eat like the
poor people.' The man went to the palace, was received, and having shown a list of
thirty-fie varieties of pizza, was sent to the royal kitchen to make the kind which
the Queen had selected. He made eight which were the ideals of their kind, and the
little Prince and his mother found them excellent, but to eat as the poor people in
Naples eat--that is often not all, and is more than could be expected. But she has
visited the poor quarter of Naples, and sypathizes with the misery she seet there."
---"Queen Margaret at Naples," Washington Post, July 25, 1880 (p. 2)

Pizza in America: New York traditions & Chicago-style

Pizza was imported to the United States by Italian immigrants. For many years,
pizza was mostly available in cities with large Neapolitan populations [New York,
Boston, New Haven, Philadelphia, Baltimore etc.]. It wasn't until American soldiers
returned from WWII that pizza became a national phenomenon.

"Pizza came to America at the end of the nineteenth century with immigrants from
southern Italy. Italian immigrants built commercial bakeries and backyard ovens to
produce bread they had eaten in Italy. In addition, Italian bakers used their ovens
for flatbreads: northern Italians baked focaccia, while southern Italians made
pizza. Initially, pizza was made by Italians for Italians, but thy the late 1930s
after the Great Depression many Americans were eating pizza in Italian restaurants
and pizzerias on the East and West Coasts...Over time, two basic and distinct
styles of American pizza appeared. A thin-crust pizza, commonly called "East Coast"
or "New York" style, is made with just a few toppings like pizza made in
Naples...The crust of thick- or double-crust pizza, also called "West Coast" style,
serves as a foundation for a larger number of toppings...There are several uniquely
American pizzas. Deep dish, or "Chicago style," pizza originated at Pizzeria
Uno...in 1943...California or "gourmet" pizza originated in 1980 at Chez Panisse, a
restaurant in Berkeley, California."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 286)

"One of the first pizza sold in the United States was baked some fifty years ago by
a 13-year-old pizzaiuolo named Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/2 Spring Street in Little
Italy section of New York...Pizza may never replace hot dogs as the great American
"bite," but their amazing acceptance in recent years prompts a question: Why pizza
and not, say, Mexican enchiladas? The guess is that a growing number of Americans
of Italian origin aided by advertising and refrigeration, have made pizza as
delectable as such other postwar imports as Lollobrigida. The entertainment weekly
Variety, going gastronomic the other Wednesday, reported that the "extent to which
the pizza pies are replacing hot dogs at drive-ins was demonstrated at the
concession trade show at Allied States Ass'n convention which featured more pizza-
making machines than frankfurter heaters." At the Texas State Fair, largest
exhibition of its kind, pizza evoked great interest on the midway. More inquiries
were made about pizza than any other food with the exception of the "corny dog,"
the dressed-up hot dog on a stick... ...A Neapolitan pizzaiuolo might be startled
by pizza in the United States...At a "pizza bar" in a large Manhattan department
store--where thousands are absorbed weekly by hungry shoppers--three kinds are for
sale: plain pizza (a pie); pizzaret (a muffin), and a best-seller called the pizza-
bagel, created, after some protest, by a turncoat pizzaiuolo from Florida...There
are fresh pizza, warm-over pizza, refrigerated pizza, warm-over pizza and frozen
pizza, selling everywhere from sidearm joints to pizza palaces. (Though "pizza"
means pie or pies, some Americans insist on saying "pizza pies.")...Gennaro
Lombardi seemed to be the man to turn to. Nobody has disputed his claim to having
the oldest pizzeria in the United States....Gennaro said, "They all came here to
eat my pizza, all the opera stars, Scotti, Tetrazzini, Caruso..."
---"Pizza a la Mode," Herbert Mitgang, The New York Times, February 12, 1956 (p. SM
133)

How much did the first pizzas cost?

Early pizza prices are extremely difficult to research. These eateries did not
(have to) advertise to draw business. Nor were they *worthy* of recognition by
mainstream newspapers or menu collectors. Our research indicates the first pizzas
may have cost 5 cents:

"Nov. 10, 2005, marks our 100th anniversary. I'm selling everything for 5 cents,"
says Brescio [manager of Lombardi's]. "That's what it cost back in 1905. Now that's
history."
---"Ten History Courses: There are some interesting stories behind NYC restaurant
names--just ask Jimmy," Sunny Lee, Daily News [New York], February 16, 2003 (p. 17)
[NOTE: there is no reference to product size sold in 1905 vs. today. Hamburgers and
hot dogs were also sold for a nickel at this time.]

"The first American cookbook recipe for pizza appeared in Specialita Culinarie
Italiane, 137 Tested Recipes of Famous Italian Foods, a fund-raising cookbook
published in Boston in 1936. That recipe, for Neapolitan pie or Pizza alla
Napolitana, directed that pizza dough be hand-stretched until it was one-quarter-
inch-thick. The dough was topped with salt and pepper, Scamozza (Scamorza) cheese,
tomatoes, grated parmesan cheese, and olive oil in that order. There were no
ingredients for the pizza dough itself; instead, the reader was told that the dough
"can be purchased in any Italian bake shop.""
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 286)

"While not yet a bona fide fast food, pizza was soon giving the fast foods run for
the consumer's money. By the mid-1950s, thanks to the popularity of spaghetti and
tomato sauce, a taste for a white farinaceous base slathered in thick and salty
tomato sauce had become an integral part of the American palate. The country was
therefore well primed for the invation of pizza....In the 1950s...pizza suddenly
burst onto center stage. In part this was because it fit so well in the culture of
the times. It was regarded as an ideal family food, equally acceptable to all ages
and both sexes. Its taste hardly departed from the tried and true, yet its form
could be readily accomodated to the era's newer, more casual way of eating:
children's parties and snacking in front of the television set. The informal,
communal way it was eaten in restaurants made it particualrly popular with
teenagers, and by the mid-1950s boisterous "pizza parlors" dotted the main streets
of Italian neighborhoods, their oversized booths for six or eight crammed with
voracious young eaters, while others lounged by the entrance waiting for take-home
orders...Pizza also became the hottest restaurant item of the 1950s because, unlike
most pastas, it was not particularly affected by delays between cooking and eating.
This made it ideal for the two main growth sectors in the television-battered
restaurant industry, drive-ins and take home places. By 1956 it had shunted aside
hot dogs as the most popular item in both. By the late 1960s, American were
consuming two billion pizzas annually."
---Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America, Harvey
Levenstein [University of Californa Press:Berkeley] 2003 (p. 229-30)

New York style pizza

According to the food historians the introduction of pizza to New York City is
attributed to Gennaro Lombardi when he opened up his pizzeria at 53 1/2 Spring
Street in 1905.

"Legend has it that Neapolitan pizzailo Raffaele Esposito of the Pizzeria de Pietro
was the first to make a pie with tomato, basil, and mozzarella pizza (the colors of
the Italian flag) to honor the visit of Queen Margherita, consort of King Umberto
I, to Naples in 1889. This thereafter was called pizza alla margherita and became
very popular in that city.

But the pizza remained a local delicacy until the concept crossed the Atlantic in
the memories of immigrants from Naples who settled in the cities along the Eastern
Seaboard, especially in New York City. The ingredients these immigrants found in
their new country differed from those in the old: In New York there was no buffalo-
milk mozzarella, so cows's milk mozzarella was used; oregeno, a staple southern
Italian herb, was replaced in America by sweet marjoram; and American tomatoes,
flour, even water, were different. Here pizza evolved into a large, sheet-like pie,
perhaps eighteen inches or more in diameter, reflecting the abundance of the new
country....The first record of a pizzeria in New York was Gennaro Lombardi's,
opened in 1905 on Spring Street, but others quickly followed in the Italian
communities around the city. Still, pizza and pizzerias and, later, pizza parlors'
were little known outside the large cities of the East until after World War II,
when returning American GI's brought back a taste for the pizzas they had had in
Naples along with the assumptions that pizza, like spaghetti and meatballs, was a
typical Italian dish, instead of a regional one."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 244)

"The city's selection of restaurants was enriched by the arrival of immigrants

during the late nineteenth century. The food served in the first Italian
restaurants in the city was adapted from recipes of Naples and Sicily, the home of
many Italian immigrants. Pizza was a Neapolitan food uncommon in most of Italy but
popular in New York City after G. Lombardi opened a pizzeria on Spring Street in
1905."
---The Encyclopedia of New York City, Kenneth T. Jackson editor [Yale University
Press:New Haven] 1995 (p. 1000)

"New York pizza did not exist before 1905, when Gennaro Lombardi, a Neapolitan
immigrant, began to sell pies in his grocery store in Little Italy. Lombardi's was
by most accounts the first New York pizzeria, and Mr. Lombardi, who hired and
trained a series of other immigrants, became the sturdy tap root of a tree of
family and acquaintances that would go on to define great New York pizza."
---New York Pizza, the Real Thing, Makes a Comeback, The New York Times, June 10,
1998, Section F; Page 1; Column 2 (this article includes a list of notable historic
pizzarias including Totonno's in Coney Island and Grimaldi's in Brooklyn.

Other articles of interest (your librarian can help you get copies):

"The Top Pizzas In New York: Bred and Baked By Tradition ," The New York Times,
June 16, 1995, Section C; Page 1; Column 1
"Pizza a la Mode," The New York Times, Feb. 12 1956 VI 64:3 (profile of Gennaro
Lombardi)
"The pizza with an attitude," Travel Holiday, Jun97, Vol. 180 Issue 5, p44, 4p, 7c
"Bravo! Original New York pizzeria still serves up the best," Sacramento Bee,
January 7, 2001, pg. E1

If you need extensive historic research materials on NY pizza (or other NY foods)
contact these organizations:

The New York Public Library

extensive culinary history collection, esp. NYC restaurants & menus. Fee-based
research service available.
The New York Historical Society
Contact the library for item availability.
Museum of the City of New York
New York Food Museum
online exhibit managed by volunteers--they accept e-mail requests
Chicago-style (deep dish) pizza
Food historians generally credit Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo for the "invention" of
Chicago's deep-dish style pizza. The year? 1943. The restaurant? Pizzeria Uno.
Uno's "legend" here

Of course, few foods are truly invented. Pizza was certainly known to Chicago for
several decades before the Sewell's opened shop. Most are creative iterations of
existing dishes. There is some speculation, based on the fact that Chicago-style
pizza is thickly-topped and sometimes served in square pans, that the recipe was
influenced by Sicilian cuisine. Did you know recipes for tomato pie, both open
tarts and double-crust (what we now call "stuffed pizza"), were also known to
American cooks in the early 19th century?

"The pizza...first made its appearance in Chicago around 1912. It was introduced by
a man who went around with a pizza filled basket on his head...At that time there
was some doubt whether these pizzas were to be used as shingles or munched."
---"Cold War Looms: Pizza Pie Vs. Hot Dog," Thomas Morrow, Chicago Daily Tribune,
August 3, 1954 (p. 18)

The Windy City's first pizzeria opened at 907 Taylor St. in 1924:
"The only place in Chicago where you can buy Italian pizza is at a little
restaurant on Taylor street near Halsted. There you can wath Tom Granato, for
sixteen years the proprietor of Chicago's only pizzeria, concoct the delicacy and
carefully deposit it in his big brick oven slipping it off long handled shovels of
well sandpapered wood onto the hot bricks. The foundation of pizza is a dough
similar to that in English muffins. To rolls out a piece the size of a pie crust on
his marble slab, cuts up fresh Italian cheese over it, covers it with tomato--the
little Italian pear tomato--sprinkles olive oil over it, and deposits it in the
brick oven for a few minutes. It is served in a tin pie plate, cut into four
sections, and eaten with the fingers. Try it with a salad. Young Blackie, waiter at
Tom's Pizzeria Napolitana, who tells you how Tom and his wife, Molly, took him off
the street ten years ago, made known the other specialties of the place--stuffed
macaroni, eggplant parmigiano, and cannoli, an Italian dessert, with sweet, cold
Italian cottage cheese served in a fold of ice cream cone like pastry."
---"Front Views and Profiles," June Provines, Chicago Daily Tribune, October 17,
1939 (p. 17)

The second pizzeria opened (according the general concensus of local food experts),
opened on the southwest corner of Onio Street and Wabash Avenue in 1943:
""When Riccardo opened the Uno, there was only one other place to buy pizza in
Chicago and that was on Taylor street," [Ike] Sewell said."
---"Story of 2 Pizzerias and 1.5 Million Pizzas," Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1964
(p. C6)

"In 1943 Ike Sewell, a liquor-company executive and former All-American guard from
Wills Point, Tex., and Ric Riccardo Sr., an artist, seaman, apache dancer, and
tavernkeeper born in Biella, Italy, decided to team up and open a Mexican
restaurant in Chicago. A site was leased, and Riccardo began painting bullfights
and cockfights on the walls. Sewell was a lover of and an expert on Mexican
cuisine. Riccardo knew nothing about it, and there was no decent place in Chicago
(according to Sewell) to taste it. One of Riccardo's bartenders, a chap named
Raoul, offered to cook up a fine Mexican meal. Riccardo ate what Raoul had wrought
and got violently ill. He painted out the cockfights and bullfights and left to
vacation in Italy. Riccardo returned having stumbled upon a better idea--pizza.
Sewell was the one in the dark this time. He had never tasted tht stuff, never even
heard of it, but agreed with Riccardo that it should serve as a meal not just an
appetizer as it was in Italy. They came up with a balance of cheese and sausage and
spices and decreed that it should be used in abundance. They experimented with pans
of various sizes and shapes and came up with the "pizza-in-a-pan" (some call it
"deep dish") method of cooking that yielded a crust neither Neopolitan nor Sicilian
but something else, something brand new. And no one cared. "At first," Sewell said,
"we had to cut it into little slivers and give it away to people who were drinking
at the bar." Now, 33 years later, Uno, together with its nearby sister, Pizzeria
Due, seres 2,500 pizzas on a big day...What Sewell and Ruccardon began has been
imitated, perhaps improved upon...and occasionally ripped off."
---"Ike and Ric: They were the first with the thickest," Chicago Tribune, August 1,
1976 (p. G16)

"Mrs. Sewell, 95, whose husband, Ike, gained fame as the co-inventor of deep dish
pizza, died early Sunday morning at her Chicago home. Ike Sewell, along with
partner Ric Riccardo Sr., is credited with inventing deep dish pizza in 1943, but
Mrs. Sewell also helped concoct the pizza that put Chicago on the map, according to
Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, a family friend. "If Ike was the godfather of
deep dish pizza, she was the godmother," Wirtz said. Mrs. Sewell married Ike, a
liquor company executive, in 1939, and in the 1940s and '50s helped him with
recipes and decor for his Pizzeria Uno, Pizzeria Due and Su Casa restaurants."
---"Florence Sewell, 95, Chicago philanthropist," Art Golab, Chicago Sun-Times,
April 10, 2000 (p. 56)

"What is this pizza called Chicago deep-dish, and what makes it so different from
other pizzas? In the truest sense, deep-dish pizza (pizza-in-the-pan is the
alternate nom de pizza) is a first-generation descendant of what Italian-Americans
commonly referred to as "tomato pie." A sideline of Italian bakeries at the turn of
the century, a tomato pie was baked in a large rectangular pan with 1-inch-high
sides. It had a crust two fingers thick and a generous layer of seasoned tomato
puree that was dusted with grated Romano cheese just before it went into the
oven...Chicago-style deep-dish pizza came into being in 1943 when two savvy
entrepreneurs, Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo, opened Pizzeria Uno on the corner of
Wabash and Ohio. It was a time when a restaurant serving only pizza was unheard of.
The story goes that it took six months of experimentation to produce that "cheese,
tomato, and meat pie" called deep-dish pizza. It was so thick that it required the
use of a knife and fork -- which brought down another wall of pizza tradition:
Pizza had always been something that you ate with your hands. Utensils to eat
pizza? Incredible."
--- Pizza Today, June 2005 [NOTE: page no longer connects, 10 April 2009]

Tomato pie
19th century American cookbooks offer several recipes for "tomato pie." These were
typically green or ripe tomatoes baked in a traditional pie crust. The tomato was
used as any other fruit; sliced and spiced. Tomato pie, the pizza from South
NJ/Trenton/Philadelphia, evolves from Italian culinary traditions. Tracing the
origin and evolution of this delicious regional specialty takes some sleuthing.
Happy to share our notes.

[1901: Green Tomato Pie (sweet, like apple pie made with tomatoes)]
"The pie connoisseurs who have been enumerating and classifying the different
brands of pie in print of late have been guilty of a grievous omission in leaving
out green tomato pie. Like sweet potato pie, the green tomato articled is
indigenous to the southern section of the great pie belt, but there it is in high
favor. There is no geographical reason why it should not become equally popular up
North. The tomatoes distinguishing it are sliced and stewed in sugar the in a way
very taking to the sweet tooth, but they must first of all be green. Pie is still
hopelessly unfashionable, but now that the doctors have come out with a denial that
it is unhealthy, it bids fair to be in for a new lease of popularity, in which
green tomato pie deserves to be included."
---"Don't Forget Green Tomato Pie," Washington Post, March 12, 1901 (p. 6)

[1921: Tomato Butter Pie made with apples, NJ]

"Tomato Butter Pie. Tomato pie is usually made by filling crust with ordinary
tomato butter. To make the tomato butter peel and cut tomatoes into halves and
press out the seeds. To 5 pounds of tomatoes allow 8 pounds of apples, pared,
cored...Weigh the whole mixture and to each pound allow half a pound of sugar and
the juice of half a lemon. Boil the tomatoes and the apples together, stirring
carefully until you have a thick, smoothe paste. Add the sugar and the lemon juice.
Boil for 20 minutes and it will be ready for future use."
---"Contributed Recipes, Trenton Evening Times [NJ], August 18, 1921 (p. 11)

[1937: Tomato Pie with macaroni base]

"Chef Wasser's Tomato Pie. Boil one-half pound macaroni in salted water fifteen
minutes. Drain and line bottom and sides of nine-inch plate. Scald, peel and seed
six large ripe tomatoes and quarter. heat tow tablespoons olive oil in skillet and
add some finely chopped garlic or onion and all but five of tomato quarters. Cook
five minutes. Add one cup cornmeal and cook ten minutes, then add some ground
camino seeds and salt and pepper. Fill plate with mixture blended with one cup
cooked kidney beans, place slices fried tomato on top and arrange macaroni
crisscross between slices. Sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
Bake in moderate oven about ten minutes, or until browned."
---"Tomatoes rate New Popularity," Lona Gilbert, Los Angeles Times, August 15, 1937
(p. D11)

[1947: Tomato Pie synonymous with pizza]

"Who's that hiding behind the walrus mustache? That's Jerry Colonna, Bob Hope's
pal, the professor. What's he doing in the kitchen? Building a pizza, an Italian
tomato pie, but one American-tailored. Jerry grew up in Boston...His folks are
Italian and Italian dishes were the thing at the home table."
---"Jerry Builds a Pizza," Clementine Paddleford, Los Angeles Times, August 31,
1947 (p. E16)

[1950: Jersey Shore Tomato Pie]

"Many boardwalk concessionaires plan to keep open their varied attractions--games,
auctions, frozen custard and tomato pie."
---"Autumn Shoreline: Jersey Resorts Expect Record Business to Continue Throughout
the Fall," William M. Myers, New York Times, September 24, 1950 (p. X18)
[NOTE: no recipe or description for tomato pie.]

[1973: Tomato pie different from pizza]

"On Tuesdays we had a thick crusted tomato pie (there is a version now called
pizza) made with fresh tomatoes and melted slices of provolone cheese cut from the
hanging blimps bought at the Italian grocery."
---"Pasta Fazoolie, Without Beans," Joseph Mastrangelo, Washington Post, October
27, 1973 (p. D2)

[2002: Jersey Tomato Pie]

"...you who want the crackerlike crunch of a crust against the hot and soft sweet
tomato against the melted-to-almost-crusty mozzarella, with crust bubbles tinged to
deepest brown, even black...then De Loreno's Tomato Pies is where you'll want to
stand in line and eventually eat."
---"Thin is in: It was never out at a basic pizza place offering the classic Jersey
Tomato Pie," Karla Cook, New York Times, July 28, 2002 (p. NJ 10)

[2008: Jersey Tomato Pie]

"...Palermo's, an unassuming pizzeria that serves an exemplary rendition of a New
Jersey specialty: tomato pie. Unlike pizza, the Jersey tomato pie is 'cheese first,
sauce on top,'...The sauce, ladled on in dollops, is chunky, fruity and finished
with a little olive oil...The crust is so thin that we can't serve tomato pie by
the slice."
---"The United Plates of New Jersey," Betsy Andrews, New York Times, March 28, 2008
(p. F1)

[2010: Trenton Tomato Pie]

"Compared to every other kind of pizza, Trenton tomato pies are put together
backwards. Cheese and toppings go on first. Only then comes the tomato
sauce�seasoned, crushed plum tomatoes, to be precise�spooned on with the individual
pizzamaker�s signature flair. It wouldn�t be a true tomato pie if there was tomato
sauce in every bite, as in a regular pizza. You don�t want sameness in every bite.
You want the tomatoes to have a bit of bulk and gather themselves in little red
hillocks on the pie. �Normally, pizza is coated in cheese, and you take one bite
and the cheese all comes off,� says Rick DeLorenzo Jr., who runs DeLorenzo�s Pizza
on Hamilton Avenue in Trenton. �With tomato pie, you really taste the tomatoes.�
Nick Azzaro remembers his grandfather, Joe Papa, one of the founding fathers of
Trenton pizza, relating a tale that could, in part, account for the nature of the
tomato pie. Back in Naples, Azzaro says, �The story was they were making bread, and
they put some sliced tomatoes on it, and cooked it, and that was it.� Papa opened
Papa�s Tomato Pies on South Clinton Avenue in 1912, at age 17. He had emigrated
from Naples during the prior decade and settled in Trenton in the burgeoning
Italian neighborhood of Chambersburg. Before launching his own restaurant, he
worked at Joe�s Tomato Pies. Joe�s opened in 1910 and is regarded as the second
pizzeria established in America after Lombardi�s, which opened on Spring Street in
Manhattan in 1905."
---New Jersey Monthly, January 2010

[2012: Southern New Jersey Style Tomato Pie]

"Southern New Jersey Style Tomato Pie. On the surface, this pizza appears similar
to the New York style, but there are several distinct differences. Typically dough
formulation will not include olive oil. While the hand -stretching method is the
same as New York style, this pizza is topped with locally-produced shredded
mozzarella before the sauce is applied. Sauce is smooth, but thicker than New York
style sauce and is splashed on the pizza randomly, with Romano or domestic Parmesan
cheese added on top. The 'cheese first' method produces a crisper crust with
creamier melted cheese. Traditional toppings are limited to anchovies, or sliced
sausage that is pre-cooked and then distributed on thepizza before baking.
"Philadelphia Style Tomato Pie. While similar in name to the New Jersey pizza, this
type is actually quite different. Dough is made from all-purpose flour, allowed to
ferment and then stretched and placed on a square black steel pan that is coated
with olive oil or baked directly on the stones of an oil-fired oven. A light
sprinkle of shredded mozzarella is generously covered by a chunky slow-simmered
tomato sauce that contains yellow onion, fresh garlic and a large amount of extra
virgin olive oil. The pizza is topped with grated Parmigiano Reggiano before
baking."
---A Slice of New Jersey: Your Ultimate Guide to Pizza in the Garden State, Peter
Genovese [Star Ledger Munchmobile]
2012 (p. 21-22) [NOTE: these definitions are attributed to John Arena, the co-
founder of Metro pizza in Las Vegas.]

French pizza? Oui!

Many people assume pizza originated in Italy. Certainly there is ample evidence. On
the other hand? Food does not respected man-made political boundaries. Countries
sharing common borders likewise share similar dishes, ingredients, and flavors.
Pizza-type foods are popular throughout the Mediterranean region. Yes, there is
French pizza. It flourishes in the balmy southeast region of the country. The
ingredients are quite similar to those of neighboring Italy.

"Pissaladiere. A specialty of the Nice region, consisting of a flan filled with

onions and garnished with anchovy fillets and black olives. It is traditionally
coated with a condiment pissalat before being cooked, hence the name. A good
pissaladiere should have a layer of onions half as thick as the base if bread dough
is used; if flan is made with shortcrust pastry (basic pie dough), the layer of
onions should be as thick as the flan pastry. It can be eaten hot or
cold...Pissalat. Also known as pissala. A condiment originating from the Nice
Region, made of anchovy puree flavored with cloves, thyme, bay leaf and pepper and
mixed with olive oil. Originally pissalat was made from the fry of sardines and
anchovies, but because this is not readily available outside the Mediterranean
area, anchovies in brine may be used instead."
---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York] 2001 (p. 899)

"A pissaladiere is in effect a Provencal version of the pizza. It consists of a

base of bread dough (or sometimes fried slices of bread) with a savoury topping.
Nowadays this is usually onions stewed in olive oil, or a mixture of tomatoes and
anchovies, or a puree of anchovies and garlic...all threee decorated with black
olives, but originally it would have been a mixture of tiny fish, typically fry of
sardines, anchovies, etc., preserved in brine. This was known as pissala
(presumably a derivative of Latin piscis, 'fish'), and gave its name to the
pissaladiere. (Despite the striking similarity, there does not appear to be any
direct etymologial link with Italian pizza.)"
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
258)

"Though the French influence is everywhere in this country, a few foods that are
common in France have managed to escape our dragnet. The French pizza is one
example. Yes, pizza. Although it is most often known as a pissaladiere, it is what
it is: a round, flat bread, crisp on the bottom, simply garnished on top, rustic
and yet urbane. Travel through the regions of France with your eyes open for
anything that looks like pizza, and you'll come back impressed not only by how
plentiful these pizzas are but also by their variety. Some, like the galette de
Perouges, are sweet rather than savory. And many of them are served at room
temperature. In fact, the pizzas of France and Italy, despite having different
tendencies in herbs and cheese, have more in common with each other than they do
with most of those produced here...The Provencal version of the pissaladiere is
often garnished with two of the region's signature ingredients: black olives and
sliced tomatoes, both in minuscule amounts by our standard. It is usually served at
room temperature as often as not because in Provence, and throughout France, pizza
is snack bread. Because it lacks gobs of cheese congealing on top, it retains its
appeal even when cool. It is so simple--mostly just sweet onions on a wonderful
crust. And yet it was so much more.If pissaladiere is the most familiar of the
French pizzas, galette de Perouges is the most surprising. This is the best-known
product of Perouges, a well-preserved and perfectly restored medieval village not
far from Lyons. Although galette is a word used for many free-form tarts in France,
this particular galette seems more familiar than most: a large, round pie, slid
into an oven on a paddle and cut into crisp wedges. On closer inspection, however,
and especially on tasting, this is no common variation on pizza. The crust is rich
and sweet--a yeasted dough made with butter and sugar, and rolled nearly flat. And
the topping is butter and sugar; no more. The galette is baked in a hot oven until
the sugar caramelizes and the crust becomes brittle; unlike most pizzas, this dough
is not chewy but crunchy. The tarte flambee of Alsace may be the world's
northernmost indigenous and legitimate pizza. You see it everywhere, although it is
most common in the north, around Strasbourg. Alsace is French, of course, but the
food, language and appearance are quite German in character. In this regional
crossroads, there are many variations, based largely on the background of the
baker. Tarte flambee is a bit puffier and less flat than most pizza. Although it is
usually spread with fromage blanc, bacon and onion before baking, there are many
variations. There is a peculiar convention in tarte flambee: Each wedge is rolled
from the wide crust end to its point, and the rolls are eaten end to end. Because
French pizzas are so difficult to find outside France--and are among the easiest of
all pizzas to make--it makes sense to try them at home."
---"Vive la Pizza: An Italiam Classic Gets a French Makover," Mark Bittman, New
York Times, Sept. 23, 1998 (p. F1)

First pizza delivery?

Legend likes to claim the first pizza delivery took place in Italy, 1889:

"The first pizza delivery was in 1889, by Raffaele Esposito owner of the famous
pizzeria Pietro il Pizzaiolo in Naples. The recipients were visiting King Umberto I
and Queen Margherita. Refusing to go to the likes of a pizzeria, the queen ordered
in."
---"PIZZA: SOME TOPPING FACTS, "Press Association November 11, 2002

Our survey of articles published in the New York Times (ProQuest database)
uncovered an advertisement for this franchise opportunity "Fresh Pizza Trucks, "The
Pizzeria on Wheels" (NYT, June 5, 1960, p. F26). Another article from 1971,
describing the meeting of the North American Pizza Association, clearly indicates
home pizza delivery was a long established and popular activity. Then, as today,
the industry was plagued with bad drivers having accidents while on company time:

"During a discussion on pizza delivery, one man asked his fellow pizzamakers what
he could do about his high accident rate. He said that his delivery men had wrecked
six cars in the last six years and that his insurance had been cancelled. "How
about a rubber car?" one man jokingly suggested from the rear."
---"When Else Would Call Hamburgers the Enemy?," Judy Klemesruds, New York Times,
March 31, 1971 (p. 38)
Frozen pizza
The earliest print reference we find to manufactured frozen pizza (in the USA) is
patent 2,688,117, "Method for Making Frozen Pizza," filed by Jo Bucci, Philadelphia
PA, August 10, 1950. We also find evidence of refrigerated pizza products
penetrating grocery stores. It was just a matter of time before frozen pizzas were
competing with TV Dinners for space on the consumer's ubiquitous living room
feeding tray.

[1950]
"...Leo Giuffre has introduced his ready-to-cook pizzas in... the last two weeks.
Already the cheese and tomato-topped "pies," which made their debut in Bean Town
three months ago, are available for 49 cents each in a few stores here, including
Kaboolian's Market, 389 Avenue of the Americas, and Philip's Quality Market, 80-28
Thirty-seventh Avenue, Jackson Heights, Queens. The pizzas, which are kept under
refrigeration but not frozen, are ready to pop into the oven...One pizza (about
nine inches in diameter) yields two generous servings, or three for not quite such
ambitious appetites...Though Mr. Giuffre's Roma Pizza Company, Inc. has been
operating in Long Island City for only a little more than ten days, it is already
turning out 3,000 of the delectable pastries daily."
---"News of Food: Pizzas Now Offered Here Ready-to-Cook," New York Times, June 28,
1950 (p. 34)

[1951]
"With almost every jobbing musician in the local working at another trade or
business during the day, it remained for Emil De Salvi, band man about town, to
finally shelve his music vocation when his odd-hour avocation paid off highter than
the union scale. De Salvi has perfected a frozen pizza pie, six fanciful fillings,
for the television viewing home trade."
---Tower Ticker," Savage, Chicago Daily Tribune, February 7, 1953 (p. 23)

[1951]
"Giuseppi's Frozen Pizza Pie, Philadelphia."
---"Advertising News & Notes," New York Times, December 7, 1951 (p. 50)

[1951]
"Del Buono Frozen Pizza, Camden NJ."
---"Advertising News," New York Times, December 19, 1951 (p. 56)

[1953]
"Pizza, not undergoing a curious gustatory vogue, is a hot freezing item in New
York and Chicago with at least a half dozen local concerns in action. E. De Salvi,
president of Pizza-Pro Corp. of Chicago, who claims to do 95% of the frozen pizza
business in the Windy City, is now trying to line up distributors in St. Louis,
Nashville, Rockford, Indianapolis and surrounding points. But the competition is
tough. In St. Louis, Mr. De Salvi found a local tavern owner who was freezing the
Italian specialty during slack times at the bar."
---"Frozen Foods: Nation Eats Mountain Tonnage of Them as Competition Cuts Prices,"
Wall Street Journal, March 5, 1953 (p. 1)

[1954]
"Another of the week's 652 patents was granted to Joseph Bucci of Philadelphia for
a method of making in frozen form that popular delicacy, pizza, sometimes called
tomato pie. He says the method applies also to other edibles that combine layers of
dough with liquid or moist filing, such as upside-down cakes, puddings and
dumplings. After he shapes the pizza shell out of dough, Mr. Bucci spreads on a
"sealing agent" such as tomato puree, and bakes it. The sauce is cooked separately,
cooled and placed on the shell. Optional items such as cheese trips are added and
the whole is then frozen. The patent number is 2,688,117."
---"Walking Truck-Boat Just Puts one Pontoon Before the Other: Frozen Pizza...,"
Stacy V. Jones, New York Times, Feburary 6, 1954 (p. 23)
[NOTE: Mr. Bucci's patent can be viewed online.]

[1954]
"Feast on frozen foods from famous houses...Like "Little Bo-Pizzas," delightful
miniature hors d'oeuvres pizzas from the Petite Food Corporation."
---"Live to Eat in Macy's Food Festival," New York Times, April 22, 1954 (p. 7)

[1954]
"Petite Foods Corporation, Brooklyn...its line of frozen food specialties, one of
which rejoices in an unlikely name, of Little Bo-Pizzas, a miniature frozen pizza
product."
---"New Business," New York Times, October 7, 1954 (p. 35)

[1954]
"Frozen pizza is available in many groceries, ready to eat after heating in the
kitchen oven."
---"Pizza Pies Hit Big Time in America," James D. Schacter, Washington Post, March
9, 1954 (p. 25)

"A war cloud, no bigger than a press agent's mind, is hanging over Chicago, if you
are going to believe Folger S. Decker, a man of his word--thousands of them, in
fact. This is to be a gustatory grapple, Mr. Decker said, with the pizza pie on the
one side, and the hot dog, weiner or tepid puppy, on the other. He said is would be
cold war, of course, as many of these pizza pies are frozen. ..."Do you realize,"
continued Mr. Decker, "that the pizza has made terrific infroads on the hot dog
market? During the last two years alone, Mr. Emil De Salvi, who purveys frozen
pizzas, has blanketed the country with 5 million pizza pies.""
---"Cold War Looms: Pizza Pie Vs. Hot Dog," Thomas Morrow, Chicago Daily Tribune,
August 3, 1954 (p. 18)

[1955]
"It's new--A new frozen food product, Little Bo-Pizzas are the first miniature
pizzas to make their apperance. Tasty rounds of a special dough blended with
imported type aged cheese, spices, olives and tomatoes, Little Bo-Pizzas are ideal
for a party canape tray. Also nice served with salads or cold cuts for luncheon;
and ideal for bridge or canasta nibblers. Just pop them in the oven until crisply
touched with brown--about 8 minutes, serve."
---"It's New," Washington Post and Times Herald, February 18, 1955 (p. 67)

[1957]
"Frozen pizza crust ready for you to top with anything that pelases the whimsey or
taste of your family, is the newest twist in the pizza craze. Holton's Pizza Crusts
are partly cooked, ready to brown and serve. The bottom of each crust is pierced
with holes to allow the heat to penetrate and crisp the batter. You can top it with
anything from sausage to ice cream. It is frozen, but if it is partly thawed when
it reaches your kitcen it can be refrozen safely, acording to the manufacturer.
Each package contains three individual portions."
---"'Round the Food Stores: for a look at the latest ideas," Lois Baker, Chicago
Daily Tribune, July 12, 1957 (p. B17)

[1966]
"For a teenage get-together or a family supper, you can't go wrong when you serve
Miniature Pizzas. With one recipe you get 30 pizzas--to bake and serve or store in
the freezer for a spur-of-the-moment gathering. They're easy to make with
refrigerated biscuits, a seasoned tomato sauce and grated cheese. Topped with
anything you choose to mix, match or even scramble, these make-ahead finger foods
are fun. Heap them on a serving tray, hot from the oven, and watch them disappear."
---"They're Frozen Assets," Washington Post, July 21, 1966 (p. D3)

[1967]
"One of the best sellers it the Grotto is a $.75 snack--the famous Pizza Tichinese,
somewhat similar to the pizzas of southern Italy. You can make an excellent
facsimile back home using a frozen pizza for a base. "Pizza Ticininese, U.S.A. For
each person provide 1 individual-size frozen pizza..."
---"The Fast Gourmet," Poppy Cannon, Chicago Daily Defender, June 1, 1967 (p. 24)

[1972]
"If your taste runs to pizza, we have some good news and some bad news. As snack
foods go, frozen pizza is remarkably nutritious. But judges by CU's test of 41
products, it isn't apt to be very good. We were disappointed by the crusts, taste
or high bacteria counts on all but four brands, and we could rate those bands only
Fair. Our tests centered on the four most popular pizza styles. We evaluate 17
brands of cheese pizza, 14 of sausage, seven of pepperoni and three topped with
hamburger. By way of comparison, we also bought and tested at least one sample of
fresh pizza in each of those four styles. On average, our frozen pizzas contained a
bit more dough than a fresh pizza of the same type, and a bit less cheese. The ran
neck and neck in the amount of sauce. Our taste-tests indicated though, that
liberality or stinginess with any given ingredient wasn't a reliable guide to
eating quality...Chemical analysis indicated that the samples averaged roughly half
water, about 30 per cent carbohydrate, 10 per cent protein and, depending on pizza
variety, anywhere from 6 1/2 to nine per cent fat. A typical, four-ounce serving
would provide 220 to 304 calories. So, despite their status as a snack food, the
pizzas we checked fulfill many of the nutritional requirements of a main
dish...pizza's balanced protein-calorie relationship, uncommon in a snack food,
might well promote the use of pizza as a meat substitute in your meal now and
then...Pizza's main pitch for the buyer's dollar is based on sensory appeal.
Accordingly, CU's food technologists evaluated from three to six samples of each
frozen pizza fro flavor, aroma, texture and appearance...Unfortunately, very few
crusts filled the bill even well enought to be rated Fair...No CU food project
would be complete without a close look at product cleanliness. We accordingly
analyzed duplicate samples of every product for viable microbes. Our first effort
was a total bactyeria count per gram of pizza. That's usually a pretty good
indicator of a food's sanitary status...our findings were far from reassuring...To
be fair, such a dismal bateriological showing doesn't necessarily mean that a food
is leaving the factory in filthy condition. Those bacteria can thrive at freezing
temperatures will get a chance to increase inordinately in a pizza that's
mishandled or stays overlong in a retail showcase...A check of the pizzas for
extraneous matter also yielded disquieting results--about 96 per cent of the
samples tested contained some quantity of insects or insect fragments. Those
unsavory intruders turned up in every brand, and represent a higher level of such
contamination than we have found in any other food category...As far as taste goes,
we think most would do well to buy a freshly cooked pizza at a pizza parlor they
know to be good and freeze it themselves..."
---"Frozen Pizza," Consumer Reports, June 1972 (p. 364-367)

[1976]
"Coming to Chicago [and other markets] shortly as a part of a national roll-out is
Stouffer's French Bread Pizza, a frozen prdouct in test in four markets including
Indianapolis, through a good part of 1975."
---"Souffer's Heats Up Frozen Foods Mart," Chicago Tribune, February 26, 1976 (p.
C10)
[NOTE: Records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office indicate this product was
introduced to the American public October 4, 1973. Registration #73414283]

Pork pies
Dishing out the history of pork pies is quite the challenge for any food historian.
The practice of encasing sweet or savory minced contents in pastry (aka "pie" dates
to Medieval times. Early recipes varied according to culture, cuisine, and
Christian season (Lent, Christmas). They often combined meat with fruit (apples,
raisins) and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, etc.) Pork, being a versatile and
common fall-ready meat, was often employed as pie filling. Popular regional
versions are Old World Cheshire, New World Tourtiere. From this tradition sprang
two primary recipe lines: savory raised pies and sweet compact mincemeat dishes.
Melton Mowbray Pork Pies are protected by EU law. Some modern pork pies don't
contain any pork at all.
"The British pork pie...are survivals of the medieval tradition of raised pies, and
have changed surprisingly little. This particular pie, simply known as 'pork pie',
is of a form distinct from other pies which merely happen to be made with pork. The
filling is of fresh pork without other major ingredients, seasoned with salt,
pepper, and a small quantity of herbs, especially sage. At Melton Mowbray in
Leicestershire, long famous for its pork pies, anchovy essence was added not only
for its flavour but because it was thought to give the meat an attractive pink
colour, while pies from other districts were brownish or greyish."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd
edition, 2006 (p. 625)

Sweet vs savoury?

"By the middle of the seventeenth century, pies had become a peculiarly Engish
specialty; even the French were prepared to concede superiority. By the time
[Eliza] Smith was writing, they had a long an honourable past, and were thus less
susceptible to foreign influences than the made dishes at which the French were
held to excel. If it is true that there was a parallel trend in both countries
towards separating savory from sweet, it is not surprising that the English pies
should have followed the general movement, but it is noticeable that they did so
very much more slowly than made dishes. English books of the eighteenth century
contain many receipts for meat pies with sweet and sour elements...What is perhaps
the best-known English mixture of meat and sugar, the mince-pie, retained this
combination until well into the nineteenth century, and survives, without the lean
meat but with beef suet, to our own day. But even in the area of pies, the
distinction between sweet and savory was beginning to operate and was visible in
English texts before 1700. A sweet element, either sugar or dried fruit, was almost
always present in Markham's receipts...The distinction between savoury and sweet
pies did not become really obvious in the cookery books until around 1720. The
cooks closest to French culinary practice removed the sugar entirely...E. Smith
gave pies with chicken and with lamb in both savoury and sweet versions, but
allowed the confustion of flavours to persist in her vegetable and mince pies--in
other words, those where the sweet-savoury association lingered the longest."
---The British Housewife: Cookery Books, Cooking and Society in Eighteenth-Century
Britain, Gilly Lehmann [Prospect Books:Devon] 2003 (p. 194-5)

Selected 19th century British recipes

[1861]
"PORK PIES (Warwickshire Recipe).
835. INGREDIENTS.�For the crust, 5 lbs. of lard to 14 lbs. of flour, milk, and
water. For filling the pies, to every 3 lbs. of meat allow 1 oz. of salt, 2�1/4 oz.
of pepper, a small quantity of cayenne, 1 pint of water. Mode.�Rub into the flour a
portion of the lard; the remainder put with sufficient milk and water to mix the
crust, and boil this gently for 1/4 hour. Pour it boiling on the flour, and knead
and beat it till perfectly smooth. Now raise the crust in either a round or oval
form, cut up the pork into pieces the size of a nut, season it in the above
proportion, and press it compactly into the pie, in alternate layers of fat and
lean, and pour in a small quantity of water; lay on the lid, cut the edges smoothly
round, and pinch them together. Bake in a brick oven, which should be slow, as the
meat is very solid. Very frequently, the inexperienced cook finds much difficulty
in raising the crust. She should bear in mind that it must not be allowed to get
cold, or it will fall immediately: to prevent this, the operation should be
performed as near the fire as possible. As considerable dexterity and expertness
are necessary to raise the crust with the hand only, a glass bottle or small jar
may be placed in the middle of the paste, and the crust moulded on this; but be
particular that it is kept warm the whole time. Sufficient.�The proportions for 1
pie are 1 lb. of flour and 3 lbs. of meat. Seasonable from September to March..."
LITTLE RAISED PORK PIES.
836. INGREDIENTS.�2 lbs. of flour, 1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of mutton suet, salt
and white pepper to taste, 4 lbs. of the neck of pork, 1 dessertspoonful of
powdered sage. Mode.�Well dry the flour, mince the suet, and put these with the
butter into a saucepan, to be made hot, and add a little salt. When melted, mix it
up into a stiff paste, and put it before the fire with a cloth over it until ready
to make up; chop the pork into small pieces, season it with white pepper, salt, and
powdered sage; divide the paste into rather small pieces, raise it in a round or
oval form, fill with the meat, and bake in a brick oven. These pies will require a
fiercer oven than those in the preceding recipe, as they are made so much smaller,
and consequently do not require so soaking a heat. Time.�If made small, about 1�1/2
hour.
Seasonable from September to March."
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, Isabella Beeton

[1875]
"Pork Pies.--Pork pies are generally made of the trimming taken from a hog when it
is cut up. Make and shape the pies according to the directions given in the
following recipe, and remember that the pies must be moulded while the paste is
warm, and that they are much more easily made with a mould than without one. As a
mould is not always at hand, those who are note particularly expriernced in the
work (and it requires skill) may mould the pie round a jelly-pot or bottle, which
has beeen made warm by beining immersed for some time in warm water. Cut the meat
into pieces the size of a small nut, and keep the meat and fat separate. Season the
whole with pepper and salt, half a dozen young sage-leaves finely shred; or a tea-
spoonful of dried and powdered sage, one ounce of salt, two and a quarter ounces of
pepper, and a pinch of cayenne, may be allowed for a pie containing three pounds of
meat. Pack the fat and lean closely into the pie in alternate layers until it is
filled. Put on the cover, press and pinch the edges, and ornament according to
taste. Brush over with well-beaten egg, and bake in a slow oven, as the meat is
solid and requires to be soaked thorugh. Neither water nor bone should be put into
pork pies, and the outside pieces will be hard unless they are cut small and
pressed closely together. The bones and trimmings of the pork may be stewed to make
gravy, which should be boiled until it will jelly when cold, and when this has been
nicely flavoured, a little may be poured into the pie after it is baked through an
opening made in the top. When pies are made small they require a quicker oven than
large ones. Time to bake, about two hours for a pie containing three pounds.
Probable cost, 3s."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter,
Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 610)

"Pork Pies, Pastry for.--Put a quarter of a pound of finely-shred beef suet--or

five ounces of lard, or a quarter of a pound of mutton suet--and an ounce of fresh
butter into a saucepan with half a pint of boiling water and a pinch of salt. Stir
the mixture until the fat is dissolved, and pour it boiling hot into a pound and a
half of flour. Knead well to a stiff paste, and add a little more warm water if
required. Shape the dough, and get it into the oven while it is warm. If the pie is
to be baked in a mould, lay a piece of the proper shape in the bottom. Press long
pieces into the sides, and fasten thesee to the top and the bottom with white of
egg. If a mould is not to be used, cut off as much apstry as will make the cover,
and wrap it in a cloth to keep warm. Mould the rest with both hands into the shape
of a cone, and make the sides smooth and firm. Press the top down with the knuckles
of the right hand, and with the left press the outside closely to keep it firm and
smooth. Be careful that the walls are equlally thick in every part. Fill the pie,
put on the cover, pinch the edges, fasten securely with white of egg, ornament the
outside in any wan thay may suit the fancy, brush over with yolk of egg, and bake
in a slow oven if the pie be large, in a quicker one if it be small."
---ibid (p. 610-1)

[1894]
"Pork Pie, Raised.--Those who kill pigs of their own have no trouble in obtaining
suitable pie meat; those who buy it should be careful to get the best quality, and
to see that it is free from the slightest taint, every slice being carefully looked
over. Required: for a medium-sized pie, a pound and a half of pork, the same weight
of paste, about a teaspoonful and a half of salt, or, for some, two teaspoonfuls
will be none too much, nearly as much pepper, and herbs if approved, and a little
gravy. Cost, about 7d. per pound. The meat should be fairly fat, and is best from a
bacon pig, but the loin or neck of pork may be used; the foreloin is preferred by
many. Cut into dice (by means of a mincer, or by hand), the pieces bieng even in
size, the fat and lean mixed will, and the seasoning thoroughly blended with the
meat; the meat should be sprinkled with a spoonful of water or stock during the
mixing, as it tends to bind it. Full directions for the raising of the paste will
be found on page 785, and either of the reicpes on page 748 may be followed in
making it; the medium paste is suitable. Those who possess moulds sometimes prefer
a pork pie raisied by hand, and baked out of a mould, as the consider the flaour is
better. The meat should be packed in firmly, and the lid put on after the inner
edges have been egged over; the edges should be crimped with the paste nippers
(opage 741), and leaves put round the side and on the lid; make a hole or two, and
put a centre ornament of paste or not, as preferred. Then egg the pie over, and put
in a good oven. (See the directions for RAISED PIES, page 785). This will take
about two to two and a half hours; the latter will not be too long in most cases,
and a skewer should be passed into the middle of the meat to test it. The gravy
should be made from the bones and any skinny and gristly parts of the meat,
seasoned as required, and strenghthened with gelatine or meat of a gelatinous sort;
the liquor form boiled pork should be used in place of water at the start, should
any be handy; supposing, for instance, the feet and ears of a pig to have been
boiled, there is in the liquor a good foundation for the gravy of the pie. NOTE.--
Should herbs be used, any of those named under PORK SAUSAGES in a previous chapter
will answer; but sage is generally liked. If fresh, about half a teaspoonful would
be enough to flavour the above for most people. Doupble the quantity of dried sage
could be suet. We may mention that at a certain farmhouse in the Midlands, the pork
pies are always made with layers of stoned raisins betweent the layers of pork. We
never met with these pies elsewhere, but can recommend them."
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and
Company:London] 1894 (p. 782-3)
[NOTE: the Raised Pie recipe referred to above (p. 785+) is too long to transcribe.
We can mail/fax/scan if you like.]

Cheshire Pork Pie

Cheshire Pork Pie descends from the long and venerable line of English meat pies.
Food historians traces these dishes to the Middle Ages, if not before. Ingredients,
cooking methods and size vary according to place and period. The pairing of pork
and apples is ancient. Mincemeat pies are closely related.

"Cheshire Pork and Apple Pie. Since I wrote about this pie some years ago, readers
have occasionally queried its status as a raised pe. Unless the pastry walls are
thick, the juice burst out and spoil its appearance...So I returned to Hannah
Glasse. Her instructions are vague, but it is placed among the dish pies (raised
pies start six recipe later). Later in the book she gives instructions for a
Cheshire pork pie to be made at sea, with salt pork, and potatoes instead of
apples; and this pie is clearly a double crust pie made in a dish. The question
remains, should the pie be eaten hot or cold? By its position, I would say hot,
like the chicken pie before it, and the Devonshire squab pie that follows. But it
tastes so good cold. By leaving the pie for 24 hours, you wil find that the
flavours blend together in the most delicious way.

Shortcrust pastry
1 kilo (2 lb) boned loin of pork
4 rashers (2 lb) streaky green bacon, chopped
250 g (8 oz) chopped onion
Salt, pepper, nutmeg
275 g (12 oz) Cox's orange pippins, or similar dessert apple
Brown sugar
Butter
150 ml (1/4 pt) white wine, dry cider or light ale
Beaten egg or top of milk, to glaze
Line a 1 1/4 litre (about 2 pt) capacity pie dish with pastry. Slice and cube the
pork, them put in a layer. Mix bacon, onion and seasonings and scatter some over
the pork. The peel, core and slice the apples and arrange them on the meat; scatter
with a little brown sugar; the amount depends on the sweetness of the apples, but
it should not be overdone. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up. Dot
the top with butter--about 60g (2 oz)--and pour on the alcohol. Cover with pastry
in the usual way, and brush with beaten egg or top of the milk. Bake at mark 7, 220
degrees c (425 degrees F), for 20-30 minutes, then lower the heat to mark 3, 160
degrees C (325 degrees F), and leave for a further 45 minutes, or until the pork
feels tender when tested with a larding needle or skewer through the central hole
in the pastry lid." ---English Food, Jane Grigson [Penguin Books:London] 1994 (p.
231-2)
Compare these 18th & 19th century recipes:

[1747]
"A Cheshire Pork-Pye.
Take a Loin of Pork, skin it, cut it into Stakes, season it with Salt, Nutmeg, and
Pepper; make a good Crust, lay a Layer of Pork, and then a large Layer of Pippins
pared and cored, a little Sugar, enough to sweeten the Pye, then another Layer of
Pork; Put in half a Pint of White Wine, lay some Butter on the Top, and close your
Pye: If your Pye be large, it will take a Pint of White Wine."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1747 edition
[Prospect Books:Devon] 1995 (p. 72)
"Cheshire Pork Pye fo Sea
Take some salt Pork that has been boiled, cut it into thin Slices, and equal
Quantity of Potatoes, pared and sliced thin, make a good Crust, cover the Dish, lay
a Layer of Meat, seasoned with a little Pepper, and a Layer of Potatoes; then a
Layer of Meat, and a Layer of Potatoes, and so on till your Pye is full. Season it
with Pepper; when it is full, lay some Butter on the Top, and fill your Dish above
half full of soft Water. Close you Pye up, and bake it in a gentle Oven."
---ibid (p. 125)

[1817]
"Cheshire Pork Pie.
Take the skin of a loin of pork, and cut it into steaks. Season them with pepper,
salt, and nutmeg, and make a good crust. Put into your dish a layer of pork, then a
layer of pippins, pared and cored, and sugar sufficient to sweeten it. Then place
another layer of pork, and put in a half a pint of white wine. Lay some butter on
the top, close your pie, and send it to the oven. If your pie is large, you must
put in a pint of white wine."
---The Female Instructor: Young Woman's Guide to Domestic Happiness [Thomas
Kelly:London] 1817 (p. 452)
Cape Breton Pork Pie
Food historians tell us traditional European pork pies date to medieval times.
Modern Cape Breton pork pies, however, are different. Why? Pork is not an
ingredient. Recipes suggest this item evolved from the mincemeat/mince pies
tradition.

Why are they called pork pies when they have no pork?
Excellent question. Up until the 20th century, lard and suet were common
ingredients in pies and pie crusts. In the Old World beef suet was the norm. In the
New World hogs were plentiful. It is quite likely the original Cape Breton pork
pies employed lard from these animals. Now butter and other shortenings are used,
thus rendering the moniker "pork pies" a delicious relic of times past.

Canadian English, a real mouthful

[1977]
"Cape Breton Pork Pies
How these little tarts got their name remains a mystery to us. It could be that
pork fat was once used as the shortening, or it might be a reflection of the
wonderful Cape Breton sense of humor.
Tart Shells
1 cup butter
4 tablespoons icing sugar
2 cups flour
Cut the butter into the flour; add the sugar and knead until well blended. Press
small amounts of cough into small muffin tins. Bake in a 425 degrees F. Oven for 10
minutes. When cool fill with the following:
Filling
2 cups chopped dates
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water
Lemon juice
Simmer the above ingredients until the dates are of a soft consistency. Cool; then
fill the tart shells. Ice with butter icing."
---Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens, Marie Nightingale [McCurdy Printing
Company:Nova Scotia] tenth printing May 1977 (p. 164)

Tortiere
French Canadian Tourtiere descends from festive medieval European meat pies
featuring pork. This recipe, similar to the casserole, was named after its baking
receptical. Recipes vary according to period, place and taste.
"A tourtiere is a shallow meat pie with onions, often flavoured with the
traditional French medieval spice combo of cinnamon and cloves. In kitchens along
the majestic Saguenay River, a tourtiere can be quite a production, consisting of
cubed meat, potatoes, onions baked in many layers in a deep, pastry-lined
casserole: in other words, what would have been called a cipaille or pate de
famille in older days is here a tortiere de Saguenay. In 1836 in Quebec, a
tourtiere was a pork pie. One local tourtiere became a favourite of Scottish and
British soldiers posted to the citadel at Quebec City who then stayed on, buing
outskirt farms and growing oats. Thus, in one Quebec City tourtiere oatmeal
thickens the ground pork filling instead of the traditional French potatoes. The
food tourtiere took its name from the utensil in which it was baked, The original
tourtiere, in French print by 1573, was a pie pan for baking tourtes. In old French
cookery, a tourte was a round pastry pie with a pastry top and filled either with
meat and vegetables if it was a savoury or with fruit and cream if it was a dessert
tourte. This word stems form the street Latin phrase totus panis 'a round of
bread.' The word tourtiere also names the mould used to make these pastry tourtes.
This tourtiere has an expandable circumference, can be made of porcelain, clay, or
glass, and can serve as a pie dish, a tart mould, or a flan ring."
---Canadian Food Words, Bill Casselman [McArthur & Company:Toronto] 1998 (p. 166-
167)
[NOTE: No recipe included.]

"Tourtiere. A hundred years ago, the tourtiere was a must on every Christmas table.
It can also be served in small tartlets as an apertif. You can find almost as many
Quebec tourtiere recipes as there are cooks, since each one has her own ways and
variation... Tourte de Noel. The pastry for the tourte is very special, and
different from the tourtiere type. It is rich, flaky, light and always flavored
with savory. In the old days wild savory was gathered in the autumn and hung on the
kitchen rafters to dry until Christmas. The tourte is quite different from the
tourtiere."
---The Canadiana Cookbook, Mme. Jehane Benoit [Pagurian Press Ltd.:Toronto] 1970
(p. 24-25)

"Tourtiere. Food historians like to explain the name of Quebec's meat pie, some
tracing it to the French cooking utensil of the same name, others to a passenger
pigeon called the 'toure' or 'oiseau blan,' which was plentiful in eastern Canada
into the 20th century. The birds, gamey in flavour like grouse or pheasant, were
unafraid of man, Montrealer Louis Amos told me, quoting his grandfather. If farmers
scattered corn on a field, a flock would come to feed and it would be possible to
kill them with clubs or trap them under a net. The birds could be plucked, cleaned,
and preserved in brine for winter meals, and sometimes mixed with pork, beef, and
seasonings to make a tourtiere. Around 1920, so his story goes, a severe storm blew
the last flock of the birds out to sea, never to return. 'That's the folklore,' he
said."
---A Taste of Quebec, Julian Armstrong [Hippocrene Books:New York] 2001 (p. 14)
[NOTE: Gazette of Montreal prizewinning recipe c. 1984 included.]

[1926] "Cipaille (Etym.: sea-pie, anglais) Ancien pate canadien

Vider, flamber et couper la volaille (dinde, poulet, perdrixk, etc.). Faire revenir
des bardes de lard dans une casserole avec oignons et persil haches,; rouler les
morceaux de volaille dans la farine et rotir; laisser prendre couleur, couvrir la
viande d'eau chaude, l'assaisonner au gout, fermer hermetiquement et laisser
mijoter 35 a 45 minutes. Sure une pate d'une pouce d'epaisseur et 3 pounces de
hauteur, en bortdure dans un plat creux, placer un lit de viande hachee (filet de
porc ou de jambon assaisonne de fines herbes), puis la preparation de volaille avec
une partie du jus jusqu'a la bordure. Alterner chacque rang de volaille, de
chapelure, d'oignons et de fines herbes, couvrir le tout de viandes hachees ou
bardes de lard et d'une abaisse de pate menageant une ouverture au milieu pour y
verser du just au besoin, de qui empechera la pate d'etre seche. Badigeonner ae
jaune d'ouef et cuire au four, 2 heures, a 350 degrees F."
---La Cuisine Raisonnnee, cinquieme edition, revue, augmentee [Institution
Chanoine-Beaudet:Quebec] 1926, 1945 (p. 276)
[NOTE: We can scan/send original page with proper diacritics.]

[1970]
"Tourtiere
1 lb. pork, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup water
1/4-1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Pastry of your choice
Place all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs in a saucepan. Bringh to a boil
and cook uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and add a few
spoonfuls of breadcrumbs. Let stand for 10 minutes. If the fat is sufficiently
absorved by the breadcrumbs, do not add more. If not, continue in the same manner.
Cool and pour into a pastry-lined pan. Cover with crust. Bake at 400 degrees F.
until golden brown. Serve hot. A cooked tourtiere can be frozen 5-6 months. It does
not have to be thawed before reheating.

"Special Dough for Tourtieres

A very old recipe, that makes a melt-in-the-mouth crust. Use for all meat pies and
'tourte'.
4 1/2-5 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 lb. pure lard
1 cup hot water
4 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar
1 egg, well beaten
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Measure 1 1/2 cups of
the lard and cut into the flour until it is mealy. Completely dissolve the
remaining lard in the hot water. Add the lemon juice and egg. Mix these liquids
into the flour mixture until dough leaves sides of the bowl. Turn on lightly
floured board and knead about 1 minute or until all the flour is blended. Wrap in
waxed paper, refrigerate 1 to 12 hours. Very easy to roll.

"Tourte de Noel
2-3 lbs. very lean pork, finely diced
4 small onions, chopped
4 cooked potatoes, diced
1 1/2-2 teaspoons sage
1 tablespoon savory
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
Place the meat and onion in a saucepan, with just enough water to barely cover the
meat. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Add the cooked potatoes, sage, savory, salt and
pepper. Simmer together 20 minutes. Make a ball of the butter and flour. Add to
meat juice and cook unitl sauce is creamy. Taste for seasoning, then cool. Pour
into pastry-lined baking dish and cover with top crust (recipe follows). Bake at
400 degrees F. until golden brown. This tourte also freezes well.

"Pastry:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons lard
1 egg, well beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon savory
2 cups all-purpose flour
6-8 tablespoons ice water
Cream together the butter and the lard. tir int the eggs, salt and sage. Mix well
and work in the flour with your hands. Sprinkle half the water on top and blend;
then add the rest of the water, enough to make the dough cling together. Do not
overwork the pastry nor make it too wet. Roll out as thinly as possible on a
floured board and line the bottom and sides of a round baking dish. Refrigerate
until ready to use."
---The Canadiana Cookbook, Mme. Jehane Benoit [Pagurian Press Ltd.:Toronto] 1970
(p. 24-25) Related meat pies? Rappie Pie & Shepherd's Pie (includes potatoes)

Portable pies
The practice of crafting small, stuffed pastries dates back to ancient times. The
beauty of these self-contained foods was they were easy to cook, inexpensive,
portable and could be consumed anywhere with minimal mess. Many cultures developed
similar foodstuffs. Pastry dough, fillings, and shapes varied according to region,
religion, and seasonal availability. Like dumplings, portable pies are a true
universal recipe, spanning all periods and points of the globe.
Cornish pasties
British sausage rolls
Jamaican meat patties
Spanish empanadas
Louisiana Natchitoches
Italian calzones
Italian-American stromboli
Polish-Russian pierogi
Middle-Eastern/Indian sanbusaq & samosa
English turnovers
Kellogg's Pop Tarts
General history notes from the food historians:

"There is reason to believe that [sanbusak] is the progenitor of the empanada and
calzone. Sanbusak, an Arabic word that comes from the Persian sanbusa, meaning
anything triangular, was first described as a stuffed pastry in the early ninth
century by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (d. 851), a well known author from Iraq...In a
thirteenth-century Arabic cookery book of al Baghdadi, sanjusaj is described as a
stuffed triangular pastry fried in sesame oil...By the thirteenth century, sanbusak
appears in Spain, almost as the same recipe, a triangular fried pastry."
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow:New York] 1999 (p.
573)

Craig Claiborne sums this topic nicely:

"Turnovers, which are festive and are almost infinate in their variety, also
pinpoint to a degree the migrant influences in America. Just consider their
backgrounds: There are Cornish pasties, which indicate the early presence of Welsh
miners in Michigan, the Mexican-influenced empanadas and empanaditas of the West
and Southwest, and the curiously named hot-ta-meat pies of Louisiana that indicate
a borrowing from the Spanish. Even spring rolls--the more refined version of egg
rolls, which can most certainly be classified as turnovers--can be found almost
anywhere in the nation where Chinese chefs have settled. Where American history is
concerned, I find the Cornish pasties the most interesting, not because of their
flavor especially but because of the uses to which they have been put in this
country. The concept was brought here in the late 1700s and early 1800s with the
influx of miners from Wales...Once the pasties were established in this country, it
did not take long for the non-Welsh of the region to take to them with relish and
add a distinctly American touch..."
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, Joan Whitman compiler
[Times Books:New York] 1985 (p. 461-2)

TURNOVERS

Turnovers are one of the most popular examples of portable pies. Pastry choices
range from classic European puff paste to Mediterranean filo.

"A turnover is a sort of small, typically individual pie or pasty, in which the
filling is placed on one side of a piece of rolled-out pastry and the other side is
then turned over' to cover it, forming a semicircular shape. The term is first
recorded at the end of the eighteenth century: an old woman preparing her
turnovers, commonly called apple-pies' (Sporting Magazine, 1798). It is
occasionally used for savoury fillings, such as meat, but a sweet fruit filling is
the norm, and, as the above extract suggests, most turnovers are in fact apple
turnovers."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
353)

The Oxford English Dictionary confirms the 1798 date reference above: "5. A kind of
tart in which the fruit is laid on one half of the rolled out paste, and the other
half turned over it; a child's sweetmeat resembling this. Also attrib. as turn-over
shop. 1798 Sporting Mag. XI. 176 An old woman..preparing her turnovers, commonly
called apple-pies. 1825 S. R. in Hone Every-day Bk. I. 1291 Our �tart� and �turn-
over� shop. 1847 in HALLIWELL. 1882 Gd. Words 606 Venison pasties and apple
turnovers and runlets of ale. 1892 Star 24 Dec. 3/2 There were sweets called
turnovers, in which were coins of various values."

Culinary evidence confirms turnover-type recipes precede their appellation in both

British and American culinary texts. A careful examination of ingredients and
method bear witness:

[1753]
"Apple Pasties to Fry.
Pare and quarter apples, and boil them in sugar and water, and a stick of cinnamon,
and when tender, put in a little white wine, the juice of a lemon, a piece of fresh
butter, and a little ambergrease or orange-flower water; stir all together, and
when it is cold put it in puff-paste, and fry them>"
---The Complete Housewife: or Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion, E. Smith,
facsimile reprint of 1753 edition [Literary Services and Production Ltd.:London]
1968 (p. 154)
[1792]
"Apple Puffs.
Pare, quarter, and core six large apples, put them into a sauce-pan with a little
water and lemon-peel, cover them close, and stew them gently till they are tender;
take out the lemon-peel, and with a spoon put in a tea-spoonful of rose water, make
a nice puff paste, roll in out thin to any small size you please, put in a little
of the apple, turn the paste over, and close them with a knife; cut them either
three-corner ways or square, or in any shape you please, ice them, and bake them in
a moderate overn or tin or iron plates."
---The New Art of Cookery According to Present Practice, Richard Briggs [W.
Spotswood, R. Campbell, and B. Johnson:Philadelphia] 1792 (p. 382)

[1841]
"Puffs.--Roll out puff paste nearly a quarter of an inch thick, and, with a small
saucer, or tin cutter of that size, cut it into round pieces; place upon one side
raspberry or strawberry jam, or any sort of preserved fruit, or stewed apples; wet
the edges, fold over the other side, and press it round with the finger and thumb.
Or cut the paste into the form of a diamond, lay on the fruit, and fold over the
paste, so as to give it a triangular shape."
---The Good Housekeeper, Sarah Josepha Hale, facsimile reprint 1841 edition with
new introduction by Janice (Jan) Bluestein Longone [Dover Publications:Mineola NY]
1996 (p. 85)

[1874?]
"Turnovers.--Make some good pastry, roll it out to the thickness of a quarter of an
inch, and stamp it in rounds from four to seven inches in diameter, lay fresh fruit
and sugar, or jam, on one half of the pastry, moisten the edges, and turn the other
half right over. Press the edges closely, ornament them in any way, and brush the
turnovers with white of egg. Sprinkle a little powedered sugar over them, and bake
on tins in a brisk oven. Serve on a dish covered with a neatly-folded napkin. Time
to bake, fifteen to twenty minutes. Probably cost, 1d. Each. Sufficient, one pound
of pastry will make two dozen turnovers."
---Cassell's Dictonary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter,
Galpin & Co.:London] 1874? (p. 1017)
"Fruit Pasties or Turnovers.--Boil down fruit of any kind with a little sugar, and
let it grow cold. Take one pound of puff pastes; cut it into as many pieces as you
require pasties; roll out in a circular form, and put the fruit on one half, turn
the other half over on the fruit, and pinch the edge, which should first be wetted
with white of egg. Raw fruit may be used, but in this case the paste must be
thicker, and not quite so rich. Meat, or savoury pasties, form the princial food of
the agricultural classes in Cornwall; but a mixture of meat, potatoes, and turnips
is more generally used for their pasties. Time for fruit pasties, twenty minutes.
Sufficient for one dozen and a half."
---ibid (p. 233) [NOTE: this book also instructs the reader to refer to recipes for
Fruit Pasties.]

[1902]
"Apple Turnover
Put one pint of flour into a bowl; add half a teaspoonful of salt, two level
teaspoonfuls of baking powder; mix thoroughly, then rub into the mixture one
tablespoonful of butter, and add sufficient milk to make a soft dough. Roll out in
a sheet half an inch thick; cut with a biscuit cutter into circles. Put two
tablespoonfuls of stewed apples on one-half the dough; fold over the other half,
pinch the edges together; place these in a baking-pan, brush with milk, and bake
for twenty minutes."
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia]
1902 (p. 590-1)

Related food? Apple pie.

Pop Tarts
The concept of fruit-filled pastry is thousands of years old. Kellogg's Pop Tarts
descend from the venerable culinary tradition of personal-sized portable pies. Our
survey of historic newspapers and US Patent Office records confirm toaster pastries
were introduced to the American public in 1964. Pop Tarts quickly became national
icons of Baby Boomer cuisine. Why? They were convenient, tasty AND required no help
from mom or dad. Hot or cold, on-the-go breakfast or late night snack, Pop Tarts
were perfect.

According to the records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Pop Tarts (a
Kellogg's trademark) were introduced to the American public July 14, 1964: Word
Mark POP-TARTS Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: FRUIT PRESERVE FILLED
PASTRY BAKERY PRODUCT. FIRST USE: 19640714. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19640714 Mark
Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 72198180 Filing Date July 20, 1964
Registration Number 0791514 Registration Date June 22, 1965 Owner (REGISTRANT)
KELLOGG COMPANY CORPORATION DELAWARE 235 PORTER ST. BATTLE CREEK MICHIGAN

What were the first Pop Tart flavors?

According to an Kellogg's advertisement published in the Los Angeles Times October
28, 1965 (p. D15): blueberry, strawberry, apple-currant and brown sugar-cinnamon.
The ad reads "New Pop Tarts drop'em into the toaster or eat'em just as they are. A
wonderful breakfast treat- grand for lunch or snacks too. We call 'em Kellogg's
Pop-Tarts. Tasty, tender pastries--four kinds--each ready-filled with a different
and luscious flavor...You'll call 'em the most convenient, tasty change-of-pace
breakfast idea that's come along to brighten you your mornings in a long, long
time. Six big tarts in each handy package. Baked and sealed in foil envelopes to
stay fresh without refrigeration. A nourishing all-family treat for lunch boxes and
after-school snacks as well as for breakfast ." [NOTE: the ad also mentions
Smuckers brand jelly and preserves was used for the filling.]

Product introduction and marketing strategy

Our research confirms Kellogg's was not the first to bring a toaster pastry to
market. It was, however the most successful.

"On Feb. 16, 1964, Post unveiled its new product, Country Squares. The food
industry oohed and aahed; the business press buzzed; grocers waited expectantly.
And waited. But Post was slow getting Country Squares onto store shelves. "They
kept fooling around with it in our labs," recalls Stan Reesman, a retired Post food
technician who invented the cereal Fruity Pebbles. In September 1964, just six
months after the public unveiling of Country Squares, Kellogg introduced Pop-Tarts
in several test markets around the country. Reesman insists Country Squares were
superior, but he says, "We could see the handwriting on the wall." The names given
to the two products were one more indication of Kellogg's superior marketing savvy.
Kellogg appreciated that kids were the primary target audience for Pop-Tarts
because they had yet to establish breakfast habits of their own. Post seems to have
been more confused. As awful a name as Country Squares seems in 1994, it was
arguably worse in 1964, when the word "square" was widely used to mean "nerdy."
When paired with "country," it seemed to describe a food for middle-age rubes from
the sticks...Once Pop-Tarts were in the markeplace, Kellogg threw its full
marketing muscle behind them. With huge revenue from its cereals at its disposal,
Kellogg was sponsoring a whole zoo of kids' shows, includng Yogi Bear, Woody
Woodpecker, Huckleberry Hound, Atom Ant, Bugs Bunny, Mighty Mouse and Secret
Squirrel. Pop-Tarts quickly joined the cast of sugared cereals being hawked between
cartoons. Kellogg had won the toaster-pastry game in the first inning. By 1967,
toasted pastries were a $45 million market, most of which belonged to Kellogg.
Post's Country Squares had evolved into Post Toast-Em Pop-Ups, but Post finally
gave up and sold the marketing rights in the early 1970s. General Mills' Toastwich,
which had to be refrigerated, appeared on grocery shelves for less than a year.
Nabisco's Toastettes, which debuted in 1967, have survived and were recently
repositioned, according to a Nabisco spokesman, meaning they now come eight to a
box and can be microwaved. This is not an advantage to be scoffed at; microwave a
Pop-Tart and it resembles nuclear waste. But Pop-Tarts continue to dominate the
toaster-pastry category, although significantly lower-priced generic brands are
widely available."
---"Toasting of an Icon the Pop-Tart marks 30 Years as Part of American Life,"
Steve Hymon, Chicago Tribune, September 25, 1994 (p. 1)

"After gaining market share in sales in cereal, Kellogg searched for related
breakfast items that could both draw on and complement the recent success in
breakfast cereals. The company settled on a food of taste and convenience, the
toaster pastry. "Toaster pastries joined the breakfast line-up in 1964 as Kellogg's
Pop-Tarts," according to a company pamphlet. Pop-Tarts represented both a
diversification from cereal and an expansion of the cereal line into a breakfast
line...When Kellogg's Pop-Tarts were introduced, ads highlighted the item's
convenience and often featured "Milton the Toaster." Advertisements also consisted
of the full brand name and the slogan "drop em into the toaster-or eat em just as
they are." printed across the side of the toaster with Pop-Tarts popped up. Pop-
Tarts were marketed than and now as a food of convenience and a snack of
nutrition...Kellogg's marketing strategy of claiming nutrition for Pop-Tarts is a
part of the larger, historic strategy to market Pop-Tarts to adults as well as
children. Hoping to appeal to grown-up baby boomers as well as today's children and
adolescents, Kelloggs continues to direct marketing schemes for pre-sweetened
cereals and Pop-Tarts to all age groups..."
---"Pop-Tarts," Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands, Janice Jorgensen editor [St. James
Press:Detroit] Volume 1: Consumable Products (p. 309-310)
[NOTE: this book contains a list of sources for further study.]

Nostalgic? Pictures of Pop Tart boxes from the 1960s & 1970s/courtesy of Dan
Goodsell's Imaginary World (scroll down).

Notable competetitors:: General Foods Toastem Animals (owls)[introduced August 31,

1964]

CALZONES
Regarding the origin of calzones there are a couple of theories:

"Calzone means "pant leg" in Italian. Calzone are usually associated with Naples,
where they can also be made with sausage and mozzarella cheese, but are found,
famously, throughout southern Italy, sometimes deep-fried. Every town has its own
variation...Carol Field, author of several books on Italian food, suggests that
calzone may have existed in medieval Latin as early as 1170, according to a
reference in Padua, although the historian Luigi Sada, also the author of several
Apulian cookbooks, suggests a statute from Bisceglie around 1400 as being the first
appearance of the word. Chef Carlo Middione, the author of The Food of Southern
Italy, makes the plausible suggestion of a Muslim introduction in medieval Arab
times. If this is true, then the calzone, not to mention the empanada, is related
to the old fried pastry of the medieval Arab world, sanbusak....Sanbusak, an Arabic
word that comes from Persian sanbusa, meaning anything triangular, which was first
described as a stuffed pastry in the early ninth century by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim...a
well-known author from Iraq."
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [Morrow:New York] 1999 (p. 563, 573)

"Calsones...a Sephardic Jewish stuffed pasta which is widely consumed in the Middle
East. They may be square in shape like ravioli or in half-moon or oblong shapes.
Calsones are mostly home made, using egg in the dough, and usually filled with a
cheese and egg mixture. Calsones with reshteh were a famous Jewish dish in Aleppo,
Syria. The calsones and reshteh were mixed together, dressed with melting butter,
and served with yoghurt. As for the origins of calsones, Claudia Roden [in her book
The Book of Jewish Food, 1996] suggests that they came to the Aleppo community with
the Italian Jews who left Italy at various times, beginning in the 16th century,
when there was a mass emigration eastwards following the expulsion of Jews from
Italy."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 125) (calsone is the British spelling for calzone)

STROMBOLI
How old is stromboli & where did it originate? Excellent questions! Italian food
history books/cookbooks are curiously silent on this topic. This suggests an
Italian-American genesis. South Philadelphia is generally regarded as the American
epicenter for this delcious dish. Our survey of historic newspapers confirms
stromboli piqued the palates of mainstream America in the 1990s.

"Stromboli. A sandwich made with pizza dough folded over a variety of ingredients,
most often mozzarella and sliced pepperoni. The stromboli is a specialty of
Philadelphia, though similar to an Italian confection called the calzone...The name
may derive from the Italian island of Stromboli, but more probably refers to a very
big, strong character in the fairy tale The Adventures of Pinocchio (1882) by Carlo
Lorenzini, whose pen name was "Collodi."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Freidman:New
York] 1999 (p. 313)

"Stromboli is a crusty brown, overstuffed loaf dish which is popular in several US

regions with numerous Italian-American residents. The of the term remains uncertain
although there is a resort island near Sicily which is called Any stuffing can be
used for such as cold cuts, cheese, roasted peppers, vegetables, among others. The
dish is a welcome addition to Italian menus that usually offer pizza and pasta.
Stromboli is a resort island off the coast of Sicily that features an active
smoldering volcano. Stromboli (the dish) isn't that hot on this side of the
Atlantic, but in Philadelphia, Providence, R.I., New York City, and other places
with established Italian-American communities, it's a long-standing favorite. How
the crusty brown, overstuffed loaf became known as "stromboli" is anyone's guess,
since there's no food by that name in Italy. Perhaps the moniker was tagged on by
an immigrant baker with a knack for marketing. What we do know about it is that
virtually any stuffing goes--from cold cuts and cheese to roasted peppers and other
vegetables--and that it's the ideal do-ahead food to feed a crowd or a single
diner, to take out or eat in, and to build add-on sales. A likely forebear is the
Sicilian 'nfigghiulata antica, which Carlo Middione details in The Food of Southern
Italy... It's a rolled bread filled with ground veal and pork, Swiss chard,
cauliflower, provolone, and black olives, shaped like a crescent to recall the Arab
domination of Sicily. We also know that stromboli can go by different names. Shops
around New Haven, Conn., for example, make "broccoli bread" stuffed with the
vegetable and Italian sausage. What distinguishes the stromboli from its better-
known cousin calzone is its multiple-serving loaf shape. Calzones are more apt to
take the form of individual pizza-dough turnovers."
---"Rolling Stromboli," James Scarpa, Restaurant Business, May 20, 1993, (p. 107)

Related food? Calzone!

EMPANADAS
Empanadas are considered part of the gastronomic history of Spanish Galicia. The
Empanada Festival is one of this region's major annual events. These portable pies
were introduced to the "New World" by Spanish explorers and missionaries.

"Empanadas, meat and fish pies from Galicia, are rarely found elsewhere in Spain.
One explanation for the popularity of empanadas in Galicia is that they suit the
character of these northern peoples, for the pies hide their contents from public
view, just as the Gallegos often remian aloof and secretive. The idea may be a bit
farfetched, but there is little doubt that Gallegos make better meat pies than
anyone else, using fillings as varied as the produce of Galicia. Most empanadas
contain lots of onion and green or red pepper, in combination with meat or fish.
The doughs take many different forms, from puff pastry to those made with cornmeal.
There are other areas of Spain known for their pies, but these are called pasteles
instead of empanadas."
---The Foods and Wines of Spain, Penelope Casas [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1982 (p.
52)
[NOTE: Ms. Casas mentions on p. 64 of this book that Empanada de Lomo (pork pie) is
the most commonly prepared Galician pie.]

"Empanada. A Spanish and Latin American savoury turnover. Empanada' means covered
with bread'; and bread dough may be used, but the usual covering is shortcrust
pastry. Often the semicircular seam is decorated by twisting it at regular
intervals. The pastry may be baked or deep fried. Fillings vary from one country or
region to another. In Spain a mixture of minced meats and sausage is common, but in
writing about empanadas in Galicia Janet Mendel [Traditional Spanish Cooking,
Garnet Publishing, 1996] lists no fewer than 18 examples of fillings, ranging from
clams to rabbit, sardines to pigeon, and octopus to ham. In S. And C. America and
the southwest of the USA a similarly wide range of fillings are used. Mexican
fillings are highly seasoned with chilli peppers."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 273)

The history of Galician empanadas [In Spanish].

Emapanda recipes, 1529 [Translated into English. Use your brower's "find" feature
to locate recipes and history notes.]
NATCHITOCHES
Personal portable pies, Louisiana-style!

"...the curiously named hot-ta-meat pies of Louisiana that indicate a borrowing

from the Spanish...One of the most interesting of all turnovers is the pastry-
filled fried food that I dined on in a town in Louisiana called Natchitoches (the
name is pronounced Nacky-tosh). These spicy turnover were once referred to as hot-
ta-meat pies, but now they're simply called Natchitoches meat pies. The most famous
in town are served at a small restaurant called Lasyones. I am certain these pies
are very much related to empanadas and came about through the influence of Spanish
settlers in the state. The are decidedly un-French."
---"Turnovers: A Dish With an International Heritage, Craig Claiborne, New York
Times, May 5, 1982 (p. C8)
[NOTES: (1) Mr. Claiborne's recipe here. (2) Lasyone's is

"The meat pie's origins are shrouded in history, lost in the days when Indian met
Spaniard in the forests around the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. But
James Lasyone is sure of at least two things. People were making and selling meat
pies around Natchitoches when he took his first steps off the farm nearly half a
century ago. And today he sells nearly 160,00 of the delicacies every hear. 'My
family was sharecroppers,' said Lasyone, who started Lasyone's Meat Pie Kitchen
with a one-eyed gas stove and a single iron pot. 'We walked into town on Saturdays
and there would be people with little carts, pushing them up and down the street. I
talk to people that's much older and as far back as they can remember they've had
meat pies. But until I opened my kitchen here, people made them in their homes and
sold them in their homes.' The Meat Pie Kitchen in an old downtown strip along the
Cane River has become something of a landmark in recent years--a haven for busloads
of tourists, as well as for travelers armed with ice chests for long-distance
takeout orders. 'Travel agencies call us from all over the United States...We have
buses booked year-round.'...According to Lasyone, the meat pies are tasty--even to
strangers from Boston, Spokane or Sault Ste. Marie. 'First they want to see
one...They of course they still don't know anything. But 95 percent will take the
meat pie lunch and the majority are well pleased with it.' Like Col. Sanders and
others who found a recipe for success, Lasyone is tight-lipped about exactly what
goes into his product. He will let on that 50 pounds of beef is mixed with 10
pounds of pork, that the fried pastry is something between a turnover and a taco
and that a Louisiana-style dark gravy is added to the mixture at the end of the
cooking process. Beyond those slivers of guidance, however, Lasyone is
silent...Despite his sense of ownership, Lasyone insisted he was not interested in
shepherding his meat pies to fast-food fame...'I would rather for someone else to
buy the recipe...Making meat pie is really a job. It requires a lot of time and
careful handling. It's really a big thing. If you'd just see one laying there on
the plate, you wouldn't think it was that much trouble.'...The initial burner and
pot, which cost $6.95, have evolved into a restaurant with three dining rooms
capable of seating 100." ---"Natchitoches meat pie is a spicy taste of history,"
John DeMers, UPI, Hutchinson News [KS], October 13, 1982 (p. 10)
[NOTE: Lasyone's continues to thrive!]

Natchitoches Meat Pies

Pastry for deep-fried turnovers
3 tablespoons bacon fat or corn oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 pound ground lean beef
3/4 pound ground lean pork
1 cup finely chopped scallions
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teaspoons finely chopped hot red or green pepper or use Tabasco souace or cayenne
pepper to taste
Corn, peanut or vegetable oil for deep frying
1. Prepare the pastry, and let stand, covered, while preparing the filling.
2. Heat the fat or oil in a skillet or saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Cook,
stirring, until wiltd. Add the beef and pork and cook, stirring and chopping down
with the sides of metal spoon to break up any lumps. Cook until the meat loses its
raw look. Add the scallions, parsley, salt, pepper and chopped pepper. Let cool.
3. Roll out one-quarter of the dough at a time on a lighly flowered board to the
thickness of about one-eighth inch or less.
4. With a cutter six inches in diameter, cut out circles.
5. Gather the scraps of dough and form a ball quickly. Roll out this dough to the
same thickness, and cut it ito six-inch circles.
6. Continue rolling and cutting circles until all the dough has been used.
7. Fill one-half of each sircle of dough with about three tablespoons of filling,
leaving a margin for sealing when the dough is folded. Moisten all around the edges
of the circle of dough. Fold the unfilled half of dough over to enclose the
filling. Press around the edges with the tines of a fork to seal well.
8. Heat the oil to 360 degrees. Add the meat pies, four to six at a time without
crowding. Cook, turning the pies in th hot fat until nicely broaned and cooked
through, about eight minutes. Drain well on absorbent toweling. Serve hot. Yield:
about 20 meat pies."
---"Turnovers: A Dish With an International Heritage, Craig Claiborne, New York
Times, May 5, 1982 (p. C8)
CORNISH PASTIES
These traditional Welsh meat-filled pies often served as a miner's lunch. When
these laborers came to America to work the copper mines, they brought lunch with
them. Efficient & portable, easily re-heated & ultimately delicious. Foods like
these transcend time and place. If you have the opportunity to taste the real thing
NEVER pass it up. After the experience, you will know why. About Cornish pasties.

[1894]
"Cornish Pasties.
These are made in Cornwall and taken by the miners for dinner. There are various
combinations used in their concoction, the most common being a mixture of meat and
some vegetable of a moist sort, so that they shall contain plenty of gravy. Mutton,
and onions or turnips, or both; beef, with one of these vegetables; pork, with
apples; or a mixture of meats with any vegetables to had are also used. The paste
is of suet as a rule, and is very nice when eaten hot, but when cold is apt to be
hard, and for that reason a short paste, such as NO. 1 or 2, will be better. This
is to be rolled about half an inch thick, as the pasties are substantial, and want
a moderate oven only that the meat may cook. To make the pasties, cut the meat up
very small, and the more tender it is the better; indeed, if it is hard the pasties
are very indigestible. Then put an equal weight of the vegetable--we recommend a
mixture of onion and potato, both scalded and chopped up--season with salt ahed
pepper, then roll the paste out in rounds and put some of the meat in the centre;
bring the edges up, after moistening them, and press them together; then take the
thumb and finger of the right hand and pinch them up, using the forefinger of the
left hand to press the paste between them. The sizes of these must be in proportion
to the appetite of those who east them; from four to siz counces in weight is an
average size. Then lay them on a greased tin and bake from thirty to forty minutes.
They may be washed over with a little milk when nearly done, or with egg for a
better dish...This is the common mode. We advise for a much nicer dish that the
meat be cut up as finely as possible, or passed through a mincer as for sausage
meat. When turnips are used they should be partly cooked beforehand, and many will
like the pasties better if both onions and turnips are parboiled, although this is
a departure from the original. Imitation Cornish pasties are made by taking some
underdone cold meat, with vegetables of any sort, fully cooked, and adding a little
gravy to moisten, with seasoning to taste; the paste for these may be better, and
can be rolled thinner, and the pasties, if made small, will be baked in about
twenty minutes. Bacon can be put with these, ir a mixure of that and cooked rice or
macaroni can be used. Cost, variable; about 2d. each for pasties for one person."
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and
Company:London] 1894 (p. 756-757)
[1909]
"Cornish Pasties
Ingredients.--For the pastry: 8 ozs. of flour, 3 ozs. of fat, 1 teaspoonful of
baking-powder, 1 saltspoonful of salt. For the micture: 14/ lb. of beef, 14 lb. of
potato (parboiled), 1/2 teaspoonful of onion (parboiled and finely chopped), 2
tablespoons of gravy or water, mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
Method.--Cut the meat and potatoes into dice, add the onion, herbs, salt, pepper
and gravy, and mix well together. Mix the flour, baking-powder, and salt together,
rub in the fat lightly, add the water, being careful not to make the paste too
moist. Divide the paste into 8 equal portions, and roll them out, keeping the
portions as round as possible. Pile the mixture in the centre of each piece
ofpastry, wet the edges and join together on the top to form an upstanding frill,
prick them 2 or 3 times with a fork, and bake in a moderate oven for about 1/2 to
an hour.
Time.--About 1 hour. Average cost, 6d."
---Mrs. Beeton's Every-Day Cookery, new edition [Ward, Lock & Co. Ltd:London] 1909
(p. 310)

Destination Pasty (USA): UP Michigan & Rocky's in Wharton, NJ.

Related food? Chicken Wellington.

Jamaican meat patties

Jamaican meat patties descend from European meat pies. Today's snack foods most
closely resemble Cornish pasties and Spanish empanadas.

"Patty. A delicious crescent-shaped meat pie made with highly seasoned mince meat,
lobster, shrimps, chicken or vegetables in a flaky pastry shell. Very popular as a
snack, the patty is Jamaica's No. 1 fast food."
---The Real Taste of Jamaica, Enid Donaldson [Ian Randle Publishers:Kingston] 1993,
2000 (p. 15)

"Our patties are like Cornish pasties...The original Jamaican patty crust is made
with beef suet, but a short crust pastry can be used.
"Pastry
1 lb flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup ground beef suet
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
8 oz. iced water (approx.)
a pinch of tomato colouring in water, or
a drop of annato colouring to colour pastry
Filling
1 lb. ground beef
2 stalks escallion
1 stalk thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 medium onion
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
browning (optional)
butter
oil for glazing
"To make pastry
1. Sift the flour and salt.
2. Mix the suet and vegetable shortening with some of the flour.
3. Mix suet mixture and remaining flour, and add baking powder.
4. Add water with colouring and mix until the ingredients are bound together and
leave the basin clean. The dough should be firm.
5. Turn on to a floured board. Knead till free from cracks.
6. Divide dough into 40 pieces, shape into halls.
7. Cover and leave until ready to make patties.
"To make filling
1. Heat mince meat in a saucepan with just enough water to cover.
2. Use fingers or fork to separate lumps in the water.
3. Add seasoning, finely chopped, to meat and also 1/2 tsp. salt and sugar.
4. Cook until mince is soft, about 30 minutes on low heat.
5. Correct seasoning and add remaining salt.
6. Add bread crumbs and browning if a darker colouring is required.
7. Make sure there is enough gravy to make the filling wet. Add butter, and allow
to cool before putting into pastry.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. F.
9. On a lightly floured board, roll out balls in circles. Put about 1 full teaspoon
of mince in centre of circles and fold over to form a crescent. Press together and
crimp with a crimper or a fork, brushing a little oil on each patty.
10. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until golden brown or deep fry cocktail
patties.
11. Serve hot.
Yield s 40 cocktail size patties."
---The Real Taste of Jamaica, Enid Donaldson [Ian Randle Publishers:Kingston] 1993,
2000 (p. 32)

SAUSAGE ROLLS
Modern British sausage rolls descend from the venerable culinary tradition of
personal-size savory pies. Portable and practical, economical and filling. Products
vary according to taste, place, and economic status. Prime British examples include
grand Medieval mince pies, middle class Victorian Toad-in-the-holes, miner's
Cornish pastys, and elegant Beef Wellingtons. Other cultures & cuisines have
produced similar foods for similar reasons. About portable
pie:http://foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html#portable The earliest print recipes we're
finding for British Sausage Rolls date to the late 19th century.

[1875]
"Sausage Rolls.--Take half a sausage cut lengthwise for each roll. Enclose the half
in pastry six inches square and an eighth of an inch thick. Pinch the edges down
securely, and then bake the roll on a baking sheet in a well-heated oven. They may
be served hot or cold. Or take equal weights of cold dressed chicken and tongue, or
cold roast veal and ham. Mince the meat finely, and season well with salt, cayenne,
and powdered sweet herbs. The later may be omitted, if liked. Press the mince
together, and enclose it in a puff paste, or good pastry that is large enough to
contain it. Bake in a well-heated oven. These rolls are especially adapted for pic-
nic parties. Time to bake, half an hour for fresh meat, fifteen minutes for cooked
meat."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter,
Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 834)
[1909]
"Sausage Roll.
Ingredients.--1/2 lb. of sausages, rough puff paste.
Method.--Boil the sausages for 5 minutes, remove the skin, cut each sausage down
and across into four pieces, and place them on squares of pastry. Wet the edges,
fold over, leaving the ends open, and bake in a moderate oven for about 1/2 an
hour."
---Mrs. Beeton's Every-Day Cookery, New Edition [Ward, Lock & Co. Ltd.:London] 1909
(p. 626)
[NOTE: This recipe does not show up in Mrs. Beeton's 1874 edition.]

[1936]
"Sausage Rolls. Utensils--Two basins, pastry board, rolling pin, pastry brush,
saucepan, wooden spoon, egg-beater, baking sheet. Enough for 3 or 4 persons. Boil
the sausages for 5 minutes, then skin them, and when cold, cut them in half,
lengthways. Prepare half a pound of puff paste, and roll it out to about an eighth
of an inch thickness...Cut it into squares, about four inches and a half across.
Brush along the two side edges of these with cold water. Lay a piece of sausage on
the side nearest you, seeing that the paste reaches half an inch beyond each end of
the sausage. Now roll it over, until the far edge of the paste is reached, and
brush this edge over with cold water, to make it stick. Press the ends of the paste
gently together, and brush the tops of the rolls over with whole beaten-up egg. Lay
the rolls on a wet baking sheet, and bake in a moderately quick oven for 20 to 30
minutes. Stand them on a fold of paper to drain when taken from the oven. Arrange
them on a fancy dish-paper, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve, either hot or
cold. It is best to boil the sausages before making them into rolls, in order to
extract some of the fat. If this is not done the puff paste is apt to be sodden.
NOTE.--Home-made forcemeats can be used instead of sausage meat, if liked; either
raw or cooked meat, moistened with a little sauce, and seasoned."
---Cookery Illustrated and Household Managmenent, Elizabeth Craig [Odhams Press
Ltd.:London] 1936 (p. 80-81)

[1956]
"Sausage-Rolls
6 oz. quantity flaky pastry
3/4-1 lb. sausages or sausage meat
1 little finely chopped onion and parsley
salt and pepper
1 beaten egg with a pinch of salt
Skin sausages, incorporate onion, parsley, and seasoning with the sausage-meat.
Shape into rolls. Roll out pastry fairly thin into a long strip equal in width to
the shaped meat. Place the first roll of meat at one end of the strip, leaving
about 1 1/2-2 inches of pastry to turn over. Brush the edge lightly with beaten
egg. Fold over, press down firmly, and cut off with a knife. Continue till all meat
is used. Brush rolls with egg. Bake near top of hot oven (425 degrees F.) 25-30
minutes."
---<>Constance Spry Cookery Book, Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume [Pan Books
Ltd.:London] [1956] (p. 577)

PIEROGI
"Pirog. The Russian word for pie, together with its diminutive pirozhki (plural),
some from the word pir (meaning feast)...Pirozhki (pierogi in Poland) come in a
variety of shapes including small half-moons, and may be either fried or baked.
They are popular accompaniment to soups, especially clear broths and borshch, or as
part of zakuski (hors d'oeuvres)."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 609-610)

In Poland, pierogi are more like ravioli; in Russia they are more like pie. Both
recipes are generally considered "food of the people," as they are traditionally
inexpensive and filling. Pierogi/pirogi made with choux pastry (buttery, flaky
crusts) are 19th century recipes. Our general history notes on the topic of filled
pasta/pastry here:

POLAND:
"Pierogi or Pierozki: dumplings or "dough pockets" made by preparing thinly rolled
noodle dough, cutting into squares and filling them poaching the sealed triangles
until cooked. Fillings may be of meat, mushrooms, cheese, cabbage, or potatoes--all
seasoned. These are served with drawn butter, meat gravy, or sour cream. ---You Eat
What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions, Thelma Barer-Stein [Firefly
Books:Buffalo] 1999 (p. 350)

"...on the more modest end of the culinary scale, we come to buckwheat, which was
primarily consumed in the villages. During the Middle Ages, only two types of
buckwheat were known in Poland: Tartarian buckwheat ...called paganca in old Polish
texts; and true culinary buckwheat...The popular dumplings made with buckwheat and
known today in Southern Poland as pierogi ruskie did not enter Polish cookery until
the nineteenth century, when they came to Poland from Russia."
---Food and Drink in Medieval Poland: Rediscovering a Cuisine of the Past, Maria
Dembinska [University of Pennsylvania:Philadelphia] 1999 (p. 112)

RUSSIA:

"Pirog or Pirogi: a flaky envelope of dough that can be filled with almost
anything. This turnover is usually made large enough to feed six. The largest is
called Kilebiaka, while the smallest is called by the diminutive Piroshki. Pirojok
is the singular, but is never used because who eats just one? After baking in the
oven they are served piping hot, and a Slav will betray his origins by adding the
crust and adding just a little more butter."
---You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions, Thelma Barer-Stein
[Firefly Books:Buffalo] 1999 (p. 373)

"Pirogs and Pates...Pirogs (filled pastries) have always been essential for Russian
festivities. "Pirog Day"...the third day after a marriage, was traditionally the
time when the young bride offered guests a selection of pirogs and pirozhki. The
quintessential pirog in Russian culture...were round, but Molokhovets (Elena
Molokhovets as the author of an important 1861 Russian cookbook titled "A Gift fo
Young Housewives") preferred rectangular ones. Pirozhki are small pirogs. Whether
large or small, they come in many shapes and sizes with the doughs as varied as the
fillings...Some have special names. Karavaj...is a large, round loaf that was part
of the traditional offering of bread and salt, the Russian gesture of hospitality;
rastegai is a small open-faced pastry with a fish filling htat was customarily
served with ukhas and other fish soups; kurnik is another festive pie, one that was
often served at weddings. ..Molokhovets' pirogs encased the filling in pastry; with
a few exceptions, her pates just had a top layer of pastry or none at all. Her
pirogs tended to include pieces of meat, fish, or poultry with grains and
vegetables and almost no forcemeat (stuffing)..."
---Classic Russian Cooking, Elena Molokhovets' "A Gift to Young Housewives," 1861,
translated and introduced by Joyce Toomre [Indiana University Press:1992] (p. 273)

SAMOSAS/SANBUSAQ

"Samosa...are small, crisp, flaky pastries made in India, usually fried by

sometimes baked. They are stuffed with a variety of fillings such as cheese, cheese
and egg, minced meat with herbs and spices, vegetables such as potatoes, etc. Sweet
fillings are also popular. Samosas are usually eaten as a snack, often as a street
food. The Indian version is merely the best known of an entire family of stuffed
pastries or dumplings popular from Egypt and Zanzibar to C. Asia and W. China. Arab
cookery books of the 10th and 13th centuries refer to these pastries as sanbusak
(the pronunciation still current in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon), sanbusaq, or
sanbusaj, all reflecting the early medieval form of this Persian word: sanbosag.
Claudia Roden...quotes a poem by Ishiq ibn Ibrahim al-Mausili (9th century)
praising sanbusaj...In the Middle East the traditional shape of sanbusak is a half-
moon, usually with edges crimped or marked with the fingernails; but triangular
shapes are also used. In India triangular and cone-shaped samosas are popular. In
Afghanistan, where the name is sambosa, and in the Turkish-speaking nations, where
is its called samsa...it is made both in half-moon shapes and triangles. Sedentary
Turkish people such as the Uzbeks and the people of Turkey itself usually bake
their samsas, but nomads such as the Kazakhs fry them...These pastries were still
made in Iran as late as the 16th century, but they have disappeared from most of
the country today..."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd
edition, 2007(p. 690)

"Sanbusak...There is reason to believe that this preparation is the progenitor of

the empanada and calzone. Sanbusak,an Arabic word that comes from the Persian
sanbusa, means anything triangular, was first described as a stuffed pastry in the
early ninth century by Isaq ibn Ibrahim (d. 851), a well-known author from Iraq. In
al-Masudi's (died c. 956) Meadows of Gold, there are foods described that sound
like early sanbusak. The twelfth-century dietetic manual, the Liber de ferculis et
condimentis, which was translated from the Arabic...In the thirteenth century
Arabic cookery book of al-Baghdadai, sanbusaj is described as a stuffed triangular
pastry fried in sesame oil. Another early written recipe for sanbusaq appears in
the thirteenth-century cookbook attributed to Ibn al-Adim (d. 1262, the Kitab al-
wusla ila l-habib fir wasfi al-tayyibat wat-tib, where it is described as a small
half-moon of puff pastry stuffed with cheese, chopped meat, or qaymaq...By the
Thirteenth century, Sanbusak appears in Spain, almost as the same recipe, a
triangular fried pastry. Sanbusak are possible, although not as likely, the origin
of the Turkish borek and therefore the origin, too, of the savory pastries, the
Tunisian brik, Algerian burak, Moroccan briwat, and the Armenian beoreg, as well as
Spanish, Greek, Italian, and Sicilian versions."
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrrow:New York] 1999(p.
573)

"Samosa. A deep-fried snack, consisting of a crisp, triangular and layery wheat

casing filled with spiced meat or vegetables. In about AD 1300 Amir Khusrau
describes, among the foods of the Muslim aristocracy in Delhi, the 'samosa,
preapred from meat, ghee, onion, etc.'. About fifty yearsl later Ibn Battuta calls
it a samusak, describing it a s 'minced meat cooked with almonds, walnuts,
pistachios, onions and spices placed inside a thin envelope of wheat and deep fried
in ghee'. The Ain-i-Akbari lists, among dishes of meat cooked with wheat, the
qutab, 'which the people of Hind call the sanbusa'. All these descriptions suggest
that the amosa was not an item brought by these courts from their parent lands, but
was an existing indigenous product, perhaps enriched in its stuffing to cater to
royal courts."
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K. T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:
Delhi] 1998 (p. 224)

Looking for historic recipes & descriptions? Ask your librarian to help you find
Medieval Arab Cookery, Maxime Rodinson, A. J. Arberry & Charles Perry [Prospect
Books:2001]

Cream puffs & eclairs

Choux a la creme, profiteroles and cream puffs are said to have originated in
Renaissance France and Italy. Choux paste is different from other types of pastry
because when cooked, it rises and the finished product has a hollow center. As was
the custom of the day, these holes were variously filled with sweet or savory
fillings. Cream puffs, as we know them today, are usually filled with custard or
French cremes. Chocolate (as a glaze or filling) was an 18th century addition.
Here is the legend:
"Choux pastry is said to have been invented in 1540 by Popelini, Catherine de'
Medici's chef, but the pastrycook's art only truly began to develop in the 17th
century and greatest innovator at the beginning of the 19th century was indubitably
[Antonin] Careme..."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Jenifer Harvey Lang, editor [Crown:New York] 1988 (p.
777-8)

These are the facts:

"The real creation of choux paste is complex and cannot be established with any
certainty, not least because its manufacture is a relatively simple process and it
is possible that it was independently created in many places and at various times.
In principle, choux paste requires only four ingredients: water, fat, flour and
egg. The incorporation of an egg into what is effectively hot-water paste--and a
fairly obvious innovation for an inquisitive cook--would produce a kind of choux
paste. Tracing early cookery receipts is beset with difficulties, not least because
authors heedlessly repeat foundation-myth andedotes. Elizabeth David, writing about
the Florentine cooks that Catherine Medici was said to have brought with her to
France in 1533, states, "Those cooks...are part of a myth originating in mid-
nineteenth-century France, perhaps in the imagination of of of the popular
hsitorical novelists who flourished at that period, and certainly without existence
in historical fact...Researchers are also faced with establishing the meaning of
archaic terms and technical expressions. The nomenclature of of cookery is
complicated not only by difficulties in establish early usage, but also by the lack
of conformity of usage, not helped by the idiosyncrasies of early-modern spelling.
A single cookery method or culinary product may be concealed under a whole variety
of labels or (conversely and just a confusing) a single term may apply to one or
more different methods or receipts. Such etymological considerations--a focal point
for most investigations by cookery historians--bear upon
choux...pastry...Historically, we find at least two pastries referred to as
'choux'. It seems likely that the earliest use of the term in England was by was of
imported translations of French seventeenth-century cookery books. In La Varenne's
The French Pastry Cook of 1656, the reader is told of 'The manner how to make a
little Puff-paste Bunns, called in French Choux.' But this paste is neither the
puff-paste so beloved by French and English cooks from the sixteenth century or
earlier--and known in France as pate feuilletee and in England as butter pasted and
puff or puft paste--nor is it what today we would recognize as choux paste. The
ingredients for La Varenne's reciept includes a fist-size of fresh cheese...bruised
with a little flour, two eggs, a further handful of flour or salt. When mixed, this
is spread 'as thick as a finger', baked in two pieces and, once cooked, spread with
butter, sugar and rosewater. The two pieces are sandwiched together and warmed in
the oven, then decorated with sugar and preserved lemon. La Varenne also writes
about this type of paste made into morsels the size of small eggs. So here the term
'choux' seems to apply to both paste and to the small buns made from this paste.
With a little imagination, a round cooked choux bun, or fritter, resembles the
shape of a small cabbage. With this bun shape--choux being French for cabbage--we
can see (literally) the reason for the name of the paste. These cheese-based pastes
can be traced back to at least the thirteenth century where similar receipts for
fritters appear in anonymous Andalusian cookbooks...Massailot's ingredients for
'Benioles', or Petit Choux, are simliar to La Varenne's...In England one of the
several meanings of the words 'chou' and 'puffs' is amost identical to that of La
Varenne's and Massailot's 'choux' paste. Cotgrave, as early as 1611, describes
'petit chou' as 'puffe-cake, or loafe, made of butter, cheese, fine meal, and yolks
of egges.' He tells us that there are two kinds, 'one round, and plumpe like an
apple; the other also round, but much flatter'...in 1706 'petits choux' crops up in
Edward Phillips' dictionary, New World of English Words, 'a sort of Paste for
garninshing made of fat Cheese, Flower, Eggs, Salt, etc. bake'd in a Pye-pan, and
Ic'd over with fine Sugar'...there are several receipts found in early European
cookbooks and manuscripts that broadly refer to what today's cooks call 'choux
paste,' or what we have referred to as 'twice-cooked' pastry. The original French
name was pate a chaud...Importantly, the second cooking of these pastries results
in the formation of a pouch or pocket--ideal for filling with savoury of sweet
mixture. In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England there were other words that
sometimes (but by no means always) denoted a choux paste product, including
'benets'...'puffs' and certain types of 'fritters'...Certainly the idea of cooking
a paste of flour, butter and liquid and then adding eggs to produce a small puffed
pastry cake was known to some French cooks at the start of the seventeenth
century...But choux paste, though by other names, can be found in even earlier
books and manuscripts. Perhaps the earliest extant English receipt if found in A
Book of Cookrye (1591) first published in 1584. The ingredients for 'Benets' or
"Bennets'( a kind of fritter) are practially identical to those fo John Eveyln's
'French Fritters.'...The refined French name for these French Friters is 'Beignets
Souffles'...Eveyln tellus us that these fritters are of French origin, and this may
well be so. However, we can find several receipts recognizable as choux paste in
the German cook Sabina Welserin's manuscript of 1553. They are more explicit than
any contemporary French manuscripts and indicate long-standing familiarity with the
technique. One hazards a guess that it originated independently of Queen
Catherine's Popelin, or that it derived from an earlier common source...Most of the
earliest receipts for choux paste are for fritters...The term 'choux' had not
settled down [in the 18th century] to today's meaning...Today, the terms 'Cream Bun
or Puff', 'profiterole' and 'choux' seems to have settled down; the ambiguity no
longer an issue."
---"Powches, Puffs and Profiteroles: Early Choux Paste Receipts," David Potter,
Petits Propos Culinaires 73 [Prospect Books] 2003 (p. 25-40)

"Choux pastry is a thick batter made from flour, milk, butter, and eggs. Its most
typical application is in the making of small round buns (as used for profiteroles)
known in French as choux, literally cabbages, from their shape--hence pate a choux,
the pastry used for making them. The first reference to the term in English comes
in the 1706 edition of Edward Phillips's New World of English Words: Petits Choux,
a sort of paste for garnishing, made of fat Cheese, Flour, Eggs, Salt, etc., bak'd
in a Pye-pan, and Ic'd over with fine Sugar.' But it was not really until the late
nineteenth century that it achieved any sort of general currencey in English."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
75)

"From the sixteenth century onwards convents made biscuits and fritters to be sold
in the aid of good works...Missionary nuns took their talents as pastrycooks to the
French colonies. The nuns of Lima had a great reputation after the sixteenth
century, and chocolate owes a great deal to the convents. The puff pastries called
feuillantines were first made in the seventeenth century in a convent of that
name...Sugar and chocolate had now arrived on the scene; from the time of Louis XIV
onwards those delicacies became extremely popular...Gastronomy flourished in the
nineteenth century...Fauvel, a chef working for the famous pastry cook Chiboust,
invented the Genoese sponge and also had a hand in the creation of the gateau
Saint-Honore, so called in honour of the patron saint of pastrycooks. It is
garnished with choux pastry puffs, and choux pastry is also used in making eclairs
and choux a la creme, and a kind of chocolate eclair known as the religieuse (nun),
though no one knows why."
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat [Barnes & Noble:New York] 1992
(pages 243-244)

What are Profieroles?

"Profiteroles are small round choux-pastry buns with a filling. This can be either
savoury or sweet, but by far the commonest manifestation of the profiterole is with
a cream filling and a covering of chocolate sauce, and piled in large quanitities,
in the more ambitious type of restaurant, into a sort of pyramid. The word
originated in French as a diminutive form of profit, and so etymologically means
'small gains'--and indeed it may to begin with have denoted a 'little something
extra' cooked long with the master's main dish as a part of the servants' perks."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
269)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, profiteroles entered the Englsih

language from French in the 16th century:
"App. < Middle French, French profiterole (although this is first attested later in
the sense relevant to sense 1: 1549; 1881 in sense 2) < profit PROFIT n. + -erole,
diminutive suffix (extended form of -ole -OLE suffix1). French profiterole is
attested slightly earlier in its literal sense �small profit�: 1542.] . 1. A type
of savoury cake or dumpling, (perh.) baked in ashes. Obs. ?1515 A. BARCLAY Egloges
IV. sig. Bijv, To tost white sheuers, and to make prophytrolles And after talkyng,
oftymes to fyll the bolles. 1702 F. MASSIALOT Court & Country Cook 207 A Ragoo is
to be made..with which the Potage is to be garnish'd, the Profitrolle-loaf being
laid in the middle. 1727 R. BRADLEY Family Dict. s.v. Carp, They likewise make a
pottage of profitrolles with Carp flesh minced."

Croquembouche
Artistic confectionery presentations are known in many cultures and cuisines. Food
historians tell us 19th century French croquembouche likely evolved from Medieval
subtleties. Italian strufoli and Greek loukoumades, similar in concept and
presentation, are credited to Medieval Arabic cuisine. See notes at the end of this
message for details. Careme is generally credited for sparking modern French
cuisine's interest in fanciful presentations. Choux, the primary component of
modern croquembouche, creampuffs, are a 16th century invention.

What is Croquembouche?
"Croquembouche. A decorative cone-shaped preparation built up of small items of
patisserie or confectionery and glazed with a caramel syrup to make it crisp. The
croquembouche is usually placed on a base of nougat. It is built around a conical
mould, also called a croquembouche, which is removed through the base when the
small pieces are securely fixed to each other by the solidified caramel. It is
traditionally served in France at buffets, weddings and first-communion meals. The
traditional croquembouche is made of a little chou buns, sometimes filled with some
kind of cream and dipped in sugar cooked to the crack stage. Croquembouches are
also made with crystallized (candied) or sugar-coated fruits, brandy snaps, or
nougat. They can be decorated with sugar-coated almonds, sugar flowers or spun
caramel."
---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York] 2001 (p. 374)

"A croquembouche is a spectacular cone-shaped confection constructed of scored of

small choux-pastry buns. In France it traditionally forms a centrepiece at
celebrations such as weddings and first communions. The whole edifice is usually
glazed with caramelized sugar--hence the name, literally crunch in the mouth'."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
98)

"The typical shape of modern croequembouche is an inverted cone...However, when

Alice Wooledge-Salmon investigated the history of these confections she found
herself in a whole new world of architectural structures which had their origin in
the subtleties displayed in medieval tables and evolved, under the influence of
Careme in particular, into the category for grosses pieces de fonds, where they
kept company with Turkish mosques, Persian pavilions, Gothic towers, and other
pieces montees. The shape in those days was that of a Turkish fez, something like
that of the confections later known as sultanes. The same author goes on to
explain, vividly and in detail, how the whole genre spiralled upwards out of
control towards the end of the 19th century, but then subsided to manageable
dimensions--permitting the survival of a relatively plain range of croquembouches
through the 20th century, the basic form being simply a conical pile of choux balls
on a nougat base with spun sugar aigrette (plume) or other decoration at the top."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 228-9) [NOTE: Ms. Wooledge-Salmon's article on croquembouche may be found in
Petit Propos Culinaires 8 (1981).]
"In France and Belgium there were two main styles [of wedding cakes]. Regarded as
the more traditional was a giant croquembouche. This is a cone, wide at the base,
built up of small round choux pastries, which are filled with confectioner's cream
and dipped in hot toffee. As the toffee cools it solidifies, making a light brown
glossy construction. This can then be decorated with ribbons and sugared almonds,
birds and flowers, and often, for wedding, as small bride-and-groom model on the
top. For baptisms, first communions and other events, a similar though probably
smaller cake may also be prepared with slightly different decorative motifs. Each
guest will be served a number of choux broken out from the whole as a sweet course
in the wedding meal. Since the toffee which maintains the structure will soon
soften and the whole is liable therefore to sag or even collapse, it is a
confection that must be prepared and eaten with as little delay as possible. There
will normally be one such cake, its size determined by the number of guests. One
Breton patisserie reported in 1990 that 60 per cent of the cakes he supplied for
wedding were croquembouches; ten years earlier it had been 90 per cent. It is
possible to use the same construction technique to produce a variety of
objects...The same patissier reported that 65 per cent of his croquembouche orders
were for the basic type since others were 15 per cent more costly."
---Wedding Cakes and Cultural History, Simon R. Charsley [Routledge:London] 1992
(p. 20-1)

[1869]
"Croquenbouche [sic] of Choux Garnis
Make some paste as directed for Beignets Souffles (vide First Part, page 188); Put
the paste in a paper funnel; cut the point off, leaving an opening 1/4 inch in
diameter; squeeze out the past on to a baking-sheet, in portions of the size of a
large nut; brush them over with egg, flattening the point at the top; Put the
baking-sheet in the oven, and, when the puffs or choux are done, make a very small
hole in each; put some Apricot Jam in a paper funnel; insert the point in the hole
made in the puffs, and fill them with jam; Oil a plain mould; Boil some sugar as
described in the preceding recipe; dip the puffs in the sugar, and line the mould
with the puffs placed side by side; when cold, turn the croqenbouche out of the
mould on to a napkin on a dish; and serve."
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated from the French and adapted for
English use by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son, and Marston:London] 1869] (p.
536)
[NOTE: This book also contains recipes for Croquenbouche of fruit and
crocquenbouche de Genoise (a type of sponge cake).]
Related foods? beignets, profiteroles & strufoli.
Italian Strufoli & Greek Loukumades
These sweet treats descend from ancient fritter-type confections which were enjoyed
in many ancient Mediterranean cultures and cuisines.

"Jalebi. A Indian sweet composed of whorls of batter, deep fried and soaked in
syrup...Similar confections are made all over the Middle East. In neighboring
Afghanistan jalebi are traditionally served with fish during the winter months...In
Iran the jalebi are known as zoolabiya...and are strill often made for special
occasions, given to poor people at Ramadan, etc...In the Middle East this item has
interesting romantic and poetic associations. It is menitoned in stories of the
Thousand and One Nights...Some belive that the somewhat similar Arabic luqmat el
qadi (meaning the judge's mouthful) may be the original version of this confection,
dating back to early medieval times; there is a recipe in al-Baghdadi's cookery
book of the 13th century. The dough for luqmat el qadi is a plain yeast one, and
made with honey and including rosewater is preferred by many. The finished articles
may be heaped in a pyramid as the syrup sticks them together. They are sold by
street vendors during festivals. This name lives on in Greece and Cyprus as
loukoumathes/loukdoumades, which are so popular in Cyprus that in towns and large
villages there are small shops which sell nothing else."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 412)

"Luqam Al-Qadi. Make a firm dough. When fermented, take in the size of hazel-nuts,
and fry in sesame oil. Dip in syrup, and sprinkle with fine-ground sugar...'judge's
mouthfuls': another sweetmeat was called Calif's mouthful."
---"A Baghdad Cookery Book," Medieval Arab Cookery, essays and translations by
Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Perry and Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 88)

Italian Christmas strufoli

"Christmas Eve. Many Italians begin Christmas Eve with a sumptious meal. The meal
is all the more satisfying for those who follow the Roman Catholic custom of
fasting on Christmas Eve. Traditionally, the Christmas Eve meal is meatless,
although many delicious seafood, grain, and vegetable courses may be served. Eel is
a favorite main course for this meal....Christmas Day...the Italians eat Christmas
dinner at midday on December 25. In Italy the menu varies from region to region.
Both roast turkey and ham are popular main courses, and a bowl of lentils with
sausage is often served as a side dish. In addition, many Italians serve pannetone,
a sweet Christmas bread originally from Milan, as a Christmas dessert...Amaretti,
almond cookies, cannoli, tube of pastry filled with sweetened ricotta cheese and
candied fruit, and strufoli, fried dough balls, often appear on the dessert table."
---Encyclopedia of Christmas and New Year's Celebrations, Tanya Gulevich, 2nd
edition [Omnigraphics:Detroit] 2003 (p. 365)

"Christmas-is one of Italy's most important holidays...Traditionally a 24-hour fast

precedes Christmas Day, which generally means that no meats or meat products are
eaten. Eels for Christmas Eve are a great favorite, but in many areas tuna, clams,
or squid with pasta form the main dish or may be served as an accompaniment to
capitone...Some people prefer frito misto di verdure, an array of precooked batter-
fried vegetables. The pre-Christmas tradition of meatless meals is climaxed with a
display of treasured regional desserts, cookies, and sweets, and many made only at
Christmastime, such as cullurelli, the sweet pastries form Calabria-Lucania made by
deep-frying small balls of dough then serving hot with sugar; the traditional
Neapolitan sweet called struffoli alla napolitana, made with tiny drops of fried
dough bound in a rich honey syrup and garnished with tiny colored candies; the
special Christmas treat prepared in Abruzzo-Molise called calucuni di molise,
actually a sweet ravioli filled with a puree of chestnut and chocolate then fried
and served with cinnamon sugar; and Bologna's traditional Christmas cake,
certosina, a rich dark honey cake with bitter chocolate, fruits and nuts and the
aroma of anise seeds and cinnamon."
---You Eat What You Are; People, Culture and Food Traditions, Thelma Barer-Stein
[Firefly Books:Ontario] 1999 (p. 267)

Related foods? Croqembouche & Fritters.

About eclairs
The food history encyclopedias (including the Larousse Gastronomique) and reference
books all describe eclairs but provide little if any details regarding their
origin. This probably means the eclair is a product of food evolution. There is
some conjecture that perhaps Antonin Careme (1784-1833), a famous pastry chef for
French royalty might have created something akin to eclairs. The Oxford English
Dictionary traces the term "eclair" in the English language to 1861 "Vanity Fair
[magazine]2 Feb 50/1 A Waiter, whereon, stood..a plate of macaroons, eclairs and
sponge cake." In French, the word eclair means a flash of lightning.

"Eclair. The primary meaning of eclair in French is lightning', and one (not very
convincing) explanation advanced for its application to these cream-filled choux-
pastry temptations is that it was suggested by the light gleaming from their
coating of fondant icing."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2003 (p.
117)

The oldest recipe we have for eclairs in an American cookbook was published in
1884:

"Cream cakes
1 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup pastry flour
5 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately
Boil the water, salt, and butter. When boiling, add the dry flour, stir well for
five minutes, and when cool add the eggs. This is such a stiff mixture, many find
it easier to mix with the hand, and some prefer to add the eggs whole, one at a
time. When well mixed, drip, in tablespoonfuls, on a buttered baking-pan, some
distance apart. Bake twenty to thirty minutes, or till brown and well pugged. Split
when cool, and fill with cream.
Eclairs--bake the Cream Cake mixture in pieces four inches long and one and a half
wide. When cool, split and fill with cream. Ice with chocolate or vanilla frosting.

Cream for Cream Cakes and Eclairs

1 pint milk, boiled
2 tablespoonfuls cornstarch
3 eggs, well beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 saltspoonful salt, or
1 teaspoonful butter

Wet the cornstarch in cold milk, and cook in the boiling milk ten minutes. Beat the
eggs; add the sugar and the thickened milk. Cook in the double boiler five minutes.
Add the salt or butter, and when cool, flavor with lemon, vanilla, or almond."
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln [1884] (p. 389)

Related foods? Napoleons & Baklava

Pot pie
Meat pies descend from Medieval culinary traditions. The standard pie is oven-baked
in a special container (metal, earthenware) created for the purpose. "Pot pies,"
first surfacing in the late 18th century, are composed with similar ingredients.
The difference? They are cooked on open hearths in pots, kettles, or dutch ovens.
Since many early cookbooks omit actual baking instructions, it is possible some of
the meat pies could have been baked in either oven or pot. Pennsylvania Dutch
Slippery Pot Pie (Hinkelboi)offers yet another delicious variation. Ironically?
Today's "pot pies" are baked in the oven or heated in the microwave.
One crust or two?
Our survey of historic American cookbooks confirms "pot pie" always has a top
crust. It may, or may not, have a bottom crust. In some cases, the bottom crust is
a layer of forcemeat(stuffing) and the top layer is pastry.

Oldest recipes
A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles/Mitford M. Matthews [1951]
provides a 1792 print reference to "Pot Pie:" "1792. Monette Miss. Calley (1848)
II. 8 The standard dinner dish at log rollings, house-raisings and harvest days,
was a large pot-pie." (p. 1294). The 1805 edition of Hannah Glasse's Art of Cookery
Made Plain and Easy classified "Pot Pie" in a special section titled "Several New
Receipts Adapted To The American Mode of Cooking." This print evidence suggests the
"American-ness" of the Pot Pie. This book also offered "American" recipes for
Indian Pudding, Mush, Buck-Wheat Cakes, Pumpkin Pie, and Dough Nuts.
[1805]
"To make a pot Pie. Make a crust and put it round the sides of your pot, then cut
your meat in small pieces, of whatever kind the pot pie is to be made of, and
season it with pepper and salt, then put it in the pot and fill it with water,
close it with paste on the top; it will take three hours doing."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Mrs. [Hannah] Glasse, a new Edition with
modern Improvements, facsimile 1805 edition printed by Cottom and Stewart and sold
at their Book-Stores in Alexandria and Fredericksburg 1805, introduction by Karen
Hess [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 1997 (p. 144)
[1839]
An Apple Pot-Pie
Rub the bottom and sides of a porridge-pot, or small oven, with butter, and then
with dry flour. Roll out some pieces of plain or standing paste about half an inch
thick, line the sides of the pot or oven with the pieces of paste, letting them
nearly touch the bottom. Having pared and sliced from the cores some fine cooking
apples, nearly fill the oven with them; pour in enough water to cook them tender,
put pieces of paste on the top, or put a paste all over the top, and bake it with
moderate heat, having a fire both on and under the oven. When the apples are very
soft, the crust brown, and the liquor quite low, turn the crust bottom upwards in a
large dish, put the apples evenly over it, strew on a large handful of brown sugar,
and eat it warm or cold, with sweet milk. This is quite a homely pie, but a very
good one."
---the Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile reprint of 1839 edition
stereotyped by Shepard & Stearns:Cincinnati [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 267-8)

A Peach Pot-Pie
A Peach pot pie, or cobler, as it is often termed, should be made of clingstone
peaches, that are very ripe, and then pared and sliced from the stones. Prepare a
pot or oven with paste, as directed for the apple pot-pie, put in the prepared
peaches, sprinkle on a large handful of brown sugar, pour in plenty of water to
cook the peaches without burning them, though there should be but very little
liquor or syrup when the pie is done. Put a paste over the top, and bake it with
moderate heat, raising the lid occasionally, to see how it is baking. When the
crust is brown, and the peaches very soft, invert the crust on a large dish, put
the peaches evenly on, and grate loaf sugar thickly over it. Eat it warm or cold.
Although it is not a fashionable pie for company, it is very excellent for family
use, with cold sweet milk."
---ibid (p. 268)

[1845]
"Pot Pie or Soup
Scraps and crumbs of meat make a very good dinner, when made into soup. Put all
your crumbs of meat into the dinner-pot. Slice in two onions, a carrot; put in a
little salt and pepper, and water enough to cover it; then cover it with a crust,
made with cream tartar...Stew it one hour and a half, or two hours. A flour
thickening should be put in five minutes before you take it up. You make bake your
potatoes, or slice them, and cook them with the meat." (p. 56)

"Chicken Pot Pie

Wash and cut the chicken into joints; boil them about twenty minutes; take them up,
wash out your kettle, fry two or three slices of fat salt pork, and put in the
bottom of the kettle; then put in the chicken, with about three pints of water, a
pices of butter the size of an egg; sprinkle in a little pepper, and cover over the
top with a light crust. It will require one hour to cook." (p. 43)
The New England Economical Housekeeper and Family Receipt Book, Mrs. E.A. Howland
[E.P. Walton and Sons:Montpelier VT] 1845 (p. 56) [NOTE: Mrs. Howland also offers a
recipe for Chicken Pie. Indredients are similar to the pot pie except it is baked
in a large tin pan lined with crust (top & bottom).]
[1877]
Chicken pot pie, Buckeye Cookery, Estelle Woods Wilcox

Slippery Pot Pie (Pennsylvania Dutch/Maryland)

"The Pennsylvania Dutch know this more commonly as Hinkelboi, not 'chicken in a
blanket,' the literal sense of the original German. Although Hinkelboi is
technically similar to a Pennsylvania Dutch chicken Botboi (pot pie) and may even
tasted like one, it must not be confused with the true Botboi, a baked stew
thickened with large, flat noodles. Here, the chickens are simply encased in a
crust. Many Pennsylvania Dutch also call the pot pie noodles Botboi, which adds a
layer of confusion to the evolution of this dish. Nevertheless, both Hineklboi
baked in a pot and chicken Botboi have a common ancestor. The meat pie, after all,
is nothing more than a stew or casserole in a crust, hence the infinite variations.
We tend to associate meat pies with English cookery, but they were also known in
medieval Germany. Originally, German meat pies were commonly made of fish for
consumption during times of religious fasting, but gradually, beef and pork pies
gained in popularity. However, not having their own term for meat pies, the Germans
borrowed pastete from the French as early as the fourteenth century. Thus, chicken
pie became Huhner-Pastete. Technically, a proper German Pastete must have an upper
crust; otherwise, to the Pennsylvania Dutch, it would fall into the category of a
tart of Kuche, like pumpkin pie. To safeguard the distinction, many Pennsylvania
Dutch use the term Boi, from English pie; for any sort of meat pie, hence
Hinkelboi... As daily fare, meat pies were enormously popular with the Pennsylvania
Dutch because they made use of leftovers or poorer grades for meat. They could be
baked head and reheated or warmed over the next day. They were an ideal meal for
travelers and were often served to field hands during their breaks."

"Chicken Pie in a Pot. Huhner mit einer Decke, Hinkelboi

Cut up 2 young hens, place them in a deep pot lined with pastry dough and thin
slices of salt pork or ham. Pour cold water or a cold, weak meat stock over the
chicken. For a small chicken pie, use 2 ounces of butter, a little flour, cover
with a light pastry dough, and let it bake 1 hour in the oven."
---Sauerkraut Yankees: Pennsylvania Dutch Foods & Foodways, William Woys Weaver,
2nd edition [Stackpole Books:Mechanicsburg PA] 2002 (p. 57-59)
What made it "slippery?"
Slip engraving was a traditional decorative technique used on earthenware pottery.
Pie plates were the most popular. Presumably there is a connection.
"Artistically considered, the ornamental earthenware of the Dutch potteries follows
the lines of earliest known European potteries, and its 'slip-decoration' or
'sgraffito' which was developed in Southern Europe, particularly in Engalnd and in
Italy. As the Romans inaugurated slip decoration during the time that there was a
larte Roman colony in the Palatinate on the Rhine wehre the Dutch came from, it is
faily clear that the Dutch sgraffito ware derives from the early Roman days. France
copied the art from the Germans, and so did England...Slip-engraving is...a
treatment consisting of entirely covering the outer surface of the utensil with the
slip of clay, and then etching on it the design. The Dutch in America added new
values to the art, including the use of a vivid green by means of copper or
verdigris...The pie plate, or poi schuessel was the most general article of
sgraffito work, and the most widely distributed. The pie has always been a great
favorite of the Dutch, sharing this preference with New England...The Dutch...made
a wider variety of pies than any other group in America...The reason why the
sgraffito poi scheussel or pie plate of earthenware was so much used was because of
the Dutch ovens so generally in use. When the Pennsylvania Dutch hausfrau baked her
bread on the Dutch oven hearth, she was able, without any additional fuel cost, to
bake pies also in the same oven at the same time. Tin pie plates being scarce or
non-existent in the early days, her need resulted in earthen pie plates; and her
collection of poi schuessel became a source of pride to her. The potter took note
and slip-decorated the pie plates."
---Pennsylvania Dutch Cookery, J. George Frederick [Business Bourse:New York] 1935
p. 251-252)

The earliest print evidence we find for "Slippery Beef Pot Pie" was a restaurant
advertisement published in The Morning Herald, Hagerstown Maryland, July 2, 1965
(p. 32).

Relate foods? Cobbler, href="#porkpies">Pork Pies & Shepherd's Pie.

Pumpkin pie
Recipes for stewed pumpkins tempered with sugar, spices and cream wrapped in pastry
trace their roots to Medieval cuisine. We find several period European/Middle
Eastern recipes combining fruit, meat and cheese similarly spiced and presented.
The Columbian Exchange [16th century] flooded the "old world" with "new world"
foods. These new foods (pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, corn etc.) were
incorporated/assimilated/adapted into traditional European cuisines, each in their
own way and time. Culinary evidence confirms it took several generations before
many "new world" foods were accepted by the general public. Pumpkins seem to have
skipped this honeymoon period. They were similar to "old world" gourds and squash,
and superior in flavor. They were also just as easy to cultivate. As such, pumpkins
(aka pompions) were embraced almost immediately.
If pumpkins are a "New World" food, why are they sometimes listed as ingredients in
Medieval European recipes? If you notice, these references are usually found in
Medieval cooking books with modernized recipes. The original recipes simply call
for squash or gourds. Why substitute pumpkin? Some Medieval recipes for members of
the curcurbit family (gourds, calabash, cucumbers, melons) are more palatable to
contemporary tastes if you make them with pumpkin. It's also readily available.

"3. Winter Squash or Pumpkin Soup...The curcurbits are a large, rich family
including cucumbers, melons, and squashes. But the Old World knew neither the
winter squash (Curcurbita pepo) nor the pumpkin (Curcurbita maxima), both of which
were brought from the Americas. If we can trust the title of the recipe, Congordes,
and if we think of the depictions of squash (zucche) harvests in the many
manuscripts comprising the Tacuinum sanitatis--a medical treatise of Arab origin
that lists the medicinal properties of various foods--the cook is probably dealing
here with gourds (Lagenaria vulgaris). These came originally from southern Asia,
and were well known in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. But without fresh gourds
to hand, you can prepare this soup with winter squash or pumpkin."
---The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy, Odile Redon, Francoise
Sabban, & Silvano Serventi, translated by Edward Schneider [University of Chicago
Press:Chicago] 1998 (p. 55-6)

"As for pumpkin pie, in particular, in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England

"people of substance" were familiar with a form of pumpkin pie that both followed
the medieval tradition of "rich pies of mixed ingredients" and also bore
resemblance to the consumption of apple-stuffed pumpkins typically engaged in by
people of lesser substance...Pumpkin pie went out of fashion in Britain during the
eighteenth century. Perhaps Edward Johnson reflected this emerging attitude in the
1650s when he offered as a sign of New England's progress toward prosperity the
fact that in most households people were eating "apples, pears, and quince tarts
instead of their former Pumpkin Pies." Pumpkin had been superceded by the more
civilized fruits (free of association with the natives), of which the settlers had
first been deprived. Such an anticipation that pumpkin pie was on the way out was
premature, as far as the developments on this side of the Atlantic were concerned."
---America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking, Keith Stavely &
Kathleen Fitzgerald [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill] 2004 (p. 67-8)
[NOTE: This book contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. Please
ask your librarian to help you find a copy.]
"Among vegetables, the Northeastern Indians made particularly lavish use of squash,
even more than other American Indians, and especially of pumpkin. Both squash and
pumpkin were baked, usually by being placed whole in the ashes or embers of a dying
fire (in the case of squash, the acorn and butternut varieties were preferred) and
they were moistened afterwards wtih some form of animal fat, or maple syrup, or
honey; and both were also made into soup. When pumpkin was made into a soup, it
often underwent some enriching which converted it into something more like a stew.
A seventeenth century Oneida recipe specified that pumpkin should be "boiled with
meat to the consistency of potato soup."
---Eating in America: A History, Waverley Root & Richard de Rochemont [William
Morrow:New York] 1976 (p. 41)

Pumpkin pie then & now

The earliest European recipes for pumpkin pie appear in the 17th century. They are
titled "pompion." The early English use of the word "pompion" (French for
"pumpkin") may imply these recipes originated in France.

[1653]
"Potage of pumpkin.
Seethe well your pumpkin, so that it will be more thickened than ordinary, then fry
a chibol with butter, and put it in with salt, and serve with pepper." (p. 213)
[NOTE: potage is akin to soup]
"Potage of pumpkin with milk.
After it is well sod, pass it through a straining pan, and leave not much broth in
it, because of the milk which you must put in it. When it is well seasoned with
milk and a little butter, stove or soak your bread, and serve with pepper if you
will." (p. 213-4)

"Tourte of pumpkin.
Boile it with good milk, pass it through a straining pan very thick, and mix it
with sugar, butter, a little salt and if you will, a few stamped almonds; let all
be very thin. Put it in your sheet of paste; bake it. After it is baked, besprinkle
it with sugar and serve."
---The French Cook, Francois Pierre La Varenne [1653], Translated into English in
1653 by I.D.G., Introduced by Philip and Mary Hyman [East Sussex:Southover Press}
2001 (p. 199-200)
[NOTE: the word pumpkin is thought to derive from the old French word pompion,
which in turn is derived from the Greek pepon, meaning melon. The tip of this
complicated linguistic puzzle!]

[1685]
"To make a Pumpion Pie.
Take a pound of pumpion and slice it, a handful of thyme, a little rosemary, and
sweet marjoram stripped off the stalks, chop them small, then take cinnamon,
nutmeg, pepper, and a few cloves all beaten, also ten eggs, and beat them, them mix
and beat them all together, with as much sugar as you think fit, then fry them like
a froise, after it is fried, let it stand till it is cold, then fill your pie with
this manner. Take sliced apples sliced thin round ways, and lay a layer of the
froise, and a layer of apples with currants betwixt the layers. While your pie is
sitted, put in a good deal of sweet butter before your close it. When the pie is
baked, take six yolks of eggs, some white-wine or verjuyce, and make a caudle of
this, but not too thick, but cut up the lid, put it in, and stir them well together
whilst the eggs and pumpion be not perceived, and so serve it up."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, facisimile reprint 1685 edition [Prospect
Books:Devon] 2000 (p. 224)
[NOTE: according to the glossary in the back of this book, a "Froise" was like a
pancake or omelette.]

[1796] "Pompkin (pie)

American Cookery, Amelia Simmons

[1805]
"To make Pumpkin-Pie.
Take the Pumpkin and peel the rind off, then stew it till it is quite soft, and put
thereto one pint of pumpkin, one pint of milk, one glass of of malaga wine, one
glass of rose-water, if you like it, seven eggs, half a pound of fresh butter, one
small nutmeg, and sugar and salt to your taste."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Mrs. [Hannah] Glasse, a new Edition with
modern Improvements, facsimile 1805 edition printed by Cottom and Stewart and sold
at their Book-Stores in Alexandria and Fredricksburg 1805, introduction by Karen
Hess [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 1997 (p. 138)

[1824]
"Pumpkin pudding
Stew a fine sweet pumpkin till soft and dry, rub it through a sieve, mix with the
pulp six eggs quite light, a quarter of a pound of butter, half a pint of new milk,
some pounded ginger and nutmeg, a wine glass of brandy, and sugar to your taste.
Should it be too liquid, stew it a little dryer; put a paste round the edges and in
the bottom of a shallow dish or plate, pour in the mixture, cut some thin bits of
paste, twist them and lay them across the top and bake it nicely."
--- The Virginia House-Wife, Mary Randolph, with Historical Notes and Commentaries
by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia] 1984 (p. 154)

[1937]
"Pumpkin or Squash Pie
2 cups strained pumpkin or squash
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 slightly beaten eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cream or evaporated milk
1 unbaked pastry shell
Mix pumpkin or squash, sugar, salt, and spices thoroly. Add eggs, and cream. Pour
into 1 large or 2 small unbaked pastry shells. Bake in hot oven (450 degrees) about
10 minutes; then reduce heat to moderate (325 degrees) about 35-40 minutes, or
until filling is firm. Serve warm or cold, plain or with sweetened whipped cream.
(Makes one 10-inch pie)."
---My New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, revised edition, twentieth printing
[Meredith Publishing:Des Moines IA] 1930, 1937 (Chapter XI, p. 6)

Related recipes? Sweet potato pie & Carrot cake.

Quiche
The practice of baking sweet and savory dishes composed of eggs, cream, and spices
in pastry shells is ancient. Quiche, as we know to today, evolved from Ancient
Roman patinea (cheesecake) and Medieval European tarts. Medieval recipes for a Tart
in Ember Day (Ember day was a Christian meatless day) and Tart de Bry resemble
modern quiche. Food historians place the modern recipe for quiche in (what is
currently) the Lorraine region of France. In medieval times, this area was known as
Lothringen, a Germanic kingdom.
"Quiche. --The quiche or kiche (sometimes the word is spelt in this way) originates
on Lorriane, although some writers claim that this kind of savory custard tart
belongs to German cookery, since in German cookery, the quiche is known under the
name kuchen, from which the word kiche could have come. There are several kinds of
quiche. Each region of Lorraine of Alsace has its own, and each claims that this
alone is the real story. The name quiche is also used for some sweet custard tarts
served as a sweet. That these should be so called is wrong, because the real
quiche, that of Lorraine, is always served as hors- d'euvre and never for the sweet
course."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne, introductions by A. Escoffier and PH.
Gilbert, edited by Charlotte Turgeon and Nina Froul [Crown Publishers:New York]
1961 (p. 797)

"A quiche is a pastry cooked a cooked savoury custard containing items such as
vegetables, bacon, or cheese. It is a specialty of the Alsace-Lorraine region,
which has been bandied between France and Germany over the centuries, and the term
quiche itself is a French version of kuche, a word from the German dialect of
Lorraine...The authentic quiche Lorraine contains only smoked bacon in adition ot
the cream-and-egg custard, but many alternative versions have grown up that include
cheese and onion."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 274-
5)

"Quiche. A French [dish]...most prominent in Lorraine...It was only at the

beginning of the 19th century that the term became current, and it then meant a
tart with a filling of egg and cream...The version now well known, which includes
bacon (and sometimes cheese) in the filling, was originally a variant known as
quich au lard. Whereas the original could be eaten on meatless days, this variant--
now known around the world as quiche Lorraine--could not. Nonetheless, a quiche
Lorraine is perceived as something with only a slight meat content. This may
account for the reputation it acquired in some English-speaking countries, where it
only became familiar in the latter part of the 20th century, as a dish not suitable
for "he-men" or " real men." At the end of the 20th century the quiche has become
the subject of innuerable variations..."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 644)

Quiche in America
While quiche was known in Europe, it did not catch on in the USA until post-WWII.
The quiche trend happened in the 1960s-1970s. Why the decline? The cholesterol-
conscious 80s, coupled with the phrase Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, placed this egg
custard pie in the realm of heavy and unhealthy. Today, quiche enjoys a steady
following of people rediscovering delicious and versatile foods.

"Although a rudimentary quiche appeared in Irma Rombauer's self-published Joy of

Cooking (1931), Hot Quiche Lorraine Tartlets in June Platt's Plain and Fancy
Cookbook (1941), and a full-sized Quiche Lorraine in the 1951 Joy of Cooking,
quiche madness didn't descend upon us until the late 1970s and go-go 80s, when
chefs outdid themselves dreaming off-the-wall combos..."
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century,
Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 206)
[NOTE: Rombauer's 1931 recipe href=#1931joyquiche">here.]

"In a review of New York's Leopard restaurant in the February 1970 issue of
Gourmet, Donald Aspinwall Allan praised the appetizers because "there is always a
good quiche," including onion, ham, leek, or anchovy and olive. Restaurants and
caterers soon learned that while quiche was both a popular and hearty appetizer, it
was also sturdy, and could be held for hours...Quiche's enduring popularity into
the Seventies had a great deal to do with the scope it allowed creative cooks. As
one Bon Appetit reader commented, while inquiring after the recipe for the moussaka
quiche...served at The Cottage Crest in Massachusetts, "There seems to be no end to
culinary imagination when it comes to making quiches."...Gourmet (October 1971)
even published a recipe for cranberry-carrot dessert quiche to be served with
whipped cream. Plain old quiche Lorraine--with cheese, of course--was still around,
but it was generally considered much too boring...By the early Eighties Americans
had been served too many quiches...Even Craig Claiborne, quiche's early promoter,
declared that he wouldn't be caught dead serving it."
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [Simon &
Schuster:New York] 1995 (p. 317)

Real men don't eat quiche

Remember this poular catch phrase from the '80s? Here's how it all began.

"Rejoice all you A,erican men who are sick of having Alan Alda held up as your role
model, raquetball held up as your sports model and quiche held up as your food
model. You have a new hero. His name is Bruce Feirstein, he is an author, and his
credo is simple and pure: 'Real men don't eat quiche'. Feinrtien has set out to
define, once agaiin--to a nation that has somehow forgotten it--what real men are
and what real men do. The first salvo of his Real Men Manifesto appeaaars in the
May issue of Playboy; it will be followed by a book and a movie...for your
pleasure...a sampling of Fierstein's philosophy:
Real men do not have 'meaningful dialogs'. Real men do not find things 'super'.
Real men do not wear anything with more than four zippers. Real men do not wear
bikini underwear. Real men do not have vanity license plates...Four things you
won't find in real men's pockets: lip balm, breath freshener, opera tickets and
recipes for quiche. A real man would be an airline pilot; a quiche-eater would be a
travel agent...The real man's diet: Steak, hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon
cheeseburger, pizza burger, chili burger...ham and Swiss on rye, spaghetti,
macaroni and cheese, french fries, home fries, hashbrowns, potato chips, pretzels,
beer, imported beer, imported dark beer...corn on the cob, orange soda."
---"Real men will avoid the quiche of death," Bob Green, Chicago Tribune, April 1,
1982 (p. C1)

"Egads, it looks as if the quiche-eaters really are about to take over the world.
Recently, we discussed the real-men vs. quiche-eaters controversy...Now I have come
across startling evidence that incates the quiche-eaters are becoming a greater
force than anyone may have previously imagined...'The world is changing,' [Eric
Weber, author of How to Pick up Girls] told me. 'There's a new kind of person out
there--a beaten-up single who's been through the wars. Generally he is past the
traditional marrying age, or got divorced relatively young. He's in his late 20s,
his 30s even his early 40s."
---An all-too-real man caves in to quiche," Bob Greene, Chicago Tribune, April 12,
1982 (p. D1)

A selection of Quiche Lorraine recipes:

[1903]
1230 Quiche a la Lorraine (for 10 persons)
Line an 18-20 cm (7-8 in) plain or fluted flan case with ordinary short paste
taking care that the sides are a little higher than the rim of the case. Cover the
base with thin rashers of bacon which have been blanched and lightly fried in
butter. These my be arranged alternatively with slices of Gruyere cheese but the
addition of cheese is optional and is not correct as far as local custom is
concerned. Fill the flan with a mixture made of 4 dl (14 fl oz or 1 3/4 U.S. cups)
cream, 3 eggs and a pinch of salt. Finish by dotting the surface with 25 g (1 oz)
butter cut in small pieces; bake in a moderate oven for 30-35 minutes and cut into
triangles whilst just warm."
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier [Le Guide Cuiliniare
1903], The First Translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann
[Wiley:New York] 1979 (p. 148)
[NOTE: This recipe is included in the chapter: Hors-d'oeuvre. Escoffier also
provides a recipe for Quiches au Jambon.]
[1927]
"Quiche Lorraine
This is a milk flan in which fresh cream replaces the milk: the use of fresh cream
is characteristic of quiche. The recipes vary a little bit: the oldest use some
bread dough, and the bacon used here was often not included.The quiche is molded in
a tart pan made of thick steel with a fluted edge and is served in the cooking
utensil itself. This is due to the difficulty of unmoulding the quiche without
breaking the crust unless you have a large spatula with a shortened handle, which
is used in some regions in the east, that you slide under the tarts to take them
out of the mold. Even so, as far as a quiche is concerned, this is often useless,
because the custard spills out a little and makes the crust stick to the serrated
borders of the tart pan. When you do not have a serrated tart pan, you can make the
quiche in a flan circle...As for all preparations of this type, a quiche is served
quite hot. Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes (including time for resting the dough). Serves
8.
For the dough: 200 grams (7 ounces) of flour; 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces, 7
tablespoons) of butter; 3/4 deciliter ( 2 2/1 fluid ounces, scant 1/3 cup) of
water; a pinch of salt.
For the filling: about 200 grams (7 ounces) of lean bacon; 50 grams (1 3/4 ouces, 3
� tablespoons) of butter; a good 1/2 liter (generous 2 cups) or ordinary cream,
completely fresh; 5 medium eggs; 2 nice pinches of salt. A tart pan with fluted
sides about 25 centimeters (10 inches) in diameter
Procedure. Prepare the dough as directed...kneading it twice. Let it rest for 1
hour. Meanwhile, trim the bacon of its rind, then cut into it small slices 1/2
centimeter (3/16 inch) thick. Blanche them...and drain them. With the rolling pin,
roll out the dough as for a tart into a nice round pancake that has an even
thickness of at least 12 centimeter (3/16 inch) and a diameter of 25-26 centimeters
(10-10 1/2 inches). Slide your two hands under the dough to transfer it to a tart
pan that has been generously buttered; with the ends of your fingers, press the
dough into the bottom and particularly onto the fluted sides The fold the dough
over the sides and pass the rolling pin over it to cut off the excess. Beat the
eggs as for an omelet and salt them, then gradually mix the cream into them. Divide
the butter into thin slices and spread them out over the bottom of the quiche.
Place the bacon on top, pressing lightly on it so that the pieces stick to the
bottom and will not float to the surface when the custard is poured into it. The
cover everything with the custard, without allowing any to spill onto the sides of
the dough. Carefully slide the tart pan into the oven a good medium heat coming
mostly from the bottom. Allow 30-35 minutes for cooking."
---La Bonne Cuisine, Madame E. Saint-Ange, 1927 edition translated and with an
introduction by Paul Aratow, forward by Madeleine Kamman [Ten Speed Press:Berkeley
CA] 2005 (p. 702)
[NOTE: We have a copy of the original 1927 French edition. If you would like the
original recipe please let us know. Happy to fax or mail.]

[1931]
"Cheese Custard Pie
4 Servings
In Switzerland we had a vile tempered cook named Marguerite. Her one idea, after
being generally disagreeable, was to earn enough to own a small chalet on some high
peaak where she could cater to mountain climbers. While she was certainly not born
with a silver spoon in her mouth--although it was large enough to hold several--I
am convinced she arrived with a cooking apron in her hand. If she has attained her
ideal, many a climber will feel worth while to scale a perilous peak to reach her
kitchen. The following Cheese Custard Pie was always served in solitary state. Its
flavor varied with Marguerite's moods and her supply of cheese. It was never twice
the same, as she had no written rule, but I have endeavored to make one like hers
for it would be a pity to relegate so good a dish to inaccessible roosts:
Pie dough:
1 cup flour--pastry
2 1/2 tablespoons lard
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water, or just enough to hold these ingredients together.
Combine them as directed on Page 209. Roll the dough and fit into a small pan or
baking dish, about 8 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake the crust for 20 minutes in a hot
ove 450 degrees F. Remove it from the oven, cool it slightly and fill it with
Cheese Custard.
3/4 top milk
1 cup grated cheese (or less)
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
A few grains of cayenne
Paprika
Scald the milk, remove it from the fire. Add the cheese and stir until it melts.
Add the seasoning and the beaten eggs and bake it in a slow oven 325 degrees until
set, about 45 minutes. Serve very hoot. The size of the pan is not important, but
the custard is best about 1 1/2 inches deep."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer, facsimile 1931 edition [Scribner:New York]
1998 (p. 60-61)
[NOTE: Compare with Rombauer's 1953 Quiche recipe.]

[1946]
"Quiche Lorraine
tart pastry...for 8 to 10-inch pan
6 slices bacon, not too thin
6 ozs. Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
2 cups milk
3 eggs and 1 yolk, beaten
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
a little nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
Line an 8 to 10-inch pie plate with the tart pastry. Cut bacon slices in two and
broil them. (If bacon is very salty, parboil it and drain before broiling.) Overlap
slices of broiled bacon and cheese over the bottom of the pastry. Mix together
eggs, flour, salt, and nutmeg, and combine with the milk. Melt butter and let it
continue cooking until it starts to brown, then add it to the custard mixture and
pour it all over the bacon and cheese. Bake in a moderately hot oven of 375 degrees
until custard is set and brown on top, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm. Serves
6."
---Louis Diat's Home Cookbook: French Cooking for Americans, Louis Diat [J.B.
Lippincott:Philadelphia] 1946 (p. 76)

[1953]
"La Quiche Lorraine
(for 6-8)
First make a paste in the following manner: Sift 1 1/2 cups pastry four with 1/2
teaspoon salt. Work into it with finger tips, 1 bar salt butter (1/4 pound).
Moisten with just enough ice water to make it hold together (about 4 tablespoons).
Make a smooth ball of it, wrap in waxed paper, and place in refrigerator for 1/2
hour or so. before rolling it out thin on a lightly floured board. Line a large 10-
inch Pyrex piepan with it, trim the edges, roll them under and crimp prettily.
Prick the surface with a fork and place in the refrigerator, while you prepare the
following ingredients. (But first set your oven at 450 degrees F. and light it.)
Grate Swiss cheese until you have 1 cup. Fry or grill about 1 1/2 dozen strips
bacon until crisp, but don't overcook it. Break or cut into small piees. Break 4
whole eggs into a bowl and add to them 2 cups thick or thin cream, 1 pinch nutmeg,
1 pinch ginger, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 big pinch cayenne, and plenty of freshly round
pepper. Beat with rotary beater just long enough to mix thoroughly. Now rub a
little soft butter over the surface of the pastry and sprinkle the bacon over the
bottom, sprinke the cheese over the bacon, and pour the egg mixture over all. Place
in preheated hot 40 degrees F. oven and bake 10-15 minutes, then reduce the
temperature to 325 degrees F. and continue cooking until an inserted knife comes
out clean, showing the custard has set (about 25-30 minutes). Of not a light golden
brown on top, place under a hoot grill for a second before serving piping hot. Cut
in pie-shaped pieces."
---The Best I Ever Ate, recipes by June Platt & readings by Sophie Kerr [Rinehart
Company:New York] 1953 (p. 105)

"Quiche.
4 to 6 servings
Rules simmilar to the above Cheese Custard Pie are to be found in most foreign
cookbooks under the name of Quiche. The dish is attributed to several countries--
Belgium, Lorraine, etc. A custard is called for, usually made with:
2 cups scalded cream
4 eggs
1 cup grated Italian or Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A few grains of cayenne
Beat with a fork until blended. There are numerous variations of the above A pie
shell of rich pastry is buttered lightly. Partially cooked bacon is broken or cut
up and sprinkled over the bottom. Sometimes the cheese is not added to the custard
but sprinkled over the bacon and then covered with the custard. The pie is baked in
a hot oven 450 degrees for 12 minutes. The heat is reduced to a slow oven 300
degrees and the pie is baked until the custard is set, about 35 minutes longer. To
test use the method is given under Cup Custard, page 710. Serve it hot or cold."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker [Bobbs-Merrill
C.:Indianapolis IN] 1953 (p. 189)

[1960]
Jackie Kennedy's Quiche Lorraine

[1961]
"Quiche Lorraine
Method. In the past the quiche was made with a bread paste. Modern practice has
substituted short crust or sometimes even puff pastry. Line the pan with ordinary
short crust (see DOUGH, lining paste) a pie dish or plate with fluted edges, 8
inches in diameter and well buttered. See that the pastry extends a little beyond
the edges. Put in the bottom of this flan case thin slices of streaky bacon,
blanched and lightly fried in butter. Fill the crust with a mixture composed of 4
eggs and 2 cups (4 decilitres) of thick fresh cream, seasoned with salt and well
beaten. Put on top, when the flan is filled, 2 teaspoons of butter divided up into
tiny pieces. Cook in the oven at moderate heat (375 degrees F.) for 30 to 35
minutes. Serve very jot. NOTE: Sometimes the flan pastry is enriched with thin
slices of Gruyere cheese, which are set alternately with the bacon."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne, introductions by A. Escoffier and PH.
Gilbert, edited by Charlotte Turgeon and Nina Froul [Crown Publishers:New York]
1961 (p. 797)

"Quiche Lorraine (old recipe)--Roll out as thinly as possible some bread dough. Put
this sheet of paste on a metal dish with raised and fluted edges, sprinkled with
flour. Put small pieces of very fresh butter all over the paste. Fill the pie dish
with a mixture of thick cream and eggs well beaten together and seasoned with salt.
Cood in a very hot oven for a maximum of 10 minutes. Serve very hot.'" ---ibid, (p.
797)
[NOTE: Additional quiche recipes in this book are: Little quiches with cheese and
Litte quiches with ham.]
"Quiche Lorraine
6 to 10 servings
It seems odd that this very special pie, traditional in France, was so long in
gaining popularity in America. A rich custard with cheese and bacon, it may be
served either as an appetizer or as a main luncheon dish. Swiss cheese, which the
Swiss know as Ementhaler, may be used in making this dish, but Gruyere has more
flavor. Gruyere is available wherever fine cheeses are sold.
Pastry for one-crust nine-inch pie
4 strips bacon
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup Gruyere or Swiss cheese, cubed
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups heavy cream or 1 cup each milk and cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1. Preheat oven to hot (450 degrees F.).
2. Line a nine-inch pie late with pastry and bake five minutes.
3. Cook the bacon until crisp and remove it from the skillet. Pour off all but one
tablespoon of the fat remaining in the skillet. Cook the onion in the remaining fat
until the onion is transparent.
4. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle the bacon, onion, and cheeses over the inside of
the partly baked pastry.
5. Combine the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper and strain over the onion-
cheese mixture.
6. Bake the pie fifteen minutes, reduce the oven temperature to moderate (350
degrees F. and bake until knife inserted one inch from the pastry edge comes out
clean, about 10 inutes longer. Serve immediately as an hors d'oeuvre or main
course."
---New York Times Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1961 (p. 26-
27)
[NOTE: This book also offers recipes for Crabmeat Quiche, Bay Scallops Quiche & Egg
and Spinach Pie.]

[1963]
"Quiche Lorraine, although it seems to be the most well known, is only one of a
series of generally simple-to-make and appetizing entrees. A quiche is a mixture of
cream and bacon, such as the quiche Lorraine, or cheese and milk, or tomatoes and
onions, or crab, or anything else which is combined with eggs, poured into a pastry
shell, and baked in the oven until it puffs and browns. It is practically
foolproof, and you can invent your own combinations. Serve it with a salad, hot
French bread, and a cold white wine; follow it with fruit, and you have a perfect
lunch or supper menu. Or let it be the first course of your dinner. You can also
make tiny quiches for hot hors d'oeuvres."
---Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, Julia
Child [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1963 (p. 146)

[1965]
"Quiche Lorraine with Onions
Pastry for 1-crust pie
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
4 eggs
Dash nutmeg
Dash sugar
Dash cayenne
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
2 cups light cream
1. Roll out pastry to a 11-inch circle. Use to line 9-inch pie plate; crimp edge
decoratively.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. In hot butter in small skillet, saute onion until golden. Drain; turn into
bottom of pie shell. Sprinkle with cheese.
4. Beat eggs with nutmeg, sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Stir in cream. Pour
into prepared pie shell.
5. Baake about 45 minutes, or until silver knife inserted near center comes out
clean. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.
Quiche Lorriane with Bacon: Substitute 12 crisp bacon slices, drained and crumbled,
for sauteed onions.
Quiche Lorraine with Olives: Substitute 1/2 cup sliced, drained, rinsed pimiento-
stuffed olives for sauteed onions."
---McCall's Casserole Cookbook [Advance Publishers:Orlando FL] 1965 (p. 56)

[1971]
"Quiche Lorraine
4-6 slices bacon
1/2 lb Swiss Cheese
Dash of salt and pepper
1 c. milk
3 eggs
Method: Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Cook bacon slowly until crisp; then drain. When
cool, crumble into pieces. Grate the cheese coarsely, and mix with flour, salt, and
pepper. Heat milk. Beat eggs, and slowly add hot milk. Add the eggs, and slowly add
hot milk. Add the grated cheese, and stir well. Sprinkle bacon over the bottom of
the unbaked pieshell. Pour over it the cheese-egg-milk mixture, and put into oven
to bake for 30-40 minutes. Test with a silver knife; when the quiche is fully
cooked, the knife will come out clean. While the quiche is cooking, prepare good
strong coffee, and warm the milk to serve with it. Don't boil the milk, or it will
form a skin, which you will have to strain out before serving."
---Cosmo Cookery: Gourmet Meals From the First Drink to the Last Kiss,
[Cosmopolitan Books:New York] 1971 (p. 167)

[1972]
"Quiche Lorraine," (Cream and Bacon Quiche)
6 to 8 pieces thick-sliced bacon
An 8-inch partially cooked pastry shell placed on a buttered baking sheet
3 eggs (U.S. graded "large")
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of pepper and nutmeg
1 to 2 Tb butter
(Preheat oven to 375 degrees.)
Slice bacon into 1/4-inch pieces and brown lightly in a frying pan; drain and
spread in bottom of pastry shell. Beat eggs, cream, and seasonings in a bowl to
blend. Just before baking, pour cream mixture into the shell, filling to within 1/8
inch of the top. Cut butter into bits and distribute over the cream. Bake in upper
third of oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until quiche has puffed and browned, and a
small knife, plunged into custard, comes out clean. Serve hot, warm, or cold;
quiche will sink slighly as it cools."
---The French Chef Cookbook, Julia Child [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1972 (p. 240-1)

[1980]
"Quiche a la Morgan
Serves 6-8
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups half-and-half or light cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper (white preferred)
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 pound bacon slices, coked and crumbled
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese or Swiss Cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Saute onions in butter. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs slightly. Beat in cream, nutmeg, pepper, hot sauce,
and dry mustard until well blended. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle bacon over bottom of unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle onions over bacon.
Then sprinkle cheeses evenly over onions. If not baking immediately, refrigerate.
(This can be done early in the day).
4. One hour before serving pour in egg mixture. Place in oven, reduce heat to 350
degrees F. Bake for 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Let pie cool on wire
rack 15 to 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve. Delicious hot or cold.
Variation: Mix 1 cup chopped fresh spinach into cream mixture. Omit sauteed
onions."
---Total Woman Cookbook: Marabel Morgan's Handbook for Kitchen Survival, Marabel
Morgan 'Fleming H. Revell Co.:Old Tappan NJ] 1980 (p. 156-157)
[NOTE: This book also offers recipes for these quiches: Green Chili, Mushroom, Sour
cream, & Spinach-Cheese Pie.]

[1987]
"In the fickle world of food fads one of the beggest trends a few years abo was the
quiche. Basically a pie crust filled with an egg custard, the quiche lends itself
to embellishment. Cooks found that just about anything could be added to the egg
filling, from vegetables to seafood. Quiche became so identified with trendy food
that it inspired the popular question: 'Do real men eat quiche?' After that the
dish seemed to lose favor. It's now time to bring it back."
---"Some real men say now is the time to bring back quiche," Beverly Dillon,
Chicago Tribune, August 20, 1987 (p. F2)
[NOTE: Article offers a recipe for Jalapeno cheese quiche.]

Related foods?
Cheesecake, tarts, pizza & souffle.

Refrigerator Pie
Refrigerator pies (aka ice box pies) descend from Refrigerator Cake and other no-
bake recipes made popular during the Great Depression. There are dozens of recipe
variations. Pineapple is one of the perennial favorites. Crusts range from standard
pastry shell to crushed cracker (graham) and cookie (gingernaps, vanilla wafers,
chocolate wafers) crumbs. The recipe ingredients some folks list are
comglomerations of various brand products made by competing companies (Jell-O is
Kraft; Hydrox is Sunshine) so it is unlikely the recipe was printed on the back of
a box. Similar recipes, however, using Oreos or Famous Chocolate Wafers, might have
been on a box. This explains why some folks call this recipe Jell-O Pie. Recipes
like Refrigerator Pie easily adapt to whatever the cook has on hand.
[1931]
"An innovation in cookery, which offsets every possibility of failure and offers a
light, dainty, fluffy dessert, fit to be set before the most fastidious taste, is
the sunshine ice box pie. Begin by making the family's favorite pie crust or the
regulation of one of 1 cupful of flour, 3 tablespoonfuls of shortening, 1/2
teaspoonful of salt and enough ice water to mix. Line a deep pie pan and bake in a
slow oven so as to dry out the pastry. When it is light brown remove it from the
stove to cool. To make the filling, separate the yolks and whites of 4 eggs. Beat
yolks and whites separately. To the whites add 1/2 cupful of sugar and beat until
very stiff. To the yolks and 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon juice and a grated rind of 2
lemons, a pinch of salt and 1/2 cupful of sugar. Dissolve for 5 minutes 1/2
tablespoonful of gelatine in 1-3 cupful of cold water. Place the yolk mixture in a
double boiler, stirring constantly until the liquid is thickened and creamy. Remove
it from the fire and add the gelatin. Fold the pie crust and set it in the ice box
until time to serve. Just before serving spread the top of the pie with a thin
layer of whipped cream. This pie keeps for days."
---"A Novel Ice Box Pie," Christian Science Monitor, September 18, 1931 (p. 6)
[1932]
"Pie is always acceptable as a dessert no matter what the season. We are sometimes
reluctant about serving it in warm weather bcause we dislike to heat the oven. This
is no longer an excuse for not having it because there are the uncooked varieties,
the ones which require no heat. They are sometimes called refrigerator pies.
Refrigerator pies usually have crumb crusts. Corn flake crumbs are excellent for
this purpose. They have a good color and add a distinctive flavor. The crust may be
made in two different ways."
---"Home Service Bureau Conducted by Marian Manners Timeline Suggestions...What is
Your Favorite?," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1932 (p. A7) [NOTE:
this snippet does not provide a recipe or elaborate on the "two ways" of crust
making.]

[1933]
"Those gorgeous creations of lady fingers and whipped cream and nuts and macaroons
known as refrigerator cakes have long been great favorites...But for the times when
a less rich and elaborate creation is in order, good cooks of 1933 have opened up a
whole new bag of tricks. In place of so much cream, for instance, they are using
mixtures that depend more on eggs and cornstarch and gelatin and marshmallows for
the thickening ingredient. Instead of making these desserts always in the form of
the deep loaf cake, they are making them in pie plates to be cut exactly like pies.
And in place of lady fingers or sliced sponge cake or angel food, they are using
all sorts of sweetened wafers such as graham crackers, chocolate or vanilla wafers,
gingersnaps. To show you what I mean here is a recipe for orange pie...

Orange Refrigerator Pie

First soak 1 1/2 tablespoons gelatin in 3 tablespoons cold water. Then turn this
into 1/2 cup boiling water in the top of double boiler, and stir till dissolved.
Next stir in 4 tablespoons sugar. Let mixture cool. Then add 1 cup strained orange
juice and 1 tablespoon strained lemon juice. Put some ice water in bottom of double
boiler and set the top part into it. Let stand till mixture starts to set. Then
beat with rotary beater with rotary beater. Next fold into the mixture 1/2 cup of
diced orange and 2 egg white beaten stiff. For the crust to this pie, use either
vanilla wafers or gingersnaps. Crush or grind enough of them to make a thick layer
of crumbs in the bottom of the pie plate. Line the sides of the plate with wafers
broken into halves (round side out) with more crumbs between the wafers. Then turn
in the fruit mixture. and place in the refrigerator to set. This will take about 4
hours. But there'll be no harm done if you want to make this pie the night before.
And in case you'd like to use berries in place off oranges that'll be good, too.
Just substitute the same amount of berries and juice."
---"Refrigerator Cakes and Pies Eliminate Baking Drudgery," Ann Barrett, Washington
Post, August 1, 1933 (p. 9)

"Cheers! Also a couple of tigers! For we just peered into the refrigerator and
mother is baking a pie! No fooling. It's a real refrigerator. Also, it's a real
pie. it went in soft and soupy. it's coming out tremblingly firm, enticingly
fluffy--the most palate teasing morsel yet to call itself pie. And the answer--the
newly arrived family of refrigerator pastries that is setting the town buzzing and
taking the floor even from the absorbing matter of jigsaws. The delicate backbone--
if one day apply such a sturdy name to such a quivering creating--is gelatin. But
the result is like no gelatin dessert yet on the books...Chiffons and cream pies
start out the list, but lemon chiffon has now taken to itself relatives. Coffee
chiffon, and chiffons glorified with crushed pineapple or fresh spring strawberries
shiver with glee as they are turned into crisp, baked shells and slid into the
refrigerator to be "cold-baked" to a cut-able firmness. For refrigerator pies
(except for the pre-baked crust) never see the oven. Some of the ingredients do,
however, get acquainted with the top of the stove. And of the coffee chiffon,
served up with hot chocolate, demi-tasse, or even a cup of tea, as a light,
relieving touch after a robust meal, is, to me, the perfect selection...gelatin
isn't the only way we have of putting standupableness into the new era of
refrigerator pastries. Another pie--or it may be turned into a whole family of
tarts--stands up because someone discovered that lemon juice thickens condensed
milk..."
---"Refrigerator Now the Place to Bake Pies," Mary Meade, Chicago Daily Tribune,
April 16, 1933 (p. D1)
[NOTE: Includes recipes for Coffiee Chiffon Pie, Chicolate Chiffon, Refrigerator
Walnut Pie and Strawberry Chiffon Tarts.]

[1936]
"Hawaiian Refrigerator Pie
Crust
20 graham crackers, rolled fine
4 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter
Filling
1 package lemon flavored gelatin
1 3/4 cups boiling water
1 cup canned crushed pineapple and juice
1 1/2 cups cream, whipped stiff
8 graham crackers, rolled fine
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
Combine the ingredients of the crust, blending well. Pat the mixture firmly over
the inside, bottom, and sides of a ten inch pie pan. Chill this while you make the
filling. For the filling, dissolve the gelatin mixture in the boiling water, then
add the pineapple, which--if fresh--must be scalded. Chill this combination and
just as it starts to thicken add the whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, and the
sugar. Our the mixture into the cracker shell until set."
---"Tribune Recipes," Chicago Daily Tribune, September 11, 1936 (p. 22)

[1939]
""Give us more refrigerator cakes and pies" some of my readers have begged. So
today I am presenting one of those fluffy-as-a-cloud chiffon pies which looks ok,
so hard to make, but actually requires no cooking at all! You will win instant fame
as a cook when you sevre this one, and you can take the bows with a chuckle up your
sleeve knowing it is easier that "pie." Refrigerator pies can be made in a pastry
shell, which, of course, is baked before the filling it put in. This pie today, is
made in a crumb shell, which is much easier. Crumb shells can be made of dry, crisp
cereals, vanilla wafers, graham crackers or dry cake crumbs. Simply roll the
cereal, crackers or crumbs fine, and to 1 cup of crumbs add 1-3 cup softened butter
and 1-4 cup sugar. Press firmly on sides and bottom of buttered pie plate and
chill. Filling:

Fruit Chiffon Pie.

1 tablespoon gelatin
1-4 cup cold water
1 1-2 cups diced fruit
3-4 cup fruit juice
1-2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-8 teaspoon salt
1-2 cup whipping cream
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and allow to soften. Combine fruit, juice and
sugar, cook about 5 minutes. Stir in gelatin, lemon juice and salt. Chill. When
mixture begins to thicken, fold in cream which has been whipped stiff. Pour into
pie shell, and chill until well set.
Note: Fresh uncooked pineapple will not congeal in gelatin mixture. There are lots
of things you can do with fresh pineapple, but for molded desserts and salads you
will have to use cooked or canned pineapple. Almost daily some imaginatie and
enterprising woman phones to ask why her gelatin will not congeal, after hs she has
put fresh pineapple in it. It just won't."
---Refrigerator Pies Are Easy; Chiffon Variety Recipe Given," Sally Saver, Atlanta
Constitution, June 27, 1939 (p. 14)

[1949]
Key Lime Ice Box Pie

[1958]
"Lime Icebox Pie
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
1 15-oz. can Eagle brand condensed milk
1 16-oz. can frozen limeade
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 or 4 drops green coloring
Combine crumbs and butter; reserve 1/4 cup of mixture and press remaining mixture
and sides of buttered refrigerator tray and chill. Beat egg yolks until light and
thick, mix with condensed milk and add limeade and vanilla. Stir until mixture
thickens and tint pale green. Beat egg whites until foamy and add sugar and beat
until stiff. Fold into lime mixture and pour into chilled tray. Brder or sprinkle
with reserved crumb mixture and freeze 4 to 6 hours. Cut in squares or triangles to
serve."
---"Favorite Recipes," Mrs. J. S. Mulhern, El Paso Herald Post [TX], July 17, 1958
(p. 13)

[1971]
Remember making this pie with ice cube trays?
"Lime Icebox Pie
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter
Filling:
2 eggs, separated
1 can Eagle Brand milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 drops green food coloring
3 tablespoons sugar
Crust: make crust in ice cube trays. Chill before filling is added.
Filling: Beat egg yolks, add milk, limeade, vanilla and green coloring. Stir well.
Beat egg whites and fold in sugar. Fold white and limeade mixture together. Pour
into trays. Top with a few crumbs. Store in freezer."
---"Something's Cooking," Denton Record-Chronicle [TX], June 24, 1971 (p. 13)

Sawdust pie
The oldest reference we find for Sawdust pie is a recipe published in Bon Appetit,
May 1983 ("Letters to the Editor, p. 8). The letter submitted by Kathly Higley, St.
Louis Missouri, who references she ate this at Patti's, a family-owned restaurant
in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. Our survey of historic newspaper & magazine articles
suggest desserts named "Sawdust Pie" (a super sugary concoction featuring pecans,
coconut & egg white meringue) bubble up in the deep south/Texas in late 1990s. We
find no person/restaurant/cooking contest/company claiming *invention* of this
particular item. Neither did we find recipes with this name in our old cookbooks.
The closest related item (ingredients/region) we find is Japanese fruitcake.
Perhaps Sawdust Pie is a twist on this particular Southern/Appalachian Regional
theme?
COMPARE THESE RECIPES
"Sawdust Pie.
8 to 10 Servings
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut (6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
7 egg whites, unbeaten
1 unbaked 10-inch pie shell
Unsweetened whipped cream (garnish)
1 large banana, thinly sliced (garnish)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine sugar, coconut, pecans, graham cracker
crumbs and whites in large bowl and mix well; do not beat. Turn into pie shell.
Bake until filling is just set, about 35 minutes; do not overbake. Serve warm or at
room temperature. Top each serving with generous dollop of whipped cream and
several banana slices."---Bon Appetit, May 1983 (p. 8)

"Japanese Coconut Pie.

This is no more Japanese than the fruitcake of that name, but is simply the cake's
coconut filling turned into a custard pie. It is very rich; serve in small slices
with strawberries or raspberries and Soured Cream.

1 recipe for Coconut Filling

3 eggs
1 partially baked 9-inch pie shell
Beat the eggs into the coconut filling. Pour into the partially baked pie shell and
bake in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F. for about 40 minutes, until the top is
slightly brown but not puffed up."
---Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie, Bill Neal [Alfred A. Knopf:New York]
1990 (p. 270)

"Coconut Filling (for Japanese Fruitcake)

1 medium coconut
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 Tb. cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 lemons, grated zest and juice
Whipped cream or Fluffy Icing
...For the filling, drain the juice from the coconut and reserve. Crack the
coconut, discard the outer shell, and pare away the brown skin. Grate the meat and
add to a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups sugar. Measure the liquid from the coconut. If
necessary, add water to make up 3/4 cup liquid and stir into the saucepan with 1
1/2 \ cups sugar. Measure liquid and stir into the saucepan. Bring to boil and cook
about 5 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of coconut liquid if you
have it, or water. Add some of the hot liquid to the cornstarch to cook at the
simmer 3 or 4 minutes. Season up with a few grains of salt and lemon zest and
juice. Set aside to cool, stirring constantly."
---ibid (p. 295)

Shepherd's pie
The English tradition of meat pies dates back to the Middle ages. Game pie, pot pie
and mutton pie were popular and served in pastry "coffyns." These pies were cooked
for hours in a slow oven, and topped with rich aspic jelly and other sweet spices.
The eating of "hote [meat] pies" is mentioned in Piers Plowman, and English poem
written in the 14th Century. (Cooking of the British Isles, Adrian Bailey, pages
156-7) The Elizabethans favored minced pies. "A typical Elizabethan recipe ran:
Shred your meat (mutton or beef) and suet together fine. Season it with cloves,
mace, pepper and some saffron, great raisins and prunes..." (Food and Drink in
Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson, page 273). About
mince and mincemeat pies. Maine style Chinese Pie descends from this venerable
culinary tradition.
The key to dating Shepherd's pie is the introduction (and acceptance) of potatoes
in England. Potatoes are a new world food. They were first introduced to Europe in
1520 by the Spanish. Potatoes did not appeal to the British palate until the 18th
Century. (Foods America Gave the World, A. Hyatt Verrill, page 28). Shepherd's Pie,
a dish of minced meat (usually lamb, when made with beef it is called "Cottage
Pie") topped with mashed potatoes was probably invented sometime in the 18th
Century by frugal peasant housewives looking for creative ways to serve leftover
meat to their families. It is generally agreed that it originated in the north of
England and Scotland where there are large numbers of sheep--hence the name. The
actual phrase "Shepherd's Pie" dates back to the 1870s, when mincing machines made
the shredding of meat easy and popular." (The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan
Davidson, page 717). Related dishes: Chinese pie & Rappie pie.

Where does "Cottage Pie" fit in?

"In present day English, cottage pie is an increasingly popular synonym for
shepherd's pie, a dish of minced meat with a topping of mashed potato. Its widening
use is no doubt due in part to its pleasantly bucolic associations, in part to the
virtual disappearance of mutton and lamb from such pies in favour of beef...But in
fact, cottage pie is a much older term than shepherd's pie, which does not crop up
until the 1870s; on 29 August 1791 we find that enthusiastic recorder of all his
meals, the Reverend James Woodford, noting in his diary Dinner to day, Cottage-Pye
and rost Beef' (it is not clear precisely what he meant by cottage pie, however)."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
92)

"The term cottage pie, often confused with shepherd's pie but probably denoting a
similar dish made with minced beef, has a somewhat longer history and is similarly
effective in evoking a rural and traditional context."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 717)

Survey of historic recipes

Mutton and beef pies are found in Medieval British texts. Minced meat pies were
favored during the Tudor years. Minced mutton and potato recipes begin showing up
in the 18th century. These dishes are listed by various names. The oldest recipe we
have for something called "Shepherd's Pie" is dated 1886:

[1596]
"For to Make Mutton Pies
Mince your mutton and your white together. When it is minced season it with pepper,
cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mace, prunes, currants, dates and raisins, and hard eggs,
boiled and chopped very small, and throw them on top."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, 1595 edition With an introduction by
Maggie Black [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1996 (p. 68)
[1685]
"To make minced Pies of Mutton
Take to a leg of mutton four pound of beef-suet, bone the leg and cut it raw into
small pieces, as also the suet, mince them together very fine, and being minc't
season it with two pound of currans, two pound of raisins, two pound of prunes, an
ounce of caraway seed, an ounce of nutmegs, an ounce of pepper, an ounce of cloves,
and mace, and six ounces of salt; stir up all together, fill the pies, and bake
them as the former."
---The Accomplisth Cook, Robert May, facsimile 1685 edition [Prospect Books:Devon]
1994 (p. 232)

[1747]
"To Make a very fine Sweet lamb or Veal Pye.
Season your Lamb with Salt, Pepper, Cloves, Mace and Nutmeg, all beat fine, to your
Palate. Cut your Lamb, or Veal, into little Pieces, make a good Puff-paste Crust,
lay it into your Dish, then lay in your Meat, strew on it some stoned Raisins and
Currans clean washed, and some Sugar; then lay on it some Forced-meat Balls made
sweet, and in the Summer some Artichoke-bottoms boiled, and scalded Grapes in the
Winter. Boil Spanish Potatoes cut in Pieces, candied Citron, candied Orange, and
Lemon-peel, and three or four large Blades of Mace; put Butter on the Top, close up
your Pye, and bake it. Have ready against it comes out of the Oven a Caudle [thick
drink] made thus: Take a Pint of White Wine, and mix in the Yolks of three Eggs,
stir it well together over the Fire, one way, all the time till it is thick; then
take it off, stir in Sugar enough to sweeten it, and squeeze in the Juice of a
Lemon; pour it hot into your Pye, and close it up again.Send it hot to table."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy, Hannah Glasse [London:1747]Chapter VIII,
"Of Pies."

[1849]
"A Casserole of Mutton
Butter a deep dish or mould, and line it with potatoes mashed with milk or butter,
and seasoned with pepper and salt. Fill it with slices of the lean cold mutton, or
lamb, seasoned also. Cover the whole with more mashed potatoes. Put it into an
oven, and bake it till the meat is thoroughly warmed, and the potatoes brown. The
carefully turn it out on a large dish; or you may, if more convenient, send it to
table in the dish it was baked in."
---Directions for Cookery in Its Various Branches, Miss Leslie [Philadelphia:1849]
(p. 111)

[1861] Baked Minced Mutton (recipe 703) & Baked Beef (recipes 598 & 599)
---Mrs. Beeton's Book of Houeshold Management, Isabella Beeton [London]
[NOTE: Mrs. Beeton's minced meat pies are served hot or cold.]

[1881?]
"Cottage Pie.
In the bottom of a pie-dish put a good layer of nicely minced mutton or beef,
season to taste, add onion, chopped fine, cover with mashed potatoes, and bake in a
sharp oven hlaf an hour, or until the potatoes are well browned."
---The Economical Cook Book, Jane Warren [Hurst and Company:New York] 1881?(p. 26)

[1886]
"Shepherd's pie
1 pound of cold mutton
1 pint of cold boiled potatoes
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of stock or water
Salt and pepper to taste
The crust
4 good-sized potatoes
1/4 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut the mutton and boiled potatoes into pieces about one inch square; put them in a
deep pie or baking dish, add the stock or water, salt, pepper, and half the butter
cut into small bits. The make the crust as follows: Pare and boil the potatoes,
then mash them, add the cream, the remainder of the butter, salt and pepper, beat
until light. Now add flour enough to make a soft dough--about one cupful. Roll it
out into a sheet, make a hole in the centre of the crust, to allow the escape of
steam. Bake in a moderate oven one hour, serve in the same dish."
---Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Book, Mrs. S[arah] T[yson] Rorer [Philadephia:
1886] (p. 117)

[1894]
"Cottage Pie
Required: a pound and a half of cooked potatoes, half a pound to three-quarters of
cold meat, seasoning and gravy as below. Cost, about 9d. The potatoes must be
nicely cooked and mashed while hot...The should be seasoned, and beaten until light
with a wooden spoon. A pie dish should then be greased, and the potatoes put at the
bottom, to form a layer from half to an inch in thickness. The meat should be made
into a thick mince of the usual kind with stock or gravy...or it may be mixed with
Onion Sauce, or any other which may be sent to table with meat. The nicer the
mince, the nice, of course, will be the pie. The meat goes next, and should be put
in the centre of the bottom layer, leaving a little space all around. Then drop the
remainder of the potatoes on the top, beginning at the sides--this prevents the
boiling out of the gravy when the meat begins to cook--go on until all the used,
making the pie highest in the middle. Take a fork, and rough the surface all over,
because it will brown better than if left smooth. For a plain dish, bake it for
fifteen to twenty minutes. Or it may be just sprinkled with melted dripping (a
brush is used for this), or it may be coated with beaten egg, part of which may
then be used in the mashed potatoes. As soon as the pie is hot through and brown,
it should be served. There are many recipes for this pie, or variation of it, and
in some, directions are given for ptuting the meat in the dish first, and all the
potatoes on the top. The plan above detailed will be found the better, because the
meat being enveloped entirely in potatoes runs no risk of becoming hard, as it wold
do it exposed to the direct heat of the oven. Any other cooked vegetables may be
added to the above, but they should be placed between the meat and potatoes, both
top and bottom. If a very savoury pie is desired, make the mince very moist, and
allow longer time for baking. The potatoes will absorb some of the gravy, and found
tasty. In this case, the heat must not be fierce at starting, only at the end for
the pie to brown well. For a richer pie, allow a larger proportion of meat. For a
very cheap one, half a pound of meat will do for two pounds of potatoes."
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and
Company:London] 1894 (p. 512-3)

"Tinned Meat, Shepherd's Pie

Required: two pounds of meat, half-a-pint of canned tomatoes, half-a-pound of fried
onions, salt and black pepper, and any herbs preferred, four pounds of potatoes,
and some gravy. Cost, 1s. 6d. To 1s. 8d. First grease a deep baking dish with some
of the melted fat from the tin. Boil or steam the potaotes, mash and season
them ...and put them in an inch thick at the bottom and sides of the dish. Then put
the onions all over the potato layer. Mince the meat, add the jelly from it, and
the tomatoes, with a little more stock or plain gravy of any sort; pile this in the
centre of the dish; put the remainder of the potatoes thickly on the top; rough the
surface with a fork, and bake until well browned in a moderate oven about three-
quarters of anhour. The potatoes will absorb some of the gravy and be very savoury.
The dish is an excellent one, considering its small cost. If liked, some pork can
be added, and apple sauce used instead of the tomatoes. Tinned ox-tails, ox cheek,
kidney, &c., may take the place of the beef or mutton. Either will provide a hot,
cheap meal in a short time."
---ibid (p. 533)

Compare with Moroccan Bastilla.

Chocolate pie & Chocolate cream pie
The earliest print reference we find for "Chocolate Pie" in USA sources is the
1880s. Subsequent references confirm the evolution of recipes with this name. In
sum: chocolate pie was not "invented" in specific year by a particular person or
company. We find evidence confirming commercial chocolate companies actively
promoted their products in this recipe. Most notably? Bakers of Dorchester MA. 19th
century versions approximate Boston Creme Pie. Early 20th century recipes
approximate chocolate pudding/custard pie. Shortcut versions using candy
bars/packaged pudding mixes & prefab commercial cookie crusts surface in the 1960s.

Chocolate pie recipes from "scratch" to "assemlby"

[1880]
"Chocolate Pies. Make plain cup cake, and bake in Washington-pie plates, having the
cake thick enough to split. After splitting, spread one half with a filling made as
below, place the top piece on, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. The cake should
always be fresh. Filling: One square of Baker's chocolate, one cupful of sugar, the
yolks of two eggs, one-third of a cupful of boiling milk. Mix scraped chocolate and
sugar together; then add, very slowly, the boiling milk, and then the eggs, and
simmer ten minutes, being careful that it does not burn. Flavor with vanilla. Have
fully cold before using."
--- Miss Parloa's New Cook Book, Maria Parloa, 1880, 1882 (p. 259)
[1887]
"Chocolate Custard Pie. No. 1. One quarter cake of Baker's chocolate, grated; one
pint of boiling water, six eggs, one quart of milk, one-half cupful of white sugar,
two teaspoonfuls of vanilla. Dissolve the chocolate in a very little milk, stir
into the boiling water, and boil three minutes. When nearly cold, beat up with this
the yolks of all the eggs and the whites of three. Stir this mixture into the milk,
season and pour into shells of good paste. When the custard is "set" --but not more
than half done--spread over it the whites whipped to a froth, with two
tablespoonfuls of sugar. You may bake these custards without paste, in a pudding-
dish or cups set in boiling water. (p. 291)
"Chocolate Pie. No. 2. Put some grated chocolate into a basin and place on the back
of the stove and let it melt (do not add any water to it); beat one egg and some
sugar in it; when melted, spread this on the top of a custard pie. Lovers of
chocolate will like this." (p. 292)
---White House Cook Book, Janet Halliday Ervin & Fannie Gilette 1887

[1896]
"Chocolate Pie.
2 tablespoons butter.
3/4 cup sugar.
1 egg.
1/2 cup milk.
1 1/3 cups flour.
2 teaspoons baking powder.
Mix and bake as Cream Pie. Split layers, and spread between and on top of each a
thin layer of Chocolate Frosting."
--- Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer 1896 (p. 422)

[1905]
"NO. 83. CHOCOLATE PIE. Mrs. M.A. Collins, Ontario, Cal.--Four tablespoons grated
chocolate, one pint water, yolks of two eggs, two tablespoons corn starch, six
tablespoons sugar. Boil until thick. Whip whites of eggs and spread on top when
baked; put into the oven long enough to brown a little.
NO. 77. CHOCOLATE PIE. Mrs. F.A. Holbrook, Santa Ana, Cal.--After crust is baked
grate one-half teacup of chocolate, and put in a pan with one cupful water, butter
the size of an egg, one tablespoonful vanilla, one cup sugar, the beaten yolks of
two eggs, and two tablespoonfuls corn starch dissolved in a little water. Mix well
and cook on stove until thick, stirring often. Let cool, pour in pie crust and
cover with the beaten whites of two eggs in which two tablespoonfuls sugar has been
stirred; brown in oven."
---Los Angeles Times Cook Book No. 2, 1905 (p. 62)

[1925]
"Crustless Chocolate Pie
Rub a small pie tin over rather thickly and evenly with butter--one six of seven
inches across, or smaller if you like a deep pie--and shade white cornmeal over
this so as to coat it thoroughly. Then put together the following ingredients: One
ounce of bitter chocolate, or a scant less; one cup of hot milk, one scant half cup
of sugar, two teaspoons of butter, one and a half tablespoons of corn starch
dissolved in a little cold water, two egg yolks, half a teaspoon of vanilla, a
little salt, and a meringue. Now I should put these together my way, but the recipe
as I put it to trial read: 'For the filling, heat one cup of milk, a scant half cup
of sugar, and a rounded teaspoon of butter together. When it is hot stir in two
tablespoons of grated chocolate. To the beaten yolks of two eggs add one and a half
tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water, half a teaspoon of
vanilla and a little salt. Add this mixture carefully to the hot milk and stir till
thick and smooth, then pour it into the crust and bake in a moderate oven about
fifteen minutes. On the top of the pie put a meringue made of the whites of the two
eggs, one tablespoon of powdered sugar, and one tablespoon of lemon juice, and
brown quickly in the oven."
---"Tribune Cook Book," Jane Eddington, Chicago Daily Tribune, August 7, 1925 (p.
18)

[1936]
"Chiffon Chocolate Pie
1 baked pie shell
4 tablespoons ground chocolate
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg whites, beaten
Blend chocolate, flour, salt, yolks and half the sugar. Add milk and cook in double
boiler until filling becomes thick and creamy. This will require about fifteen
minutes. Beat whites, add rest of sugar and beat until creamy. Fold into cooked
mixture when cool and add vanilla. Pour into pie shell."
---"Chocolate Pie Tasty Dessert on Menu Today," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times,
March 31, 1936 (p. A6)

[1938]
"A chocolate pie filling should be [1] smooth and creamy, [2] thick enough to
transfer from pie pan to dessert plate without collapsing into the shape of a
pudding [3] agreeable in flavor and attractive dark brown in color. A chocolate pie
filling should not be [1] lumpy, [2] starchily stiff, [3] overly sweet, bitter, or
gray in cast. A good recipe is half the formula for a perfect chocolate pie
filling. The other half is the cook's handling of the recipe. I have tried to make
this recipe for chocolate cream pie so complete and specific that only extreme
carelessness would make a poor dessert of it.
Chocolate Cream Pie
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 baked 9 inch pie shell
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
Add chocolate to milk and heat in the top of a double boiler over boiling water.
When chocolate has melted beat it into the milk with a rotary egg beater. Mix the
sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt together and add gradually to the milk and
chocolate mixture, stirring at the same time. Stir constantly and cook the mixture
until it is thick enough for the spoon to leave a streak or indentation. Then
continue cooking 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring frequently in order to cook the
starch thoroughly. Beat the egg yolks slightly and vigorously to mix in the egg
yolks thoroughly before they can coagulate. Cook for two minutes longer. Remove
from stove, add butter and vanilla, and cool. Turn into cooled baked pastry shell.
Beat egg whites and salt until the eggs are foamy. Add sugar a little at a time and
continue beating until all sugar is dissolved and egg white will stand in peaks.
Pile lightly on the chocolate filling from outside to inside, making certain that
the meringue touches the pastry at the edges. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes,
or until meringue is well browned. A third egg white and two extra tablespoons of
sugar will make a higher meringue. Coconut may be sprinkled over the top before the
browning. Or the meringue may be left off the pie entirely and a sweetened whipped
cream topping used instead. Chopped dates and nuts and a little vanilla flavoring
add interest to a whipped cream topping for chocolate pie."
---"This Recipe is Insurance for Chocolate Pie," Mary Meade, Chicago Daily Tribune,
April 10, 1938 (p. D2)

[1940]
"Chocolate Nougat Pie
8 tablespoons ground chocolate
2 cups fresh milk
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 baked pie shell
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and sliced.
Scald milk with chocolate, blending with rotary egg beater. Combine sugar,
cornstarch, flour and salt; mix thoroughly; pour gradually on chocolate mixture,
stirring constantly. Return to double boiler and cook until smooth and thick. Cook,
15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Stir a small amount of mixture into
beaten egg yolks, return to double boiler and cook a few minutes longer. Add butter
and vanilla. Cool. Pour into baked pie shell. Beat egg whites until they hold stiff
peak; add honey gradually, beating constantly. Pile lightly on chocolate filling.
Sprinkle almonds over meringue or use for decorating. Bake at 235 deg. F. 20
minutes."
---"Chocolate Pie Supplies Dessert Need," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, May
17, 1940 (p. A9)

[1949]
"Next time you make chocolate pie, substitute leftover coffee for half the milk.
Nice flavor!"
---"Coffee in Chocolate Pie, Chicago Daily Tribune, November 11, 1949 (0. B13)
[1953]
"Funny cake-pie is an obscure Pennsylvania Dutch desert which consists of a
chocolate pie with cake on top of it. This recipe was unearthed by Charles Lovell,
one of the editors of the Dictionary of Americanisms at the University of Chicago,
in his search for unusual regional dishes to be described in the dictionary...
Chocolate Funny Cake-Pie
(9-inch pie; serves six]
Pastry for a single crust
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup slivered pecans
Mix sugar, cocoa, water, and vanilla, the first groups of ingredients, and set
aside. Cream the cup of sugar with the shortening, add milk and egg, then sifted
dry ingredients and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Pour first mixture into pastry
lined pie pan. Follow with second mixture, but do not stir together. Top with
pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until firm. 'Funny' is simply Dutch
for 'odd,' says Mr. Lovell."
---"Real Dutch Treat: Chocolate Funny Cake-Pie," Mary Meade, Chicago Daily Tribune,
May 9, 1953 (p. 15)

Heavenly Chocolate Pie

[8 inch pie, five cuts]
1 package chocolate pie filling or pudding mix
Baked pastry shell or crumb crust
1-pound can fruit cocktail
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup whipping cream
Prepare filling according to the directions and cool [or use the instant pudding
mix that requires no cooking]. Fill baked or crumb pie shell. Fold drained fruit
cocktail and extract into whipped cream and spread over the chocolate filling."
---"Easy to Look At and to Prepare--That's a Heavenly Chocolate Pie," Mary Meade,
Chicago Daily Tribune, June 10, 1953 (p. A3)

[1959]
"Fluffy Chocolate Pie
Open a 7-ounce package of sugar wafers. Break half the cookies, 10 at a time, into
blender jar; blend to fine crumbs. Press in bottom of buttered one-inch pie plate
and up its sides. Chill. Sprinkle one envelope unflavored gelatine over one fourth
cup cold water; stir. Pour into rinsed blender jar; cover. Blend one second, then
gradually add flour unbeaten egg yolks. Stop blender. Add one cup chocolate sauce,
a dash of salt and one half teaspoon vanilla. Cover; blend 10 seconds. Refrigerate
half an hour. Then, with a rotary beater, beat four egg whites until stiff, not
dry. Gradually beat in one fourth cup sugar. Fold chilled chocolate mixture into
egg whites. Pour into pie shell. Cut 13 more sugar wafers in half and press against
inside of pie plate for trim."
---"Teenage Treat," Washington Post, September 17, 1959 (p. C10)

[1965]
"If you like pie and chocolate candy, then here's a pie that can't possibly miss
pleasing you. The filling is a billowy tempting concoction that's easily prepared
because it uses convenience foods: marshmallows and almond chocolate candy bars.
The top is whipped cream with a grated candy bar. Pastry that holds all this
goodness should be flaky, tender and light, as it certainly will be when lard is
chosen...
Satin-Smooth Chocolate Pie and Pastry
1 cup sifted enriched flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 tablespoons lard
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
Mix flour and salt. Cut lard into flour until crumbs are about the size of small
peas. Add ice water, a little at a time, mixing quickly and evenly through flour
with a fork until dough just holds in a ball. Use as little water as possible. Roll
to about 1/8 inch thickness and line a 9-inch pie pan, allowing 1/2 inch pie crust
to extend over edge. Crimp edges. Prick pastry with a fork. Bake in a very hot oven
(450 degree F.) 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
Filling
20 marshmallows
1/2 cup milk
6 bars (3/4 ounce each) almonds milk chocolate candy
1 pint whipping cream
Combine marshmallows and milk in saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring
occasionally, until marshmallows are melted. Add 5 candy bars and continue heating
until chocolate melts. Cool thoroughly. Beat 1 cup whipping cream and fold into
cooled chocolate mixture. Spoon filling into baked pie shell. Chill 3 to 4 hours.
Whip remaining cream and spread over filling. Grate remaining candy bar and
sprinkle over whipped cream. Yield: one 9-inch pie."
---"Chocolate Pie Uses Candy Bars, Tastes Terrific,' Chicago Daily Defender, March
11, 1965 (p. 26)

Related recipes? Black bottom pie, Mud pie & Dirt dessert.

Chinese Pie, Maine style

The general concensus of our food history books and database searches is that
"Chinese Pie" also known as "Pate Chinois" is a regional favorite of New England
and Quebec. The recipe is similar to Shepherd's pie.

There is no obvious connection between this dish and traditional Chinese cuisine.
Why the name? There are three theories:

(1) The name was bestowed by French Canadians who first encountered the dish while
living in a tiny town called China, Maine. These skilled workers were mill
employees. When the Canadians moved on (back home or to other New England mill
towns), they brought their Chinese Pie recipes with them.

(2) This dish was made by Chinese workers employed by Canadian railways and was
adopted by the locals. Chinese immigration to Canada. But??? This does not explain
why only the French Canadians call this dish Chinese Pie (pate chinois)?

(3) Maybe the connection has more to do with the preparation (chopping up several
ingredients and cooking them together) rather than the finished dish. Think: chop
suey. New Englanders are also famous for their American chop suey (a chopped beef,
vegetable, and tomato casserole). Both dishes are particularly connected with
Maine. Chinese pie was a regular entree on Maine public school lunch menus in the
1960s; and popular throughout New England in from the 1970s forward. Coincidence?
Maybe.

"China pie. A meat pie named "pate chinois" is found on menus in small, family-
style Quebec restaurants. It has no connection with Chinese cuisine. It's a French-
Canadian term for shepherd's pie, the combination of ground-up cooked meat, gravy,
and mashed potatoes. The name was traced by Quebec food historian Claude Poirier to
a town in the state of Maine called China. In the late 19th century, thousands of
Quebecers migrated to the northeastern United States to work in the mills. Those
who settled in the town of China eventually returned to Quebec with a recipe for
shepherd's pie, which they called "pate chinois."
---A Taste of Quebec, Julian Armstrong [Hippocrene Books:New York], 2nd edition
2001(p. 7)

There is a town called China, Maine. It was a mill town in the 19th century.

"Pate Chinois
(Shepherd's Pie)
1-2 cups cooked left-over beef, chopped, or 1 lb minced beef
3 tablespoons meat fat
2 large onions, minced
1/2 teaspoon savory
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can creamed corn
4 cups mashed potatoes
Melt the fat and brown the onion over high heat. Add the cooked or raw meat,
savory, salt and pepper. Stir over medium heat 3-4 minutes. Place in a baking dish.
Pour the corn over the meat and top with potatoes mashed with milk, If you like, a
small piece of butter may be added. Smooth top with a knife, making pretty designs
and dot with butter. Bake in a 375 degrees F. oven for 20 minutes."
---The Canadiana Cookbook, Mme. Jehane Benoit [Pagurian Press:Toronto] 1970 (p. 29)
Pate Chinois (Chinese Pie)
1 1/2 pounds hamburg
10 medium size potatoes
2 cans cream style corn
1 medium sized onion, diced
2 tabplespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste.
Cook onions and hamburg in skillet until brown. Boil potaotes and mash with butter,
milk, salt and pepper. When hamburger is brown remove from skillet and place in
bottom of a casserole. Cover meat and onion mixture with cream style corn. Top with
mashed potatoes and sprinkle with parsley flake.s Bake in 350 degree oven for 45
minutes or until potatoes are golden brown. Marks 4 servings."
---"Ham and Pineapple Good Dinner Partners," Marguerite Lyons, Lowell Sun [MA],
January 25, 1973 (p. 17).

Rappie Pie
Our sources confirm Rappie Pie (Pate a la Rapure) is a popular savory pie
traditionally associated with Acadia. It descends from the same culinary tradition
as Shepherd's Pie, combining grated potatoes and minced (leftover) meats. It is a
thrifty dish that satisfies the belly.

"Rapure is anything that has been grated; in the case of this familiar Acadian main
course, it's grated raw potatoes. This is yet again a dish of necessity, for, in
pioneer times, the grated raw potatoes were squeezed dry in a cotton bag, and the
'potato water' was used as starch when the seek's laundry was cone. After removal
of the 'starch water,' the potatoes were mashed in with whatever meat was being
used, perhaps salt pork or chicken or seafood, plus onions, eggs, and seasonings
like summer savory, coriander, salt and pepper. It goes by variant names, like pate
rape or chiard, depending on which part of Acadia you're making it in. There are
also several distinct methods of making rappie pie, another of which involves
making a broth of the chicken or clams or mussels or rabbit, and as part of the
preparation, scalding the squeezed potatoes in this broth. Le Pate in Acadian is
the traditional meat pie. The French word pate has an interesting etymology. Before
1165, it was spelled paste, stemming from Vulgar Latin pasta, itself from Greek
paste 'flour sauce.' ... Every region of Acadia has its local meat pie, and not
just for supper. Some pates are served for breakfast or even as midnight, after-
skating snacks. In some places in New Brunswick, variations consisting of
miniature, folded pates...are called petits cochons (piggly wigs), little lunar
crescents of golden-brown crust enclosing juicy bits of pork, chicken, potatoes,
and onions."
---Canadian Food Words, Bill Casselman [MacArthur & Company:Toronto] 1998 (p. 132-
133)

"Pate a la Rapure (Rappie Pie)

Probably the most popular of all the Acadian recipes is Pate a la Rapure, commonly
called Rappie Pie. It is still served on festive occasions, and in many homes, for
Sunday dinner.
You will need a grater; a large pan, measuring at least 17"X12X2"; a cloth bag,
preferably a small flour bag, since it must be sturdy and yet allow the water and
starch to be squeezed through
1 peck potatoes
2 chickens, 2-3 1/2 pounds each
2-3 large onions
1/4 pound butter
6 strips bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
Poultry seasoning
Cook chickens in a large pot on top of the stove with plenty of seasoning and
onions, before you start grating your potatoes, so that the juice of the meat will
be hot and ready for use. When the chickens are cooked, separate meat from the
bones and cut into pieces. In the meantime, peel potatoes and soak in cold water so
they will stay white. Grate about 10 potatoes at a time and then place in the cloth
bag and squeeze until all water and starch is removed. Do all potatoes in this way.
Do not discard the liquid form the potatoes until it has been measured, for an
equal amount of the hot chicken broth must be measured to replace the potato
liquid. When potatoes are all squeezed, loosen them in a large pan, measure the
chicken broth and gradually add to the potatoes, stirring slowly. When potatoes are
cooked enough they will take on a jelly-like appearance. Be sure there are no
lumps. Add seasonings, and stir, stir, stir! Cover bottom of well-greased pan with
half of the potato mixture. Arrange pices of chciken, chopped onions and pats of
butter on top, distributing evenly. Cover with the other half of potato mixture.
Then add a bit of chopped onion, more pats of butter, and a few strips of bacon.
This will help to form the crust. Place pie in a hot oven (400 degrees) for aobut 2
hours, or until a brown crust is formed. This is delicious with apple sauce or
cranberry sauce. Serve piping hot. Will serve approximately 12 persons."
---Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens, Marie Nightingale [McCurdy Printing
Company:Nova Scotia(?)] 1970, 1977 (p. 64)

"Rappie Pie, A Famous Acadian Dish

Boil 5 lbs. chicken, black duck or rabbit in enough water to make 1 1/2 gallons of
broth. The meat should not be completely cooked. Remove the meat from the broth and
break it up with a fork. Peel 12 large potatoes. Grate them and squeeze in a bag,
letting the starchy water drain into a bowl. Allow this water to set. Drain off the
clear liquid and add the starch sediment to the potatoes. Pack tightly in a bowl
and cover it for a few minutes with a cold, wet cloth. Place the potatoes and 3
onions, raw, sliced, in a warm dish. Add the boiling broth gradually, beating
constantly, and season with 1/4 tsp. thyme, 1/4 tsp. savory and salt and pepper to
taste. Put in a dish previously greased with hot, melted lard. Place one layer of
potatoes, one layer of hot meat and one layer of potatoes. Bake in a hot oven, 500
degrees, for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 300 degrees for 1 hour.
Grease the top with 2 or 3 tsps. pure lard and brown. Serves 12."
---Centennial Food Guide: A Century of Good Eating, Pierre and Janet Berton
[Canadian Centennial Library:McClelland and Stewart Ltd.] 1966 (p. 110)

Related food? Tourtiere.

Shoofly pie
Shoofly pie has such an interesting name, it must have an equally interesting
history. It certainly does!

Many food history reference books attribute the origin of shoofly pie to the
Pennslyvania Dutch. A closer examination of culinary evidence suggests this group
may be able to claim the name, but maybe not the recipe. This resiliant sugar-based
formula is capable of adapting through the ages according to ingredient
availability and cook ingenuity. Food historians tell us sugar-filled pastries
originated in the Ancient Middle East. Sweet treacle pies were popular all over
Medieval Europe. Renaissance diners preferred similar compostions made with fine
white sugar. These recipes were introduced to America by European settlers from
several nations. Molasses was often substituted for treacle in colonial American
recipes. Some folks say the "original shoofly recipe" is descended from Centennial
cake. Both desserts have striking similarities.

WHY SHOOFLY? According to the book Rare Bits, Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes,
by Patricia Bunning Stevens (p. 262) shoofly pie was created when "the pie-loving
Pennsylvania Dutch ...found themselves short of baking supplies in the late winter
and early spring...all that was left in the pantry were flour, lard, and molasses.
From these sparse ingredients they fashioned Shoo-Fly Pie and found that their
families liked it so well that they soon made it all year round. The unusual name
is presumed to come from the fact that pools of sweet, sticky molasses sometimes
formed on the surface of the pie while it was cooling, inevitably attracting
flies." According to the The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, by John Mariani
(p. 293) the term "Shoo Fly Pie" was not recorded in print until 1926.

"Shoofly pie.
In American cuisine, shoofly pie is a sort of treacle tart, made with molasses or
brown sugar and topped with a sugar, flour, and butter crumble. It's name is
generally taken to be an allusion to the fact that it is so attractive to flies
that they have to be constantly shooed away from it, but the fact that it
originated as a Pennsylvania-Dutch specialty suggests the possibility that shoofly
is an alteration of an unidentified German word."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
310-1)

WHAT IS AMISH SHOOFLY?

There are two basic variations on the traditional Amish Shoofly Pie
recipe."Traditional" Shoo-fly pies are made with either a "wet bottom" (soft
filling and crumb topping) or "dry bottom" (crumb topping is mixed into the
filling), which is commonly served for breakfast."

If you are looking for a Shoo-Fly pie recipe from the early 18th century, try this
one from "The Thirteen Colonies Cookbook," by Mary Donovan. On page 135 appears
this recipe attributed to Magdelena Hoch Keim of Lobachsville, Pennsylvania.
(1730--?). This recipe has been modernized for contemporary kitchens:

Wet-Bottomed Shoofly Pie

3/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp each nutmeg, ginger, and ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons shortening
1 egg yolk, beaten well
1/2 cup barrel molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp baking soda
Piecrust dough for 9-inch pie
Combine flour, sugar, spices, and salt with the shortening. Work into crumbs with
your hands. Add beaten egg yolk to molasses. Pour boiling water over soda until
dissolved; then add to molasses mixture. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry and
fill it with the molasses mixture. Top with the crumb mixture. Bake at 400 degrees
until the crust browns, about 10 minutes. Reduce to 325 degrees and bake firm.

Original recipes for "molasses pie" read like this:

Four eggs--beat the Whites separate--one Teacupful of brown Sugar, half a Nutmeg,
two Tablespoonfuls of Butter; beat them will together; stir in one Teacupful and a
half of Molasses, and then add the Whites of Eggs. Bake on Pastry.
(Mrs. Cole's Recipes, c. 1837--reprinted in The Williamsburg Art of Cookery, Helen
Bullock [Colonial Williamsburg:Williamsburg VA] 1937 (p. 127)
Related foods? Chess Pie (aka sugar pie) & Mongtomery Pie,
Sweet potato pie
Sweet potatoes are "New World" foods, pie is an "Old World" recipe. Creamy recipes
combining orange vegetables with sweeteners, spice and cream were known in Medieval
Europe. Carrots were sometimes employed in this manner in England. Sweet potatoes
(like pumpkins) were introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Food historians tell
us these new vegetables were greatly prized by some European kings and queens. When
& why did we begin topping sweet potato pie with marshmallows?

"King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella may have liked [sweet potatoes] well enough to
have planted them in their court gardens. Their son-in-law, Henry VIII of England,
liked them too, he thought the plant was an aphrodesiac...Rareness and expense,
besides that quality Henry VIII appreciated, lent it chic. Also, "the most delicate
root that may be eaten," as the sixteenth-century English mariner and slave trader
John Hawkins called it, suited European taste. ..Henry ate his sweet potatoes in
heavily spiced and sugared pies, a fashion that survived at least until the 1680s."
---The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World, Larry Zuckerman
[North Point Press:New York] 1998 (p. 9)

Sweet potatoes were introduced to West Africa soon thereafter. They were similar to
yams ("Old World" foods) and quickly incorporated into the local cuisine. Sweet
potato pie seems to have converged in the American South from very early colonial
days. It quickly became a staple of the region. Today this fine pie is considered
by some to be a cornerstone of "Soul Food."

"Africans in the South knew the yam...from their homeland and the two tubers have
become virtually interchangeable in Southern cooking. Most Southern sweet potato
recipes have been developed by black from their traditional cuisine..."
---Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie, Bill Neal [Alfred A. Knopf:New York]
1996 (p. 268)

Why are sweet potatoes pies sometimes served with marshmallows?

During the late 19th/early 20th century marshmallows were very trendy. Mass-
manufactured, plentiful and inexpensive, they were agressively promoted by food
companies. Campfire Brand is one of the oldest. Marshmallows were incorporated into
cakes, pies, gelatin desserts, hot chocolate, candies, and the like. Marshmallows
were promoted as a moden whipped cream substitute. About marshmallows. The earliest
recipes we find combining sweet potatoes (& to a lesser extent, yams) with
marshmallows date to the 1920s. According to these recipes, marshmallows were
layered casserole-style or placed on top of the finished dish for decoration.
Candied yams were sometimes served with marshmallows. Coincidentally, many
signature dishes of the 1920s were exceptionally sweet. Some food historians
hypothesize this was a tasteful reaction to Prohibition.

[1921]
"I sometimes serve sweet potatoes in this way: Pare and boil medium-sized sweet
potatoes until tender and remove and place in a pan in this way: One layer of the
sweet potatoes, sliced; a little sugar sprinkled over the slices, a thin layer of
marshmallows cut into small pieces, and then another layer of the sliced sweet
potatoes--and so repeat the order of these layers till the dish is full; finish
with the marshmallow layer. Set the dish in the oven and let bake until the
marshmallows melt and are brown on top."
---"Efficient Housekeeping," Laura A. Kipkman, Los Angeles Times, June 23, 1921 (p.
II8)
[1927]
"Sweet Potatoes and Marshmallows
Three cupfuls freshly boiled sweet potaotes mashed, one-half cupful sugar, one-
quarter cupful butter, one cupful chopped pecans, add raisins if desired or any
other combination of nuts or raisins or either alone. Place whole marshmallows on
top and bake."
---"Chef Wyman's Suggestions for Tomorrow's Menu," Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1927
(p. A5)

A SURVEY OF SWEET POTATO PIE RECIPES THROUGH TIME

The earliest references we find to potato pie in English cookbooks were printed in
the 18th Century. There bear striking resemblance in both ingredients and method to
pompion (pumpkin) pies of the 17th century. About pumpkin pie. Early potato pie
recipes are included with savory/vegetable dishes; 19th century recipes are grouped
with desserts. Culinary evidence reveals a variety of different ways for making
these pies. Did the early cooks use "sweet potatoes" or were white potatoes that
were sweetened? It's difficult to determine from the primary evidence.
[1747]
"Potato-Cakes.
Take the Potatoes boil them, peel them, beat them in a Mortar, mix them with Yolks
of Eggs, a little Sack, Sugar, a little beaten Mace, a little Nutmeg, a little
Cream, or melted Butter, work it up into a Paste, then make it into Cakes, or just
what Shapes you please with Moulds, fry them brown in fresh Butter, lay them in
Plates or Dishes, melt Butter with Sack and Sugar, and pour over them."
"A Pudding made thus. Mix it as before, make it to the Shape of a Pudding, and bake
it; pour Butter, Sack and Sugar over it."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile reprint 1747
edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 1995 (p. 98) [NOTES: Although the type of potatoes
is not specified (white, sweet), the recipe is strikingly similar to that of
modern-day sweet potato pie. Many 18th century English and American puddings were
baked in pie crust. "Sack" is a type of sweet wine.]

[1753]
"A Potato Pye.
Having made your Crust, lay a Layer of Butter in the Bottom, and having boiled your
Potatoes tender, lay them in, and upon them may Marrow, Yoks of hard Eggs, whole
Spice, blanched Almonds, Dates, Pistachoes, Orange, lemon, and Citron -peel
candy'd; then lay in a Layer of Butter over all, close up your Pye, bake it; and
when it comes out of the Oven, cut up the Lid, and pour in melted Butter, Sutagr,
Wine, and the Yolks of Eggs."
---The Lady's Companion, Sixth Edition, Volume II [J. Hodges:London] 1753 (p. 161)

[1792]
"Potatoe Pudding.
Take two pounds of potatoes, boil them, peel them, bruise them fine, and rub them
through a sieve with the back of a wooden spoon, mix them with half a pound of fine
sugar, a pound of fresh butter melted, a glass of sack or brandy, half a nutmeg
grated, a little lemon peel shred fine, and beat up six eggs well and put in; mix
all the ingredients well together, and put in half a pound of currants clean washed
and picked; dip your cloth into boiling water, put in the pudding, tie it close,
and boil it one hour; when it is done turn it into the dish, pour melted butter,
sack and sugar mixed over it, and send it to table hot. You may leave out the
currants if you please.

"Potatoe Pudding a second Way.

Boil two pounds of white potatoes, peel them, and bruise them find in a mortar,
with half a pound of melted butter and the yolks of four eggs; to it into a cloth,
and boil it half an hour; then turn it into the dish, pour melted butter, with a
glass of sweet wine and the juice of a Seville orange mixed over it, and strew
powder sugar over all.

"Yam pudding.
Take about two pounds of yam, pare it, boil it till it is tender, mash it, and rub
it through a sieve; beat up the yolks of eight and the whites of four eggs, with a
half pint to cream, half a pound of melted butter, and same quantitiy of sugar, a
gill of sack, a small glass of brandy, a little grated nutmeg and ginger, a tea-
spoonful of salt, a spoonful of orange flower or rose water, put in the yam, and
mix all well together; either put it in a cloth, and boil it one hour, or lay a
puff-paste round the edge of the dish, pour it in, and bake it three quarters of an
hour. You may put in half a pound of currants well washed and picked."
---The New Art of Cookery According to the Present Practice, Richard Briggs [W.
Spotswood, R. Campbell and B. Johnson:Philadelphia] 1792 (p. 328-330)

[1828]
"Sweet potato pudding.
A quarter of a pound of boiled sweet potato.
Three eggs.
A quarter of a pound of powerered white sugar.
A quarter of a pound of fresh butter.
A glass of mixed wine and brandy.
A half-glass of rose-water.
A tea-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon.
Pound the spices, allowing a smaller proportion of mace than of nutmeg and
cinnamon. Boil and peel some sweet potatoes, and when they are cold, weigh a
quarter of a pound. Mash the sweet potato very smooth, and rub it through a siever.
Stir the sugar and butter to a cream. Beat the eggs very light, and stir them into
the butter and sugar, alternately with the sweet potato. Add by degrees the liquor,
rose-water and spice. Stir all very hard together. Spread puff-paste on a soup-
plate. Put in the mixture, and bake it about half an hour in a moderate oven. Grate
sugar over it."
---Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, By a Lady of
Philadephia (Eliza Leslie), facsimile reprint of 1828 edition, Boston:Munroe and
Francis [Applewood Books:Chester CT] (p. 21)

[1839]
"Sweet potato pie.
Peel your potatoes, wash them clean, slice and stew them in a very little water
till quite soft, and nearly dry; then mash them fine, season them with butter,
sugar, cream, nutmeg and cinnamon, and when cold, add four beaten eggs, and press
the pulp through a sieve. Roll out plain or standing paste as for other pies, put a
sheet of it over a large buttered patty-pan, or deep plate, put in smoothly a thick
layer of the potato pulp, and bake it in a moderate oven. Grate loaf sugar over it
when done, and send it to table warm or cold, with cream sauce or boiled custard."
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile reprint 1839 edition [Image
Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 268)

[1878]
"Sweet Potato Pudding.
1 lb parboiled potatoes.
1/2 cup of butter.
3/4 cup cup of white sugar.
1 tablespoonful of cinnamon.
4 eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately.
1 teaspoonful of nutmeg.
1 lemon, juice and grated rind.
1 glass brandy.
Let the potatoes get entirely cold, and grate them. Cream the butter and sugar; add
the yolks, spice and lemon. Beat the potato in by degrees, to a light paste; then
the brandy, lastly the whites. Bake in a buttered dish, and eat cold."
---The Dinner Year-Book, Marion Harland [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 1878 (p.
164)

[1884]
"Sweet potatoes may be baked or boiled, The are better baked. Cold sweet potatoes
may be cut in slices, warmed in milk, and seasoned with butter and salt, or browned
in butter. A Southern Dish...Cut cold baked sweet potatoes into quarter-inch
slices, and put them in an earthen dish. Spread each layer with butter, and prinkle
slightly with sugar, and bake until hot and slighlty browned. Sweet potatoes are
much richer when twice cooked."
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln, facsimile 1884 edition
[Dover Publications:Mineola NY] 1996 (p. 296)

[1897]
"Sweet potato pie. Boil the potatoes and peel them, rub throguh a colandar, and to
every pint of potatoes take a cupful of rich milk or cream, four eggs beaten
separately. Cream a cup of butter and one of sugar together, add the yolks to the
sugar and butter and beat well, then stir in the poatoes and beat again. Season
with grated nutmeg and a wineglass of brandy. Then gently stir in the beaten whites
of the eggs. Line deep pie plates with puff pastry and fill with this mixture; put
into the range and bake. This must have no top crust."
---Warm Springs Receipt Book, E.T. Glover [B.F. Johnson Publishing Co.:Richmond VA]
1897 (p. 248)

[1911]
"Sweet Potato Pie.
1 cup mashed sweet potato
1/2 cup sugar
yolks of 2 eggs
2 cups rich milk
salt
Mix all with beaten yolks of eggs, bake slowly, flavor meringue of whites of eggs
with vanilla."
---The Laurel Health Cookery, Evora Bucknum Perkins [Laurel Publishing
Company:Melrose MA] 1911 (p. 365)

[1930]
"Sweet Potato Custard
Boil, peel, and mash through a sieve sweet potatoes, adding a little milk or water
to make them press through easily. Take
1 quart of this sweet potato
1 quart sweet milk
1 pint granulated sugar
8 eggs, yolks only, well beaten
an mix well together. Flavor with essence of lemon or lemon rind, and a good pinch
of powdered mace. Add a pinch of salt. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff
froth, and add one-third to the batter. Bake in pans lined with rich pastry. The
custard could not be more than three-fourths of an inch deep. When done, cover with
meringue made of the remaining whites well beaten with five tablespoonfuls of
pulverized sugar, and flavored with vanilla. Set in a warm oven until the meringue
is set and colored a good cream color. Eat when quite cold."
---Old Southern Receipt, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride:New York] 1930 (p. 139)

Sweet potatoes or yams?

Although both yams and sweet potatoes edible starchy tubers, they evolved from two
totally different plant species. True yams are Old World (there is one varietal
exception) and sweet potatoes are New World (Peru). The confusion between these two
is said to be attributed to linguistics. When Europeans introduced the sweet potato
to Africa, (already familiar with yams), native cooks gave this similar-looking
vegetable the same name. Yams were introduced to America by West African slaves.
Today, yams and sweet potatoes are traditional fare in the American south.

What is a sweet potato?

"The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and the yams (genus Dioscorea) are root crops
that today nurture millions of people within the world's tropics. Morevever, they
are plants whose origin and dispersals may help in an understanding of how humans
manipulated and changed specific types of plants to bring them under cultivation.
Finally, these cultivars are important as case studies the diffusion of plant
species as they moved around the world through contacts between different human
populations..."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas
[Cambridge University:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 207)

"Sweet potato...the most important of the tropical root crops, is the starch tuber
of a vine of the ...morning glory family. It is not related to the ordinary potato,
although both plants are of American origin. The sweet potato is the cultivated
descendant of a wild plant, the remains of whose tubers have been found in a cave
in Peru inhabited before 8000BC. It was taken into cultivation during the last
centuries BC, well before the time of the Incas, and became a staple food all over
tropical America as far north as Mexico and on the Caribbean islands. It is likely
that it was during the 13th century AD that the sweet potato was taken westward to
Easter Island and Hawaii, and in the next century to New Zealand...The first
European to taste sweet potatoes were members of Columbus' expedition to Haiti, in
1492...Early accounts give various local names, aji, camote, apichu, and others;
but the name which stuck was the first known Haitian one, batata...Native American
sweet potatoes in use at that time were not all sweet. Some were plainly starchy
and others markedly fibrous...But the European explorers were interested only in
the sweet kinds, and it is these which have been spread by European influence while
the others have largely died out...The sweet potato was cultivated in the south of
Spain from the early 16th century, and proved a popular novelty."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 774-5)

Sweet potatoes in China

"It is generally accepted that the sweet potato reached China at the end of the
16th century. There was a famine in Fujian province in 1593 and the governor sent
an expedition to the Philippines to search for food plants. Next year the ships
returned with sweet potatoes, which soon became a staple of that part of China.
Early in the 18th century the sweet potato passed into Japan. The fact that it is
called karaimo (i.e. Chinese potato) in the Ryuku Island (Okinawa), ryukyu-imo in
Satsuma, and satsumaimo in the rest of the country is said to indicate the route by
which it arrived."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition, Tom Jaine editor [Oxford
University Press:Oxford] 2006 (p. 775)

"China. Ping-Tio Ho writes that two theories exist for the introduction of sweet
potatoes into China. The first involves an overseas merchant to brought the plants
from Luzon, which were given to the governor of Fukein in 1594 to alleviate a
famine...The second claim suggests that sweet potatoes arrived via the southern
port of Chang-chou, but no specific date of this alleged introduction is
known...Ping-Ti Ho indicates that whereas the former story may be true, the sweet
potato was already in China by 1594, having been observed by 1563 in the western
prefecture Ta-li, near Burma...Ho concludes that the introduction could have been
either overland or by sea via India or Burma, well before the generally accepted
date of 1594."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas,
[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 209)

Sweet potatoes in Japan

"Far more important in the history of food than naban cooking and confection, in
terms of socioeconomic impact, were the cultivable vegetables of New World origin
which arrived during this period. Spaniards and Portuguese brought the new corps to
Southeast Asia and China, and they reached Japan through the efforts not only of
Europeans but also Chinese traders, as well as Okinawans and Japanese who did
business in various parts of Asia. The sweet potato was the most influential of the
new crops. Having been introduced by Spaniards to Luzon in the Philippines, it
spread to the Chinese province of Fujian in 1593. Potted seedlings were taken from
there to the Ryuku kingdom (now Okinawa) in 1605 by a returning envoy, and it was
soon put in cultivation all over the Ruyku Islands. The first cultivation of the
sweet potato on the main islands of Japan was in a field planted by Richard Cocks,
the manager of the East India Company office in Hirado, who brought it from the
Ryukyus. Therafter it was widely cultivated in the warm and dry maritime districts
of western Japan, and was steamed, boiled or grilled for daily consumption. It
became very important as a staple food, particularly in areas geographically
unsuitable for the establishment of paddy fields: Okinawa, southern Kyushu, the
Bungo Channel coasts of Kyushu and Shikoku, Tsushima Island, and the islands of the
Inland sea. In some places sweet potatoes became the source for at least 60 per
cent of the food energy intake of the local population...In locals where rice
production was low and habitation was sparse, there was perceptible population
growth following the introduction of the sweet potato."
---The History and Culture of Japanese Food, Naomichi Ishige [Kegan Paul:London]
2001 (p. 95)

"Japan. An English factory at Hirado was allegedly responsible for first

introducing the sweet potato to Japan about 1615. It did not, however, 'catch on,'
and the plant was reintroduced from China in about 1674 to stave off a famine."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas,
[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 209)

16th century Europe

"All recipes for potatoes were for sweet, or Spanish potatoes. The white, or
Virginia, potato so-called because Sir Walter Raleigh brought it back to England
from Virginia, or so it was thought, was barely known during Shakespeare's
lifetime. Spanish potaotes, introduced by the Spaniards, who found them in South
America, were known in England around the middle of the sixteenth century. William
Harrison mentions them in the 1577 edition of The Description of England, but
recipes for them do not appear in English cookbooks until the 1580s, when Thomas
Dawson offered the recipe, much quoted by social historians of Tudor England, on
how 'to make a tart that is a courage to a man or woman.' The recipe combines
potatoes with the brains of cock robins, among other ingredients, making it clear
to Elizabethans that it was a dish with aphrodesiac possibilities. The aphrodesiac
reputation of cock robbins' brains and sweet potatoes was accepted by educated
people as well as by the medical profession. Sir Thomas Elyot in his Castle of
Health, does not mention robins, but notes that 'sparrowes be hard to digest, and
are very hot, and stirreth up Venus, and especially the brains of them.'
Shakespeare mentions potatoes twice, both times with lecherous connotations."
---Dining with William Shakespeare, Madge Lorwin [Atheneum:New York] 1976 (p. 41)

William Shakespeare's reference:

"..when lovesick Falstaff greeted Mistress Ford with 'let the sky rain potatoes in
Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor (1598) he was referring to sweet potatoes--and
appealing to their aprhodesiac effect."
---A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2000 (p. 331)
[NOTE: Harvard Shakespeare Concordance confirms the use of the word 'potato' in Act
5, Scene 5, Line 19. The Riverside Shakespeare [Houghton Mifflin:1974] note 19
states: "Potatoes--sweet potatoes (which were thought to stimulate sexuality.)]

Thomas Dawson's recipe, c. 1596:

"To Make a Tart That Is Courage To A Man Or Woman

Take two quinces and two or three bur [burdock] roots, and a potato, and pare your
potato and scrape your roots, and put them into a quart of wine. Let them boil till
they be tender. And put in an ounce of dates. When they be boiled tender draw them
through a strainer, wine and all, and then put in the yolks of eight eggs, and the
brains of three or four cock sparrows, and strain them into the other, and a little
rose water. Seethe them all with sugar, cinnamon and ginger, cloves and mace. Put
in a little sweet butter, and set it upon a chafing dish of coals between two
platters. And so let it boil till it be something big."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, with an introduction by Maggie Black
[Southover Press:East Sussex] 1996 (p. 135)
Sweet potatoes in North America
Like their white potato [Virginia] cousins, sweet potatoes were introduced to North
America via Europe.
"The sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, and the white potato, Solanum tuberosum, both
plants from the New World were not remotely related, yet their identities were
hopelessly entangled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Sources, even
highly regarded ones, are contradictory, not to say self-contradictory. Turner, in
1548, makes no mention of either potato, but in 1577, Harrison speaks of 'the
potato and such venerous roots as are brought out of Spaine, Portingale, and the
Indies to furnish up our bankets [banquets]. By 1586, there appears in Thomas
Dawson's The Good Huswifes Jewell, Part 1, a recipe entitled: To make a tart that
is a courage to man or woman, that calls for Potaton...In 1597, Gerard correctly
identified the two plants. (He was by no means the first to have done so, but his
work was popular and had clear drawings.) He called sweets simply Potatoes, saying
that they grew in Spain; what he called Potatoes of Virginia are whites...This
nomenclature persisted til nearly mid-century. Both kinds grew in his garden,
Gerard days, but the sweet potatoes 'perished' of damp and cold. Sweet potatoes
'comfort, nourish, and strengthen the body...' he claims...The potatoes of
Shakespeare were sweet potatoes, and they were frequently sliced and conserved with
sugar exactly as eryngo roots. Markham, in 1615, mentions potatoes at least twice:
in a recipe for Olepotrige, a dish from Spaine, and again in discussing a potato
pie; they could only have been sweet potatoes. It seems to have take several
decades for the Virginia potato to make from horticultural displays to general
cultivation...The sweet potato was never cultivated in Britain, but trade with
Spain was lively and continued to flourish; the price was high, but such white
potatoes as reached the market, around mid-century, were nearly as dear. As for the
potatoes in our manuscript...we can only speculate as to what was in the mind of
the copyist, possible as late as the second half of the seventeenth century."
---Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess [Columbia
University Press:New York] 1995 (p. 85-86)
"On the North American mainland sweet potatoes had long been grown by the Indians
in Louisiana, where de Soto found them in 1540, and as far north as Georgia. By
1648 the colonists in Virginia were cultivating them. The sweet potato was
especially valued during the war against the British and the Civil War, for it
grows quickly and its underground habit makes it less vulnerable than surface crops
to deliberate destruction."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 774-5)

"Sweet potatoes are mentioned as one of the cultivated products of Virginia in

1648, perhgaps in 1610 and are mentioned again by Jefferson, 1781. They are said to
have been introduced into New England in 1764 and to have comne into general use.
John Lowell says that sweet potatoes of excellent quality can be raised about
Boston, but they are of no agricultural importance in this region. In 1773, Bartram
saw plantations of swet potatoes about Indian villages in the South, and Romans
refer to their use by the Indians of Florida in 1775."
---Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants, edited by U.P. Hedrick, Report of the New
York Agricultural Experiment States for the year 1919 II [J.B. Lyons Company:Albany
NY] 1919 (p. 315-316)

"The term "sweet potato" was not in use in America until the 1740s, but then
distinguished from the white potato that had come to Boston about 1719 with Irish
immigrants...In the nineteenth century George Washington Carver devised more than a
hundred uses for the sweet potato...By the 1800s American were enjoying candied
sweet potatoes, along with less lavish preparations of boiled, roasted, or mashed
tubers. Today some of the most popular market varieties include "Centennial,"
Goldrush," "Georgia Red,"...The sweet potato has long been associated with southern
and soul cooking..."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 318-9)

"In America, sweet potatoes were grown extensively in Virginia, Georgia, and the
Carolinas, but there were a luxury in the North before 1830."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 520)

About yams
"Yams existed at least as far back as the beginning of the Jurassic era, when
dinosaurs had not yet been succeeded by mammals and S. America and Asia were still
joined. After the continents separated at the end of the Cretaceous era, the
evolution of American yams proceeded separately, but they are still not much
different from their Old World relatives. The differences between Asian and African
yams, which were separated only in historic times by the drying up of the
intervening land, Arabia, are also slight...Even within the main cultivated
species, yams vary to a remarkable extent in size, shape, and colour...The origin
of the word yam'...story goes the Portuguese slave traders, watching Africans
digging up some roots, asked what they were called. Failing to understand the
question aright, the Africans replied that is was something to eat', "nyami" in
Guinea. This became "inhame" in Portuguese and then "igname" in French and "yam" in
English."
---The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford]
1999 (p. 856)

African yams enjoy a rich and interesting history, figuring prominently in cultural
traditions. "Dioscorea cayenesi" is the principal species grown in West Africa. The
African name for this vegetable is "allato."

"While much emphasis had been placed on cereal cultivation, there is increasing
evidence that tubers also played an important role in African diets as well and
seem to date back to 18,000 to 17,000 years ago. Yams became so important within
the western section of the continent that they took on mythical proportions.
Festivities mark their planting and harvesting in countries like Ghana and
Nigeria...It is generally agreed upon by botanists that certain species of yams
were first protected and later domesticated in the tropical rainforest zone of
western Africa..."
---The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent, Jessica B. Harris [Simon &
Schuster:New York] 1998 (p. 6)

"The Yam Spirit was a powerful force present in much of Oceania and in Nigeria as
well. Yam planting in Nigeria, as in the Oceanian lands, was accompanied by
elaborate rituals. In Nigeria, the Yam Spirit, called Ifejilku by some, has a
special cult...The yam ceremonies performed in these cultures are similar to
agricultural rites surrounding numerous other crops throughout the world..."
---Nectar and Ambrosia: an encyclopedia of food in world mythology, Tamra Andrews
[ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara] 2000 (p. 250)

If all you need is a basic overview of the history of African yams, ask your
librarian to help you find this article: "West African Prehistory," S. K. McIntosh,
American Scientist 69 (6): 160 1981

When is a sweet potato not a sweet potato?

17th-18th century English and American cookbooks contained recipes for both white
and sweet potatoes. Generally, when sweet potatoes are used, the ingredient is
spelled out. But? Not all sweet potato recipes employed sweet potatoes. Sometimes
the word "sweet" was employed as an adjective. Mary Randolph's "Sweet Potato Buns"
is a classic example. This recipe used sugar to sweeten the mashed white potato.
Potato breads (flour, mashed) were popular substitutes for traditional wheaten
loaves. The starch in the potato produced excellent breadstuffs. Today, potato
bread is a regular fixture in most supermarkets. Mrs. Randolph was Thomas
Jefferson's cousin and contemporary. Presumably, his recipe would have mirrored
hers. Of course, it is totally possible that he used sweet potatoes instead of
white.

[1824]
"Sweet potato buns (facsimile) are sweet buns made with white potato. Mrs. Randolph
always specified sweet potato when so intended (see Sweet-Potato Pudding, for
example). Similar rolls made with sweet potato came to be a Virginia specialty,
however, so that a case may be made for either."
---The Virginia House-Wife, Mary Randolph, facsimile 1824 edition with historical
notes and commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia]
1984 (p. 261)
"Sweet Potato Buns. Boil and mash a potato, rub into it as much four as will make
it like a bread, add spice an sugar to your taste, with a spoonful of yeast; when
it has risen well, work in a piece of butter; bake it in small rolls, to be eaten
hot with butter, either for breakfast or for tea."
---The Virginia House-Wife, Mary Randolph, facsimile 1824 edition with historical
notes and commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia]
1984 (p. 172)

Contemporary confusion
"The confusion with the true yam came from the habit of slaves calling the American
sweet potato by an African word (either Gullah njam, Senegal, nyami, or Vai,
djambi) meaning "to eat." The word was first recorded in America in 1676."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 318)

"The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas, not remotely related to either the white potato
or true yam) is native to tropical America and is mentioned in 1494 as growing in
Hispaniola by Chanca, physician to the fleet of Columbus, according to Sturtevant.
The confusion started with potato, from Haitian batata (OED), came to be applied no
only to sweet potatoes but also to papas, an Inca name for white potato, thus
endlessly entangling their identities in early chronicles. Gerard in his Herball
(1597) correctly identified them: sweets, already well known in England, he called
simply Potatoes, saying that they grew in "...Spaine, and other hot regions."
---The Virginia House-Wife, Mary Randoph, with Historical Notes and Commentaries by
Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia] 1984 (p. 284-5)
[NOTE: The above are Ms. Hess' commentaries.]

Modern USA fuzziness between sweet potatoes & yams is not a matter of linguistic,
social or botanical heritage. It's all about business:

"The sweet potato is the true storage root of Ipomoea batatas, a member of the
morning glory family...There are many different varities, ranging from dry and
starchy varieties common in tropical regions...the moist, sweet version, dark
orange with beta-carotene, that is popular in the United States was confusingly
named a 'yam' in 1930s marketing campaigns."
---On Food and Cooking: The Science an Lore of the Kitchen, Harold McGee [Simon &
Schuster:New York] revised edition 2004 (p. 304)

Related foods? Sweet potato pie, Pumpkin pie & Carrot cake.

Tarts
Food historians tell us tarts were introduced in Medieval times. Like pies, they
could be savoury or sweet. Generally, the difference between a tart and a pie is
the former does not contain a top crust. This made tarts a popular choice for cooks
who wanted to present colorful dishes.

"The term 'tart' occurs in the 14th century recipe compilation the Forme of Cury [a
cook book], and so does its diminutive 'tartlet'. The relevant recipes are for
savour items containing meat. A mixture of savour and sweet was common in medieval
dishes and typical of the elaborate, decorative tarts and pies which were served at
banquets. There was, however, a perceptible trend towards sweet tarts. These
usually contained egg custard and fruits of various kinds, which could be used to
provide the brillant colours of which medieval cooks were fond: red, white, and
pale green from fruits; strong green from spinach, which was used in sweet tarts;
yellow from egg, with extra colour from saffron; and black from dark-coloured dried
fruits. There are many 16th century recipes for coloured tartstuffs'."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 785)

"Tart...In America, the word tart tends to indicate a small individual open pastry
case with a sweet, usually fruit filling. In Britian, this usage survives in the
particular context of jam tarts, but on the whole tart refers to a larger version
of this, with jam, fruit, or custard filling, that is cut into slices for serving,
or to a similar fruit-filled pastry case with a crust--in other words, a fruit
pie."
---An A to Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
338)

Medieval European tarts (savory & sweet)

Custard tarts
Darioles
Spinach tart
Tart of strawberries
Tart on Ember Day (cheese & onions)
Tartlettes (meat)
Elizabethen England's fruit tarts Apple & orange tart Apple and orange tarts are an
excellent choice for a Shakespearean feast. The recipe, however is much older. Pie
was made by ancient cooks. Apples were introduced to England by the Roman
conquerors. They were commonplace by the 16th century. Oranges came later, in
Medieval times. These were expensive items in Shakespeare's age because they were
imported. Therefore, only the wealthy could afford apple and orange tarts. Recipes
for apple and orange tarts appear in 16th century English cookbooks.
Coincidentally? These cookbooks were also written by and for the wealthy. Example?
Pear tart

17th century French tarts

La Varenne's Cuisiner Francaise [1651] contains several savory and sweet tarts.
Samples here:

[1651]
"Tourte of peares
Pare your peares, and cut them very thin. Seeth them with water and sugar; after
they are well sod, put in a little of some very fresh butter, beat all together and
put it in your sheet of paste very thin. Bind it, if you will, and bake it; when it
is baked, besprinkle it with water of flowers, sugar it, and serve."
---The French Cook, Francois Pierre, La Varenne, Englished by I.D.G. 1653,
Introduced by Philp and Mary Hyman [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 200)
[NOTE: This book also offers recipes for tourte/tarts of cream, apples, massepin
(Marzipan), almonds, pumpkin, melon, spinach, pishachios, butter, frogs, crawfisnh,
carp, liver, and new oysters.]
18th century English tarts
Savory (meat, vegetables) and sweet (fruit, cheese, custard, jam), dozens of
recipes are offered to cooks in this period. Note: some have "lids" (top crusts);
others do not.

[1747]
"To made different Sorts of tarts
If you bake in tin Patties, butter them, and you must put a little Crust all over,
because of the taking them out: If in China, or Glass, no Crust but the top one.
Lay fine Sugar at the Bottom, then your Plumbs, Cherries, or any other Sort of
Fruit, and Sugar at Top; then put on your Lid, and bake tem in a slack Oven. Mince-
pies must be baked in Tin patties; because of taking them out, and Puff-paste is
best for them. All Sweet Tarts the beaten Crust if best; but as you fancy. You have
the Receipt for the Crusts in this Chapter. Apple, Pear, Apricock, &c. Make thus:
Apples and Pears, pare them, cut them in Quarters, and core them; cut the Quarters
a-cross again, set them on in a Sauce-pan with just as much Water as will barely
cover them, let them simmer on a slow Fire just till the Fruit is tender; put a
good Piece of Lemon-peel in the Water with the Fruit, then have your Patties ready.
Lay fine Sugar at Bottom, then your Fruit, and a little Sugar at Top; that you must
put in at your Discretion. Pour over each Tart a Tea Spponful of Lemon-juice, and
three Tea Spoonfuls of the Liquor they were boiled in; put on your Lid, and bake
them in a slack Oven. Apricocks do the same Way; only don't use Lemon. As to
Preserved Tarts, only lay in your preserved Fruit, and put a very thin Crust at
Top, and let them be baked as little as possible; but if you would make them mice,
have a large patty, the Size you would have your Tart. Make your Sugar-Crust, roll
it as thick as a Halfpenny; then butter your Patties, and cover it; shape your
Upper-crust on a hollow Tin of purpose, the Size of your Patty, and mark it with a
Marking-iron for that purpose, in what Shape you please, to be hollow and open to
see the Fruit through; then bake your Crust in a very slack Oven, not to discolour
it, but to have it crisp. When the Crust is cold, very carefully take it out, and
fill it with what Fruit you please, ay on the Lid, and it is done; therefore if the
Tart is not eat, your Sweet-meat is not the sorse, and it looks genteel."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1747 reprint
[Prospect Books:Devon] 1995 (p. 75)
[1753]
"To make Orange or Lemon Tarts.
Take six large lemons, and rub them very well with salt, and put them in water for
two days, with a handful of salt in it; then change them into fresh water without
salt every other day for a fortnight; then boil them for two to three hours till
they are tender; then cut them in half quarters, and then cut them...as thin as you
can; then take pippins pared, cored and quartered, and a pint of fair water, and
let them boil till the pippins break; put the liquor to your orange or lemon, half
the pippins well broken, and a pound of sugar; boil these together a quarter of an
hour; then put it in a gallipot, and squeeze and orange in it if it be lemon, or a
lemon if it is orange; two spoonfuls are enough for a tart; your pattipans must be
small and shallow; put fine puff-paste, and very thin; a little while will bake it.
Just as your tarts are going into the oven, whith a feather or brush do them over
with melted butter, and then sift double refin'd sugar on them, and this is a
pretty icing on them."
---The Compleat Housewife: Or, Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion, E Smith,
facsimile reprint 15th edition 1753 [Literary Services and Production:London] 1968
(p. 153-4)

Colonial American fruit tarts

These were very similar to European fare. Sample recipes:
18th century
"[To Make] a Codling Tarte Eyther to Looke Clear or Greene
First coddle [the] apples in fair water, [then] take halfe the weight in sugar &
make as much syrrop as will cover the bottom of your preserving pan, & the rest of
the suger keep to throw on them as they boyle, which must be very softly' & you
must turne them often least they burne too. Then put them in a thin tart crust, &
give them with theyr syrrup halfe an hours baking; or if you pleas, you may serve
them up in a handsome dish, only garnished with suger & cinnamon. If you would have
your apples looke green, coddle them in faire water, the pile them, & put them into
the water againe, & cover them very close. Then lay them in your coffins of paste
with lofe suger, & bake them not to hard. When you serve them up, put in with a
tunnell to as many of them as you please, a little thick sweet cream."
---Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats, Transcribed by
Karen Hess [Columbia University Press:New York] 1995 (p. 95-6)
[NOTE: Ms. Hess adds "Tarte comes unchanged form Old French.A tart differed from a
pie in that it was baked open, a distinction that did not always hold true,
however. A more important difference lay in the choice of paste; in principle, a
tart was made of thinly rolled fine rich paste that could not be raised, as coffins
were.]
"Too make sring tarts
Take oringes, pare them not too thin. Lay them in watter 2 days shifing them often
in a day, for 2 days and one night, Civell orenges so pyle them in a suger and Lay
them in patty pans making the Crust of puff past, sprinkell suger on every Row,
Laying not too much watter, but as they presarve them, for the syrup that is Left
you may put it in the pyes and use Less suger--"
---Penn Family Recipes: Cooking Recipes of Willaim Penn's Wife, Gulielma, Edited by
Evelyn Abraham Benson [George Schumway:York PA] 1966 (p. 130)
[NOTE "Civell" are oranges from Seville, Spain].

[1796]
"Apple Tarts.
Stew and strain the apples, add cinnamon, rose-water, wine and sugar to your taste,
lay in paste, No. 3. Squeeze theron orange juice--bake gently."
---American Cookery, Amelia Simmons, facsimile reprint of the second edition
printed in Albany, 1796, with an introduction by Karen Hess [Applewood
Books:Bedford MA] 1996 (p. 28) [NOTE: This book also contains a recipe for Orange
or Lemon Tart and Gooseberry Tart.]
About tarts & pies.

ABOUT APPLES IN ENGLAND

"The Romans introduced new economic plants. The had already developed several apple
varieties, with fruits smaller than those of today but larger and sweeter than
those borne by Britain's indigenous wild crabs...Their apple varieties included
types for good keeping, and villa owers stored them spread out in rows in a dry,
well-ventilated loft...Apples were sliced into two or three pieces with a redd or
bone knife (since metal stained the fruit), and were put to lie in the sun."
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne
Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 325-6)

ABOUT ORANGES IN ENGLAND

"The first Englishmen to enjoy oranges, lemons...were probably the crusaders who
wintered with Richard Coeur-de-Lion in the fruit groves around Jaffa in 1191-2.
About a hundred years later citrus fruits had begun to arrive in England itself.
Fifteen lemons and seven oranges, together with two hundred and thirty pomegranates
and some dried fruits were brougth from a Spanish ship at Portsmouth in 1289 for
Queen Eleanor...The Southern fruits were very expensive at that time...The oranges
that reached England in those days were always bitter, of the type of the Seville
orange. From the end of fourteenth century the consignments became more frequent,
coming in from Spain or Portugal, or on the Italian spice ships. Not only were
citrus fruits themselves imported, but also confectionery made from them."
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne
Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 332-3)

"The same ships that carried spices also tended to carry fruit, such as oranges, of
which a surprising number were brought to England. These were frequently imported
in the tens of thousands per ship, and occasionally as many as a hundred thousand
(in March 1480). These oragnes were probably always a bitter variety. For customs
purposes they were declared at about ten for 1d."
---Food and Feast in Medieval England, P.W. Hammond [Wren's Press:Gloucestershire]
1998 (p. 11)

"Besides the food associated with certain occasions there was luxury food which was
served whenever it could be obtained and which was intended to delight and impress.
One such food was fruit. A better-off person's meal in the sixteenth century
finished with fruit...Henry VIII's meals also ended with fruit, although exactly
what fruit is not specified apart from the fact that oranges and pippins (a variety
of apples) are often included on the menu. Ordinary people could also enjoy the
fruit they grew in their own gardens, but imported luxuries like oranges were far
beyond their means."
---Food and Feast in Tudor England, Alison Sim [Sutton Publishing:Gloucestershire]
1997 (p. 11)

About pear tarts

Baked pears (in syrup/wine/spices) were recorded in Anient Roman texts. They were
also quite popular in Medieval Europe. Sample recipe here.

Likewise? Tarts (generally pies-like recipes without top crusts) were known during
these times. The earliest printed evidence we find for pear pie in an English
cookbook is from 1615. Gervase Markham's English Huswife contains a recipe for "A
warden pie." Wardens were a particular kind of pear. Robert May's Accomplisht Cook
[1685] contains this recipe:

"To make a Warden or a Pear Tart quartered.

Take twenty good wardens, pare them, and cut them in a tart, and put to them two
pound of refined sugar, twenty whole cloves, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon
broke into little bits, and three races of ginger pared and slic't thin; then close
up the tart and bake it, it will ask five hours baking, then ice it with a quarter
of a pound of double refined sugar, rose water, and butter."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, facsimile reprint of 1685 edition [Prospect
Books:Devon] 2000 (P. 244)
18th century cookbooks often contained recipes for puddings that would be classed
today as tarts:
"An orange pudding.
Boil the rind of a Seville orange very soft, beat it in a marble mortar with the
juice. Put ot it two Naples biscuits grated very fine, half a pound of butter, a
quarter of a pound of sugar, and the yolks of six eggs. Mix them well together, lay
a good puff paste round the edge of your china dish, bake in a gentle oven half an
hour. You may make a lemon pudding the same way but putting in a lemon instead of
the orange."
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, facsimile 1769 edition
with an introduction by Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p.
82)
COLONIAL AMERICAN TARTS

Martha Washington's Apple Tart

Tarts, American Cookery, Amelia Simmons [1796]
Tarts, The Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter [1803]
About Tart Tatin
Arguably, the most famous of all French tarts! Happy accident or stroke of genius?
You decide...

"Tarte Tatin, an upside-down French apple tart. The Larousse Gastronomique explains
that the name commemorates the Tatin sisters, who popularized it in their
restaurant at Lamotte-Beuvron, to the south of Orleans, in the early 20th century.
Later in the century, chefs devised variations, using pear, pineapple, or rhubarb,
to give but three examples."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 785)

"Tatin. The name given to a tart of caramelized apples that is cooked under a lid
of pastry and then inverted to be served with the pastry underneath and the fruit
on top. This delicious tart, in which the taste of caramel is combined with the
flavour of apples cooked in butter under a golden crispy pastry crust, established
the reputation of the Tatin sisters, who ran a hotel-restaurant in Lamotte-Beuvron
at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the upside down' tart, made of
apples or pears, is an ancient specialty of Sologne and is found throughout
Orleanais. Having been made famous by the Tatin sisters, it was first served in
Paris at Maxim's, where it remains a specialty to the present day."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York] 2001 (p. 1198)
[NOTE: The original Larousse Gastronomique (1938) contains information on apple
tarts but does not make reference to Tarte Tatin.]

"...How these Tatin girls accidentally inventd the famous tart involves a small
sally into French social history. The Solognes region is the paradise of French
hunters, a wild, forested area along the upper reaches of the Loire River, near
Joan of Arc's City of Orleans...The hunters come with dogs and guns to spread out
along the forest roads that pass isolated villages where they stay in small hunting
auberges. Most of these tiny inns are owned and run by women who are also superb
game cooks... In one of the villages, Lamotte-Buevren, about 24 miles from Orleans,
the Auberge Tatin has been owned by the Tatin family for almost 70 years. The most
famous cooks in the family were the Tatin sisters Marie and Jeanne, who ran the
auberge about 40 years ago. As well as their game specialties, they had a dessert
that was quite popular with regular visitors. You might call it a kind of deep-dish
one-crust fruit pie. They made it in a copper pan about 9 inches across and 3
inches deep. They neatly filled it with circles of fruit cut, covered it with a
single pastry crust, put a lid and baked it by sliding it under the glowing wood
embers in the huge hearth. When the crust was golden brown, they carried the pie in
its pan to the table. One day, just as she stepped into the dining room, Marie
Tatin dropped the pan. The pie stayed in the pan, but the crust cracked badly right
across its center. In a flood of tears, Marie scooped up the pan from the floor and
rushed it back to the kitchen. It obviously could not be served with the big crack.
There was no time to bake another. What could be done? Jeanne had the brilliant
idea that was to make them famous. Quickly she ran a knife around the edge of the
crust and overturned the entire pie onto a serving platter with the cracked crust
underneath. The fruit, now on top, looked very neat, but a bit pale. In a heavy
iron skillet Jeanne quickly caramelized some butter and sugar, then dribbled the
shiny golden syrup over the fruit. When Marie carried the newly invented upside-
down tart into the dining room, it we recieved with acclamation. Within a few
months, it was being copied all over the Sologne region. Within a few years, it was
a favorite all over France. For the rest of their lives the Tatin sisters basked in
the glory of their tart. Thousands of visitors came to their tiny auberge, not to
hunt but just for the pleasure of meeting the sisters and looking at the circle
painted on the floor to mark the spot where the tart fell. Yet the Tatin girls
deeply resented all the imitation of their tart. They struggled for the rest of
their lives to keep their recipe a secret. They never published it or even wrote it
down, so an "authentic recipe" does not exist, only hundreds of different
interpretations by other cooks."
---"One Great Dish," Roy Andres de Groot, Washington Post, October 14, 1979 (p. K1)

Coincidentally? Upside-down desserts were all the *rage* in the early years of the
20th century. Consider Pineapple Upside Down cake!

Related foods? cheesecake & quiche.

Timbale
Defining the term "timbale" is a complicated exercise in culinary context.
Ingredients, method, purpose, and presentation are period and place dependent. In
the most basic sense, timbales are fancy molded compositions combining an outer
layer of starch (grain, pasta, rice) with fillings (meat, vegetable, fruit). Some
are layered (similar to contemporary lasagne); others are vertical presentations
(similar to vol-au-vent). Timbales can be savory or sweet and served at almost any
course. The ultimate flexible food application.

"Timbale. By definition this word (which comes from Arab thabal meaning drum) means
a small metal receptacle, round in shape and mostly intended to hold a beverage.
Timbales of this kind are chiefly made of silver, sometimes of gold, or sometimes
of silver plate, and are of many kinds. Some are simple; others are ornamented. The
word timbale, which in the early days was only applied to individual drinking cups,
has taken on a much wider meaning, and is used to describe all sorts of bowls, of
metal, earthenware and china, lagrer than those that our fathers used at table,
which were of a size to serve two guests together ...These timbales of the new type
were used chiefly to serve vegetables and food in sauce. In French culinary
parlance today the same word is still used in the phrase dresser en timbale to
describe the serving of some preparation in a large bowl, which may be a vegetable
dish or leguimier, although used for many other foodstuffs than vegetables. Thus in
these timbales-legumiers are served scrambled eggs, food in sauce, purees, custards
and othe prepartions, all to some extent liquid. Dresser en timbale in modern
culinary parlance often means to heap the food on a platter in a pyramid shape,
usually garnished. Culinarily the word timbale means a preparation of an kind
cooked or served in a pie crust. Timbales of this kind are simply a sort of hot
pie, which instead of being made in a special mould or dish, usualy inged, are made
in plain round mould with high sides. These moulds are sometimes
embellished...their sides are either goffered or decorated with motifs or [sic]
different kinds. These timbales are filled before cooking with forcemeat and meats
of various sorts...Ther eare many...kinds of timbale which are not filled until
after the crust has been cooked...To meet the needs of the ordinary housewife,
timbale cases are made in fireproof porcelain in the same shape and colour as the
real pie-crusts. But the true gourmand, is not satisfied with a timbale whose crust
is not edible; when served with a real timbale, this gourmand enjoys not only the
contents but the container too."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown:New York] 1961 (p. 959)

English/Anglo definition
According to the [online] Oxford English Dictionary the word timbale, in the
culinary sense, appeared in in English print in1824: "2. Cookery. A dish made of
finely minced meat, fish, or other ingredients, cooked in a crust of paste or in a
mould: so called from its shape. 1824 BYRON Juan XV. lxvi. 38 Then there was God
knows what �� l'Allemande�,..�timballe�, and �Salpicon�. 1866 MRS. GASKELL Wives &
Dau. I. xv. 178 Mr. Gibson had to satisfy his healthy English appetite on badly-
made omelettes, rissoles, vol-au-vents, croquets, and timbales. 1880 �OUIDA� Moths
I. 25 Eating her last morsel of a truffled timbale. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 16 Sept. 1/3
�If I could only have a little sweetbread timbale�, she said longingly. 1908 Daily
Chron. 10 Apr. 7/5 Chicken Timbales with Sauce."

"Timbales are part of classic French cuisine, and there are numerous specialized
recipes...by the end of the nineteenth century it was firmly in place on the best
Victorian and Edwardian tables."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
343-344)

Italian applications

"Timballo. Timbale. A dish, often with pasta or rice, made in a form and unmolded.
Timballini are small molds. From the Arabic at-tabl (the drum). The most famous
timballo is the Sicilian timballo di anellini, made with ring-shape dried pasta,
balsamello, ground beef and chicken, peas, and vegetables, all wrapped in lettuce
leaves and baked in a mold. Timballo di crespelle is crepes layered with spinach,
ground meat, giblets, mozzarella, and parmigiano, from Abruzzo."
---The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York]
1998 (p. 257)

"Timballo di riso is very simply made, with butter stirred carefully into the rice
until each grain is glistening, the timbale then being served with meat, fish, or
vegetable sauce."
---The Food of Italy, Waverly Root [Vintage Books:New York] 1991 (p. 440)

"...popular Abruzzi dishes are...Timballo...based on pancakes, built up in layers

with fillings between each two pancakes, built up in layers with filling between
each two pancakes of previously fried tiny meat balls, small pieces of chicken,
peas, mushrooms which have been pre-fried in butter, diced milk with beaten eggs in
it, meat-and-tomato sauce, and nutmeg..."---ibid (p. 532)

"There are homemade dishes, but for holidays and other festive occasions the family
may resort to store-bought macaroni, the nearest baker's oven and perhaps even to a
professional cook for a mess of maccheroni al forno, oven-baked macaroni, for which
the pasta is combined with buffalo cheese, sausage and meat balls into a sort of
pie. This is a festive dish in all three of the southern-most provinces, sometimes
under the alternative name of timballo di maccheroni."---ibid (p. 554)

"Rice is...the protagonist of tummala [timbale], an elaborate casserole from

eastern Sicily, which is said to derive its name from that of Mohammad Ibn Thummah,
an empire of Catania during the Saracen occupation."
---Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food, Mary Taylor Simeti
[Ecco Press:Hopwell NJ]1998 (p. 72)

"...Lampedusa's timballo is perhaps the summa of an ancient tradition rather than

the product of a single recipe. It is curiously reminiscent of the patina apiciana
from classical Rome, in which layers of laganum, an early version of lasagna,
alternate with layers of chicken, fish, or songbirds. The sugar and the cinnamon
recall the timbales and the torta described in fourteenth-century Tuscan cookbooks;
the ham and truffles sound a note of nineteenth-century France. Its presence on a
princely table in the middle of the nineteenth century, albeit as a provincial
alternative to consomme, speaks volumes about the evolution of the Sicilian
'baronial cuisine'."
---ibid (p. 182)

USA recipes
19th century American recipes, courtesy of Michigan State University's Feeding
America digital cookbook project (search recipe name: timbale):

Vinegar pie
From pioneer times through WWII, vinegar was a handy substitute for lemons. Why? It
was inexpensive, domestically made & easily transported. It provided the tangy zing
our fore-mothers hoped to replicate in their baked goods. Most notably pies.

"Vinegar pie. A spiced pie made with vinegar, common in the North and Midwest since
the nineteeth century. In America Eats, written in the 1930s for the WPA Illinois
Writers Project but not published until 1992, Nelson Algren noted that as winter
wore on midwestern setters' systems craved fruit and tart flavors: To satisfy their
craving, ingenious housewives invented the vinegar pie...When baked in a pie tin,
the resulting product was much relished and remained a favorite springtime dessert
until young orchards coming into bearing provided real fruit pies to take its
place.'"
---The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-
Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 340-1)

"Vinegar Pie. This recipe was adapted from a lemon pie recipe used by prairie cooks
when the nearest lemon was "fifty miles away by oxcart."
---The Pioneer Cook: A Historical View of Canadian Prairie Food, B. Barss [Detselig
Enterprises:Calgary Alberta] 1980 (p. 111)

Sample recipes: 1877 & 1899.

Vinegar pie crust?

While food historians confirm Vinegar Pie originated in the American midwest, they
are curiously silent about Vinegar Pie Crust. It is possible the two are connected.
Crisco is sometimes cited as an ingredient. We do not, however, find the recipe in
Crisco's cooking brochures. It is unlikely this was a "corporate kitchen" product.

The earliest print reference we find in an American newspaper was published in

1968:

"Vinegar Pastry
4 cups sifted flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups lard or solid shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
Blend flour, sugar and salt. Cut in lard until particles are the size of small
peas. Combine egg, vinegar and water. Sprinkle over flour mixture, a tablespoonful
at a time, mixing in with a fork. Form dough into a ball, divide and roll out as
usual. Makes two 9-in. crust pies and a pie shell or five 9-in. pie shells."
---"No Shortening Cuts in Fine Pastry," Dorothy White, Los Angeles Times, February
15, 1968 (p. F20)
A MIDWEST CONNECTION:
"Visitors to the Truman Library in Independence, Mo., often follow the path the
Trumans themselves took once when Mrs. Lyndon Johnson came to visit them. They dine
out at Stephenson's Apple Farm Restaurant, a sprawling, countrified place just over
the Kansas City line...Stephenson's recipes are in great demand. Here are three
that have been published...Egg 'N Vinegar Pie Crust Pastry."
---"Midwestern Big 'Apple'," William Rice, Washington Post, September 9, 1976 (p.
F2)
[NOTE: the recipe in this article is identical to the once cited above.]

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