The First Thanksgiving-Pie, Pies, and More Pies
by Alphonso Smith
In 1621, the Pilgrims and the Indians got together for three days of feast and celebration. The Wampanoags, a neighbor group of Indians brought the turkey and corn and the Pilgrims brought the pies. 12 selections. Everyone could choose their favorite kind. It had to be the pies that were the �hit� of the feast. The pies were so good that the Indians invited the Pilgrims to stay. It had to be the pies.
Pie history according to PJ�s Totally Awesome Pies. PJ�s has 12 selections too.
Real Pie history
Pies were baked in America as soon as the early settlers set-up housekeeping on dry land. Beyond mere preference, however, 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 it 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.
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 the working classes and sold by street vendors. Pie variations (cobblers, slumps, grunts, etc.) are endless.
Pie�the filling and baking of sweet (fruits, nuts, cheese) or savory(meat, fish, cheese) ingredients and spices in casing composed of flour, fat, and water is an ancient practice. The basic concept of pies 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 basic concept of a pie is taken to mean a mixture of ingredients encased and cooked in pastry.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink, 2004, Oxford English Dictionary.
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