Page 13 - United States of Pie

I checked out a few of the books that struck me as most
interesting and headed home, eager to spend some quality kitchen
time with the pie recipes in particular. The recipes proved to be more

challenging than I expected; I was used to modern cookbooks that
were specific in every detail. Reading these recipes was more like
cooking alongside an experienced grandmother. There was no
mention of teaspoon measurements for spices, no oven
temperatures indicated, no cooking times given, no fuss.
While the recipes intrigued me—the Avocado Pie from California
certainly sounded delicious, if a little unfamiliar, and just reading
about the Peanut Pie from Virginia or the Burnt Sugar Meringue Pie

from Kansas was enough to make my stomach rumble—I could see
how they would be mystifying and at times intimidating to cooks
today. We have become accustomed to recipes with lists of
ingredients, concise instructions, timetables, and, most certainly,
suggested oven temperatures! It was no wonder so many of these

cookbooks had not been checked out of the library in years. The
recipes could use some updating, a bit of culinary excavation. A little
less sugar, lighter spicing, more fruit, and these pies could enjoy a
resurgence; they could truly become heirlooms of our culinary past
to be celebrated. My experimentation began, many sacks of flour
were bought, pounds of sugar were gone through, and the United
States of Pie was born.

Think of this book as a jumping-off point into the world of pie. For
the novice there are helpful hints, a chapter about making crusts,
and a Getting Started guide to ingredients. For the experienced
baker, this book is an invitation to do some culinary digging—there
are plenty of unique and delectable pie recipes to be discovered
here. Where the farmwife and the homemaker of yore left off, I have

picked up! A combination of new and old, this book has recipes for
tasty classics as well as new pies that I have come to delight in over
the past few years. These recipes celebrate the remarkable foods of
our land.
I am hardly the first person who has written about pie. Many
people have done so before me, and therein lies the beauty of this
book. The recipes that inspired this collection come from across the

United States and span time. They were written by county fair