Why pie?

Not that long ago, I really would not have called myself a baker. Baking to me was going to our grocery store, going into the baking aisle, and picking a Betty Crocker mix to throw into a bowl with oil and eggs. It wasn’t until Thanksgiving of 2019 that I attempted something as daring as making a pie from scratch. It was an apple pie, and I remember the recipe distinctly because it didn’t call for mixing the sugar mixture in with the apples, but putting the sugar mixture over top of a fully assembled pie (with the dough sealing in the raw, sliced apples). Even though I had never made an apple pie, I of course had eaten a lot apple pie and knew the way it was supposed to look, and looking at the sugar mixture sitting on top, slowly oozing its way through cracks it could find between the apples looked odd. But I was committed to making this pie and so I threw it into the oven and awaited the results of my creation. Even before it was done, the entire house had swelled with the smell of cinnamon, butter and apples; the smell that anchors your consciousness in childhood memories of playing in leaves, pumpkin picking, family gatherings where everyone is smiling and having a good time (and definitely not at each other’s throats over some small argument). Coming out of the oven, the pie looked magnificent, I was thoroughly surprised. I had no expectations for how it would turn out, but I felt pretty good about it for my first attempt. The sugar on the top had caramelized (not that I even knew what the word ‘caramelized’ even meant at this point) giving the top an interesting texture along with the dough.

I don’t remember how the pie actually turned out, or if it even tasted good by my standards for pie today, but I definitely remember enjoying it thoroughly.

Up until this point I wouldn’t say I was really “into pies” but this definitely flipped a switch within me to dive deeper into exploring this newfound love of circular baked goods filled with fruit. I found myself doing extensive research into what apple pie recipes existed online and would occasionally try one out when I read about a different technique for preparing one (ex. cooking the apples on the stove before putting them in the crust, using different kinds of apples, etc.). Baking began to feel more of a research project than making something to satisfy my craving of sugar and butter.

March 14, 2020 was coming up (otherwise known as ‘Pi’ Day as the numerical date is 3/14 or 3.14), and being the nerd that I am, I decided to have some fun with it this year. At this point I was set on eventually making the best apple pie the world had ever seen, and so Pi Day was the perfect time to make some pies and collect some data from my test subjects (this was not an approved human research study, but full consent was received from my friends and they were compensated with pie). Me and one of my friends put together 13 pies with the intention of answering the questions: What is the best configuration of apples? Does it make a difference to cook the apples before they are put into the oven? Do people like the drier filling caused by baking a pie with a lattice top vs a fully closed top? I collected some data, but I realized that it was not a study that would produce conclusive results as there was no control pie and I wanted to answer too many questions at once. What I did realize though, was that different people definitely had their own individual preferences and making a “perfect pie” isn’t so much as making a silver bullet as it is tailoring a pie to someone’s pallet.

After Pi Day, I went on my annual spring trip home and ended up staying longer than expected due to the Covid pandemic quarantine. Now, being told to stay inside all day, having full reign over my parents newly renovated kitchen, and a full house is the perfect recipe for making and eating lots of pies. I made every configuration of apple pie I could find a recipe for or think of: gluten-free apple pie, keto(-ish) apple pie, candied ginger apple pie, apple pie in a cast iron, and a number of others that I gave to those fighting Covid.

The creativity cloud burst when I found America’s Test Kitchen’s - The Perfect Pie. It became my sacred text. It had every pie I had ever heard of and then a whole swath of others ranging from French tarts to regional US favorites. It reshaped what a “pie” was for me. I wanted to make all of them

Whenever I had the opportunity during the quarantine to travel to another bubble of people I insisted that I made them a pie. Up and down the east coast I tried to make a pie that was related to that region. I picked apples at my friends farm in Albany, made a cheddar cheese crust in the Poconos, brought a Dutch apple pie to my friend’s Pennsylvania proposal, and baked a Tar Heel pie in the Outer Banks. When I got back to the Pacific North West, I foraged for blueberries to use in a blueberry pie, cut off some rhubarb and strawberries in my friends garden. And of course there are opportunities for word play with pies like: having a Baked Alaska in Alaska and a Turkey Pot Pot Pie for Thanksgiving (a mind blowing flavor experience). My friends and I had a Michelin Star Restaurant night where we all dressed up and each put together the fanciest thing we could prepare. My contribution was a lavender creme brule pie which I finished on the table with a blow torch.

Pies are a dessert meant to be shared. They can bring people together for a meal with the promise of having a special dessert. There is a stark difference between a Sarah Lee pumpkin pie and one that you have made from fresh pumpkins that you have picked from a farm, and people can taste the difference. A pie becomes special when you can feel its flaky crust and its fresh filling. Someone who isn’t a pie connoisseur will notice when compromises have been made in the baking process.