Apple pie

Anapple pieis apiein which the principal filling isapples. Apple pie is often served withwhipped cream,ice cream("apple pieà la mode"),custardorcheddar cheese.It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the filling; the upper crust may be solid or latticed (woven of crosswise strips). The bottom crust may be baked separately ("blind") to prevent it from getting soggy.Tarte Tatinis baked with the crust on top, but served with it on the bottom.
Originating in the14th centuryin England, apple pie recipes are now a standard part of cuisines in many countries where apples grow. Apple pies are an unofficialsymbol of the United Statesand one of its signaturecomfort foods.
Apple pie can be made with many different sorts of apples. The more popularcooking applesincludeBraeburn,Gala,Cortland,Bramley,Empire,Northern Spy,Granny Smith, andMcIntosh.The fruit for the pie can be fresh, canned, or reconstituted fromdried apples. Dried or preserved apples were originally substituted only at times when freshfruitwas unavailable. The basic ingredients of the filling aresugar,butter, a thickener likecornstarchand an acidic ingredient likelemon juice. Spices are added most commonly cinnamon,nutmeg.and lemon juice which is used to prevent oxidation of the apples whenmaceratingthe filling. Many older recipes call for honey in place of the then-expensive sugar.
Apple pie is often servedà la mode, that is, topped withice cream.
In another serving style, a piece ofsharp cheddarcheese is placed on top of or alongside a slice of the finished pie.Apple pie with cheddar is popular in theAmerican MidwestandNew England, particularly inVermont, where it is considered thestate dish.In the north of England, Cheddar orWensleydale cheeseis often used.
A commercially prepared apple pie is 52% water, 34%carbohydrates, 2%protein, and 11%fat(table). A 100-gram serving supplies 237Caloriesand 13% of the US recommendedDaily Valueofsodium, with no othermicronutrientsin significant content (table).
The 14th century recipe collection theForme of Curygives a recipe includinggoodapples, goodspices,figs,raisinsandpearsin acofyn, a casing of pastry.Saffroncolours the filling.
Lattice pastry styles were found from the 17th century alongside the more traditional dome shaped pie crust.Modern English versions incorporate thick layers of sweetened slices of, usually,Bramley apple; layered into a dome shape to allow for downward shrinkage, and thus avoid a saggy middle; then topped with butter or lard shortcrust pastry; and baked until the apple filling is cooked.
In English-speaking countries, apple pie, often considered acomfort food, is a popular dessert, eaten hot or cold, on its own or withice cream,double cream, or custard. Apple pies are often sold as mini versions in multipacks.
Recipes for Dutch apple pie go back to theMiddle Ages. An early Dutch languagecookbookfrom 1514,Een notabel boecxken van cokeryen("A notable little cookery book"),letterpress printedinBrusselsbyThomas van der Noot, who may also have been the author,documents a recipe forAppeltaerten(modern DutchAppeltaarten'apple pies'). This early recipe was simple, requiring only a standard pie crust, slices of especially soft apples with their skin and seeds removed, andden selven deeghe daer die taerte af ghemaect es(more of the same dough) on top. It was then baked in a typicalDutch oven. Once baked, the top crust (except at the edges) would be cut out from the middle, after which the apple slices were potentially put through asievebefore the pie was stirred with a wooden spoon. At this point the book recommends adding severalspicesto the pie, namely:cardamom,ginger,cinnamon,nutmeg,clove,maceandpowdered sugar. Finally, after mixing the ingredients into the pie withcream, it is once again put into the oven to dry.
TraditionalDutchapple pie comes in two varieties, a crumb (appelkruimeltaart) and a lattice (appeltaart) style pie. Both recipes are distinct in that they typically call for flavourings ofcinnamonandlemon juiceto be added and differ in texture, not taste.Dutch apple pies may include ingredients such as full-cream butter, raisins andalmond paste, in addition to ingredients such as apples and sugar, which they have in common with other recipes.
The basis of Dutch apple pie is a crust on the bottom and around the edges. This crust is then filled with pieces or slices of apple, usually a crisp and mildly tart variety such as Goudreinet orElstar. Cinnamon andsugarare generally mixed in with the apple filling. Atop the filling, strands ofdoughcover the pie in alatticeholding the filling in place but keeping it visible or cover the pie with crumbs. It can be eaten warm or cold, sometimes with a dash of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. In the US, "Dutch apple pie" refers specifically to the apple pie style with a crumb,streusel, topping.
One kind ofFrenchstyle apple pie is very different compared to the typical version of the sweet dessert. Instead of it being right side up with crust on top and bottom, it actually is upside down, with the fruit being caramelised. This can be made not only with apples but other fruits or vegetables as well, for example, pears or tomatoes.SeeTarte Tatin.
Others use a more traditional presentation, including variants like theNorman tart.
TheSwedishstyle apple pie is predominantly a variety of applecrumble, rather than a traditional pastry pie. Often, breadcrumbs are used (wholly or partially) instead of flour, and sometimes rolled oats. It is usually flavoured with cinnamon and served with vanillacustardor ice cream. There is also a very popular version calledäppelkaka(apple cake), which differs from the pie in that it is asponge cakebaked with fresh apple pieces in it.
Apple pie was brought to the colonies by theEnglish, theDutch, and theSwedesduring the 17th and 18th centuries.Two recipes for apple pie appear in America's first cookbook,American Cookeryby Amelia Simmons, which was published in 1796.What America's First Cookbook Says About Our Country and Its Cuisine
The apple pie had to wait for the planting of European varieties, brought across theAtlantic, to become fruit-bearing apple trees, to be selected for their cooking qualities as there were no native apples exceptcrabapples, which yield very small and sour fruit.In the meantime, thecolonistswere more likely to make their pies, or "pasties", from meat, calling themcoffins(meaning basket)rather than fruit; and the main use for apples, once they were available, was incider. However, there are American apple pie recipes, both manuscript and printed, from the 18th century, and it has since become a very popular dessert.Apple varieties are usually propagated bygrafting, as clones, but in the New World, planting from seeds was more popular, which quickly led to the development of hundreds of new native varieties.
Apple pie was a common food in 18th-centuryDelaware. As noted by the New Sweden historian Dr.Israel Acreliusin a letter: "Apple pie is used throughout the whole year, and when fresh Apples are no longer to be had, dried ones are used. It is the evening meal of children."
The mock apple pie, made fromcrackers, was probably invented for use aboard ships, as it was known to the British Royal Navy as early as 1812.The earliest known published recipes for mock apple pie date from the antebellum period of the 1850s.In the 1930s, and for many years afterwards,Ritz Crackerspromoted a recipe for mock apple pie using its product, along with sugar and various spices.
Apple pie was one of the dishes that Rhode Island army officers ate for theirFourth of Julycelebrations during theSiege of Petersburg.
Although eaten in Europe since long before theEuropean colonization of the Americas, apple pie as used in the phrase "as American as apple pie" describes something as being "typically American".In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, apple pie became a symbol of American prosperity and national pride. A newspaper article published in 1902 declared that "No pie-eating people can be permanently vanquished."The dish was also commemorated in the phrase "for Mom and apple pie"—supposedly the stock answer of American soldiers inWorld War II, whenever journalists asked why they were going to war. Jack Holden and Frances Kay sang in their patriotic 1950 song "The Fiery Bear", creating contrast between this symbol of U.S. culture and theRussian bearof theSoviet Union:
Advertisers exploited the patriotic connection in the 1970s with the commercial jingle "baseball,hot dogs, apple pie andChevrolet".
One out of five Americans surveyed (19%) prefer apple pie over all others, followed by pumpkin (13%)
and pecan (12%).
The unincorporated community ofPie Town, New Mexico, is named after apple pie.