The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-12-13
THE AMERICAN PIE.

THE AMERICAN PIE
How 1t is Made and How Often 1t is
Eaten in New England by the Ma
tive New Highlander
Pie and Puritan is the watchword of
this section of the country; added to
this pain and a tliumVirate is found
which is without equal in the wide,
wide world
From the beginning Of things Ameri-
can there has been pie, For something
| that is purely indigestIbe recommend
pie. But some good men have been
| brought up upon it, and many noted
scholar and statesman has sat down to
| his wedge of pie at breakfast and eaten
| it, pale yellow crust and all, without a
! shudder at the thought of things to
come Pie is the stable diet of New
England. The pie habit is queer, but it
has been with us SO long, and is deep
rooted
As a bit of history pie is a problem
Away back in tine early days of things
there were pies, but they were made of
meat. and were really pasties. At
length one brilliant yeoman hit upon
the scheme OF making a pie in pump
kin, so he cut a hole in one, dragged
out the seeds and put some apples In
it. Then he roasted the whole affair.
1t tasted pretty well, so he kept at 1t
until he finally made a pumpkin pie.
But 1t was not the true Vermont pump
kin pie that trembles when you look at
it, and Is a real custard. Oh, no; this
was just a pumpkin and a guess.
The modern pie, If one can believe the
old people Of Springfield, is as sawdust
to ambrosia in comparison with the pie
that mother used to make. Those We're
the pies, the kind that the Revolution
was fought and won on, the kind the
Green mountain boys rammed home
when they were shy of gun Wads. There
We're some famous pie makers in
Springfield in those times, and the fame
Of their cooking Is still told with a
pleasing smile by those who knew 1t.
Best known of all was Mrs. j. NJ Cool
ey of the Cooley House, whose custard
pies were known to- every man OH the
road. Deep and tender they were, with
brown crust and brown top. A number
of the leading business men of the city
used to eat at the Cooley House in
those days, and We're regular board
ers, as well as pie friends. On one day
there would be custard pie for dinner,
and on the next squash. The regular
were allowed only one section of pie,
for the supply was apt to run short IL
there was a rush of transients Each
man would order his pie as soon as he
came to the table and would put
mark on the top, so that 1t could not
be taken away from him.
Another famous pie place was the
restaurant in the old depot which Mrs.
Adams ran. John A. Fisher made the
pies for this, and they were handles.
His pie crust was a work of art, and it
was a poor day when twenty pies We're
not sold at ten cents a cut. Mr. Fisher
had no speciality; they were all good.
Aunt Sally Warriner also made pies
that have gone down in history at the
old tavern at the corner of Main and
State streets
In those days the assortment of pie
for the family was made and baked all
at one time and this time was just be-
fore Thanksgiving. The women Of the
family would begin making filings for
the pies about week before the day
set for the baking, and during that
week there was something doing con-
tinualy When pies enough had been
made to last the entire winter a fire
would be built in the big dutch oven, |
and after all the stones We're nicely
heated the embers were dragged out
and the pies showed in on long shovel |
affair, such as bakers use now When
they were cooked they were taken out |
again and put In a cold storeroom |
where they could not get excited and |
would keep well until used One rule |
was never broken in those days, and !
this was worked in worsted framed and !
hung in every aristocratlc dining room,
Don't eat hot pie" They We're much
more deadly when nicely chilled, and !
IL made the children strong and healthy. |
for in the digestion of half of q 1nince |
pie there is good deal of exercise 1t |
was a sad day when the last pie of the |
season was finished, for then there wer
no more for breakfast, dinner and sup
per until the next great bake. and a !!
pie was such a luxury that when there |
was one the parson was hidden into
tea. Even to-day the consumption of |
rie is something, enormous in this vici-
nifty. There are bakeries which make
hardly anything but pies, and pies in |
one Of the swell kennel clubs are as
thick as the flies in the big sugar bowl
Beyond the city limits pie is found
that is the pie of our forefathers. It is
thin, lean, hungry-looking pie, with a
faint trace of stufflng between the sog- |
gy crusts. In the country pie forms the
part of every meal. Il is very 'ff- |
lin dish, and a good chunk of soggy
pie will make a farm hand feel as If he
has eaten a quarter of beef. 1t is a
long time between trips with some of |
the country meat carts. and a pie is
made of fruits or vegetables to fill in
the gap. One woman had lot of car |
rots left from u billed" dinner, at one