It's National Pie Day!

Pie - just the word "Pie" evokes memories - memories for many of family. Memories of family times together - Grandmas were usually the bakers in the family. For others, the word "pie" might remind them of a movie with Robert De Niro and the line he spoke "Shut your damn pie hole". For me the word "Pie" brings forth thoughts of failure! I have never really mastered the art of pie baking - but I haven't had much experience at it, either. I come from a family of pie baking women and I have let them lead the way. I learned years back that my pie skills were minimal when I made a rutabaga pie.... Yes, it really was awful. Kind of a pumpkin like filling but definitely rutabaga! But I think this year I will work on making pies - really good, yummy pies. Tramp 1 will gladly eat the failures - as long as they are not rutabaga!!!

From the American Pie Council - the History of Pies -

Pie has been around since the ancient Egyptians. The first pies were made by early Romans who may have learned about it through the Greeks. These pies were sometimes made in "reeds" which were used for the sole purpose of holding the filling and not for eating with the filling.

The Romans must have spread the word about pies around Europe as the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word pie was a popular word in the 14th century. The first pie recipe was published by the Romans and was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie.

The early pies were predominately meat pies. Pyes (pies) originally appeared in England as early as the twelfth century. The crust of the pie was referred to as "coffyn". There was actually more crust than filling. Often these pies were made using fowl and the legs were left to hang over the side of the dish and used as handles. Fruit pies or tarts (pasties) where probably first made in the 1500s. English tradition credits making the first cherry pie to Queen Elizabeth I.

Pie came to America with the first English settlers. The early colonists cooked their pies in long narrow pans calling them "coffins" like the crust in England. As in the Roman times, the early American pie crusts often were not eaten, but simply designed to hold the filling during baking. It was during the American Revolution that the term crust was used instead of coffyn.

Over the years, pie has evolved to become what it is today "the most traditional American dessert". Pie has become so much a part of American culture throughout the years, that we now commonly use the term "as American as apple pie."

So celebrate National Pie Day! Bake a pie, share it with a neighbor. Keep the tradition of baking alive. And enjoy sweet memories of pies from the past. What is your favorite pie?