January 23 is National Pie Day! And because we know pie is such a big deal in Texas, we thought we’d celebrate with some pie fun facts. Try not to get too hungry reading them.
The big time. The largest pie on record was an apple pie made in Washington in 1997. It weighed in at 34,438 pounds. It baked for about five hours in a custom-built propane oven. More than 37,000 apples went into making the pie.
In the beginning. Historians believe the first pies, called galettes, were made in ancient Egypt. These sweet treats were made with oat, rye, wheat and barley, then filled with honey and baked over hot coals. Hundreds of years later, the pie became an English specialty, though they were usually filled with vegetables and meat. Early English colonists brought pie making to America.
Alive in the pie. For wealthy English people in the 1500s, it was trendy to place live animals inside pies. They were known as surprise pies and included such animals as frogs, birds, squirrels and other small creatures that would jump out as the crust was removed—no, they weren’t baked inside. One account even claims that a dwarf was placed inside a large pie presented to King Charles I.
As Texas as pecan pie. Pecans trees grow native in the Lone Star State, so it only make sense that the state would have a long relationship with pecan pie. Nobody knows who made the first, but the earliest known recipe for pecan pie, printed in 1898, was submitted by a Texas woman. In 2013, the Texas House of Representatives passed a resolution making pecan pie the state’s official dessert.
Whether you’re baking, eating or just reading about pies, we hope it’s a great experience. Happy National Pie Day, Texas!
