A Few Notes on 'Pai'

I was paging through one of my favorite cookbooks, The American Heritage Cookbook, looking for Thanksgiving pie recipes. The AHC is a great book that gives modern cooking directions for historical dishes. However, the book was published in 1964, so I always cross check the recipes with period sources for accuracy.

One of the wonderful things about The AHC is that before the recipes, it often has historic quotes which give wonderful insights into early America. Below, two quotes on pie.

"An immigrant living in Beloit, Wisconsin wrote on November 29th, 1851, to friends back in Norway: 'Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries thrive here. From these they make a wonderful dish combined with syrup and sugar called pai. I can tell you that it is something that glides easily down your throat; they also make the same sort of pai out of apples or finely ground meat, with syrup added, and that is really the most superb.'"

"'Pumpkin pie,' according to The House Mother, 'if rightly made, is a thing of beauty and joy--while it lasts...Pies that cut a little less firm than a pine board, and those that run around your plate are alike to be avoided...With the pastry light, tender, and not too rich, and a generous filling of smooth, spiced sweetness--a little "trembly" as to consistency, and delicately brown on top--a perfect pumpkin pie, eaten before the life has gone out of it, is one of the real additions made by American cookery to the good things of the world.'"