A pie is a baked dish typically consisting of a pastry dough casing that encloses a sweet or savory filling. Sweet pies often feature fruits, nuts, preserves, brown sugar, sweetened vegetables, or fillings made with eggs and dairy. Savory pies, on the other hand, may contain meat, eggs, cheese, or a combination of meat and vegetables.
1902: "American as Apple Pie"
In 1902, The New York Times declared "pie is the food of the heroic" and "no pie-eating people can ever be permanently vanquished", solidifying the connection between pie, particularly apple pie, and American identity.
1904: "Pie-Eyed"
The slang term "pie-eyed", meaning drunk, originated in 1904.
1909: Pie Throwing in Comedy
In 1909, Ben Turpin was hit in the face with a pie in the film Mr. Flip, marking the beginning of pie throwing as a staple of slapstick humor in film comedy.
1911: "Pie in the Sky"
The expression "pie in the sky", used to describe an improbable idea or proposal, came from Joe Hill's 1911 song "The Preacher and the Slave".
1975: English Steak and Kidney Pie Invented
In 1975, Nigel Borthwaite invented the English steak and kidney pie at the Suet and Offal Marketing Board in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
2000: Chicken Pie Recipe
Sometime before 2000 BC, a recipe for chicken pie, one of the earliest pie recipes, was inscribed on a tablet in Sumer.