{"id":294,"date":"2021-03-12T13:12:56","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T13:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preprod.cookingenie.com\/content\/?p=294"},"modified":"2025-07-28T11:53:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T06:23:52","slug":"american-as-apple-pie-not-so-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookingenie.com\/content\/blog\/american-as-apple-pie-not-so-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"American as Apple Pie? Not So Fast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are certain things that just evoke America<\/span>: <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 – <\/span>Baseball.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Uncle Sam. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Cor<\/span>n fields. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Apple pie. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0But what if we told you one of these iconic\u00a0symbols\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0<\/span>really<\/span><\/i>\u00a0belong on the list?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>Turns out there\u2019s nothing all that American a<\/span>bout<\/span> apple pie. In fact,<\/span> neither apples <\/span>or <\/span><\/i>pie originated in North America: the ancient Egyptians <\/span>get<\/span> the<\/span> credit for<\/span> <\/span>creating pie<\/span>, and<\/span> modern <\/span>a<\/span>pples<\/span> <\/span>originated<\/span> in the mountains of Kazakhstan<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>then <\/span>spread along the Silk Roads from Central Asia to Europe<\/span>. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While early pies were <\/span>made with meat<\/span>, <\/span>Emily Upton, writing for <\/span>Today I Found Out<\/span>, reports that the first recorded apple pie<\/span> recipe <\/span>was<\/span> from England <\/span>way back <\/span>in 1381. These early recipes bear little resemblance to the apple pie<\/span>s<\/span> we know today\u2014they rarely called for sugar <\/span>(which was an expensive, luxury ingredient at that time) <\/span>and came served in a pastry that went by the rather u<\/span>n<\/span>appetizing name of \u201ccoffin.\u201d This \u201ccoffin\u201d was not meant to be eaten; it was really just <\/span>a container to hold the filling, sort of the Middle Ages version <\/span>of<\/span> a<\/span> paper plate. <\/span>The first apple pie recipe that resembles the pie we know and loves today, with a sweetened filling and a lattice top, appeared in a <\/span>1514 <\/span>Dutch cookbook<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how did apple pie<\/span>\u2014which is so deeply rooted in Europe\u2014<\/span>become synonymous with America? <\/span>European-style apple trees arrived on American shores with the Jamestown colonists, who brought <\/span>seeds<\/span> and cuttings to plant in the New World. (And here\u2019s a <\/span>fun fact<\/span> from <\/span>What\u2019s Cooking America<\/span><\/i>: In <\/span>C<\/span>olonial times, apples were <\/span>sometimes <\/span>called <\/span>\u201c<\/span>winter bananas.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>) As colonists pushed westward, they brought apples with them<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>Upton credits <\/span>Johnny Appleseed <\/span>with cementing the apple as part of American folklore, as he roamed the frontier planting <\/span>acres upon acres of apple <\/span>orchards. By the 19<\/span>th<\/span> century, American farmers had <\/span>plant<\/span>ed<\/span> and cross-pollinat<\/span>ed<\/span> trees to develop an astounding <\/span>14,000 different varieties<\/span> of apples. <\/span>And of course, many of those varieties were perfect for making pie.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Also Read<\/strong> – A Whirlwind Tour of US Barbecue<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly as intriguing as the history of the apple in America is<\/span> the history of the phrase \u201cas American as apple pie.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> Upton cites a newspaper article in<\/span> <\/span>1902 that <\/span>said<\/span> \u201cno pie-eating people can be permanently vanquished\u201d and a 1924 ad in the <\/span>Gettysburg Times<\/span><\/i> selling \u201cNew <\/span>Lestz<\/span> Suits that are as American as apple pie.\u201d <\/span>The phrase became such a part of the American fabric that by World War II, soldiers <\/span>told<\/span> journalists that they were fighting for \u201cmom and apple pie.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple pie may have become a symbol of all that\u2019s good about Americans, but there is a dessert that\u2019s actually a better candidate for the title. <\/span>W<\/span>hile it might not have the same ring, a more apt phrase might be \u201cAs American as a blueberry cobbler.\u201d <\/span>Unlike the apple, b<\/span>lueberries\u2014along with <\/span>black cherries, strawberries, cranberries, and elderberries\u2014are native to North America<\/span>, and cobblers are a uniquely American creation. These fruit and pastry desserts, along with regional variations with such colorful names as Bettys, pandowdies, grunts, slumps, buckles, <\/span>sonkers<\/span>, crumbles, and crisps were created by early American settlers who turned to the simple ingredients they had on hand to create <\/span>satisfying <\/span>desserts. Nevertheless, it\u2019s apple pie that <\/span>became the apple of Americans\u2019 eyes.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At CookinGenie<\/a>, we\u2019ve recently added\u00a0fresh homemade\u00a0desserts to our menu and naturally,\u00a0our choices include\u00a0an all-American apple pie. Genie Brande Colson folds tart green apples and warm spices into a flaky, golden,\u00a0homemade crust. She can even make a gluten-free<\/a> variety. Cap off your next CookinGenie visit with a slice of this wholesome, rustic goodness\u2014we can\u2019t think of a better way to end a\u00a0home-cooked\u00a0meal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are certain things that just evoke America:    – Baseball.  – Uncle Sam.   – Corn fields.   – Apple pie.   \u00a0But what if we told you one of these iconic\u00a0symbols\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0really\u00a0belong on the list?\u00a0  Turns out there\u2019s nothing all that American about apple pie. In fact, neither apples or pie originated in North America: the ancient Egyptians get the credit for creating pie, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[11,28],"class_list":["post-294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-food","tag-apple-pie"],"yoast_head":"\nAmerican as Apple Pie? 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