Pie: A bitesize piece of a culinary treasure

Have your slice of the pie, be it sweet, savoury, or even mathematical.

Not Pie, [paɪ] as in Pythagoras the Greek mathematician but pie, [paɪ] pronounced in the same way and a type of Anglo Saxon food, coming in both sweet and savoury versions and popular on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.

It would seem that from its humble beginnings with the ancient Greeks some years before Christ (Pythagoras aside there are mentions of filled pastries in the plays of Aristophanes), the pie has acquired a rather important status, judging by the fact that not only can you find pie shops, but also a whole town, Melton Mowbray in central England devoted to the production of one type of pie, that English delicacy the pork pie.

Not only that but the English language contains many examples of pie being used in rhymes, idioms and common phrases. The children’s rhyme Simple Simon met a pie man, (a man who sells pies), the idiom pie in the sky, to describe an unattainable dream, though the pie remains as a desired item. Everyone knows what a pie chart is and following on from that it is very common in business to talk about a share or piece of the pie. But why pie, why not cake, that luxurious and always sweet tasting delight? Pie by comparison is mundane and multifunctional, a workhorse of the culinary world.

The answer begins in that last sentence, for pie is so versatile, even vegans can enjoy a pie baked especially for them. Pie is an inclusive food, literally and metaphorically, a filling which can commonly be any kind of meat or fruit offering a myriad of varieties encased in short crust or puff pastry. A pie is also a very practical creation offering the possibility to preserve other foods such as meat. Nowadays this is easily overlooked but centuries ago when ocean going voyages could be a year or more at sea without making landfall the ability to keep food fresh such as in a pie was of greater importance.

In the present day the pie is still going strong, apple pie being seen as so quintessentially American that it is common to hear the phrase that something is ‘‘as American as Apple pie‘‘. Apples were abundant, easily cultivated and preserved through drying when the Pilgrim Fathers arrived on America’s east coast in the 17th century and the apple pie became a national favourite and so connected to American home cooking that it’s hard to believe that it is eaten across the pond in Great Britain too. That said, and although fruit pies are common place, Britain is undoubtedly the home of the meat pie, the three most popular being the steak and kidney pie, the chicken and mushroom pie and of course that anomaly the pork pie.

The Steak in the first mentioned pie refers to chuck steak, a cheaper cut suitable for braising in its own juices with a little onion (slow cooking) and insertion into a pie along with kidney, a less popular piece of meat but the soft texture and sharp flavour complimenting the braised beef. Chicken and mushroom pie is fairly self-explanatory, though the sauce can vary from extremely creamy to much lighter. Chicken or chicken and vegetable pies are also very popular especially in domestic cooking for the pie maker can simply take the leftover chicken and add whatever vegetables are to hand before baking the pie in the oven. In this article the discussion is of traditional pies and it is taken as given that all the pies mentioned are baked in an oven for this is the method of cooking a traditional pie.

Both these types of pie are commonly found in traditional British fish and chip shops as an alternative choice to deep-fried fish. What is less well known is that in the East end of London there exists a phenomenon called the pie and mash shop, something like a cross between a cafe and a fish and chip shop where you can sit down and eat a simple meal consisting of a pie, mashed potato and liquor (not alcohol but rather a clear green sauce flavoured with the herb parsley) and maybe also that other East end speciality jellied eels. Incidentally the East end roots of fish and chips and jellied eels are another topic worthy of their own separate discussion and should not be mixed with pies even though there is a big connection briefly mentioned above. In Britain the pie is clearly a staple of the working classes and it has its place at that favourite male pastime of going to the Football. The original half time snack found at almost all football grounds from Plymouth in the south west to Carlisle in the far north near the Scottish border is a meat pie washed down with a cup of Bovril (beef bouillon).

Now it is time to uncase the pork pie which was noted as an anomaly, at least it is amongst meat pies, the reason being that it is served cold. A very dense and rich dish, you could be deceived by the appearance of a pork pie. A full size one is enough for several portions, in contrast with the other meat pies, namely steak and kidney and chicken and mushroom which are mostly produced as a snack for one person or as the centre piece of a main meal.

The pork pie is strongly associated with the market town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire where the pies produced there are covered by the European Union’s PDO (protected designation of origin) scheme. The pork meat must be cooked and chopped (not minced) correctly before being blended with a little fat and herbs before being encased in a layer of gelatine and finally the pie crust is added. A significant part of British cuisine for such a long time that pork pie has even been used as a nickname for hats. A pork pie hat can be several types of hat that have a small, narrow brim and a round domed centre.

It would not be English language if there was not one confusing aspect of pies and their filling and mince pie do not disappoint. The mince pie is a small pie, eaten as a snack or desert at Christmas time. It does not however, contain any mince or any meat whatsoever. What it does contain as its filling is mincemeat! What!? I hear you exclaim, no meat but rather mincemeat, I am completely baffled. Take a deep breath, compose yourself and read carefully on: Mincemeat originated in the middle ages and originally contained meat, although now it only contains fat along with dried fruits, alcohol, sugar and spices, creating a rich and sweet jam-like substance which makes the perfect pie filling. These mince pies are so commonplace in British households at Christmas that they are not only made at home but produced on a large scale and sold in huge quantities in shops.

Finishing with an idiom, if you want to have your fingers in all the pies (also meaning to be involved in many different activities or businesses) and try them all then you will have to travel along way, wait all year and of course eat a great deal so be careful not to eat too many or people will be shouting at you “Who ate all the pies?”

(Who ate all the pies is a common chant at English football matches, intended to poke fun at overweight players, managers or officials)

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