Whether savoury or sweet, a slice of pie is a treat to eat!
Twice a year, people who love pie get a chance to celebrate their favourite food. The first opportunity to mark this occasion is on January 23, when pie-lovers across North America celebrate National Pie Day. (Want to know why? Read on.)
Next up is March 14, when all math lovers and those passionate about pastry unite to celebrate National Pi Day.
To help you celebrate, we examined the top pie choices by province and state. We also provide a bit of history on the two celebratory days, then add a bit of inspiration by providing three of the best recipes for pie (according to the internet).
What Are the Most Popular Pies?
Turns out, North Americans have priorities when it comes to pie. According to Baker’s Journal, as well as data collected in a Tenderflake survey, overall preferences for pies work out in the following way:
Top Pie Preferences in North America
- 24% – Custard or cream pie
- 23% – Meat savoury pie
- 18% – Other – sweet pie (ex: chocolate, rhubarb)
- 13% – Berry pie
- 8% – Other savoury (ex: Flipper or salmon pie)
- 7% – Sticky pie (ex: pecan pie or butter tarts)
- 5% – Apple pie
- 2% – Pumpkin pie
What Type of Pie Would You Find in Each Province or State?
Turns out, however, different provinces and states have different preferences for their tastes in pies.
For instance, those in Manitoba, Canada as well as South Dakota are most likely to favour apple pie — 28% and 17%, respectively, compared to 5% for the rest of North America.
Those in New Brunswick and Arizona prefer lemon meringue pie, while blueberry pie preferences are found solely in British Columbia, Canada.
The breakdown, based on province or state, is as follows.
Canada: Favourite Pie by Province
- Newfoundland & Labrador: Flipper Pie or Bakeapple Pie
- Prince Edward Island: Rhubarb pie
- Nova Scotia: Rappie pie
- New Brunswick: Lemon meringue pie
- Quebec: Tourtière or Pecan pie
- Ontario: Butter Tarts
- Manitoba: Apple pie
- Saskatchewan: Saskatoon berry pie
- Alberta: Cherry pie
- British Columbia: Blueberry Pie
- Yukon: Pumpkin Pie
- Nunavut: Serviceberry pie
- Northwest Territories: Cloudberry pie
America: Favorite Pie by State
- Alabama: Buttermilk pie
- Alaska: Shepherd’s pie
- Arizona: Lemon meringue pie
- Arkansas: Buttermilk pie
- California: Mud pie
- Colorado: Spaghetti pie
- Connecticut: Chicken pot pie
- Delaware: Shepherd’s pie
- Washington, D.C.: Pecan pie
- Florida: Key lime pie
- Georgia: Buttermilk pie
- Hawaii: Haupia pie
- Idaho: Strawberry pie
- Illinois: French silk pie
- Indiana: Peanut butter pie
- Iowa: Coconut cream pie
- Kansas: Cheeseburger pie
- Kentucky: Peanut butter pie
- Louisiana: Crawfish pie
- Maine: Chicken pot pie
- Maryland: Pumpkin pie
- Massachusetts: Ricotta pie
- Michigan: Cheeseburger pie
- Minnesota: French silk pie
- Mississippi: Buttermilk pie
- Missouri: Coconut cream pie
- Montana: Chicken pot pie
- Nebraska: Cherry pie
- Nevada: Shepherd’s pie
- New Hampshire: Chicken pot pie
- New Jersey: Tomato pie
- New Mexico: Pecan pie
- New York: Chicken pot pie
- North Carolina: Sweet potato pie
- North Dakota: Chocolate pie
- Ohio: Peanut butter pie
- Oklahoma: Chocolate pie
- Oregon: Strawberry rhubarb pie
- Pennsylvania: Tomato pie
- Rhode Island: Cheeseburger pie
- South Carolina: Tomato pie
- South Dakota: Apple pie
- Tennessee: Buttermilk pie
- Texas: Millionaire pie
- Utah: Banana cream pie
- Vermont: Chicken pot pie
- Virginia: Butterscotch pie
- Washington: Banana cream pie
- West Virginia: Peanut butter pie
- Wisconsin: French silk pie
- Wyoming: Shepherd’s pie
What Is National Pie Day?
As an annual celebration, National Pie Day is the one day where pie bakers and pie eaters can celebrate their love for this popular flakey dish.
Whether you are a fan of fruit pies, cream pies, savoury pies, or love them all, this is the day to throw your diet out the window and indulge.
A Little History of National Pie Day
Traditionally celebrated on January 23rd of each year, National Pie Day began in the mid-’70s in Boulder, Colorado.
A local brewer — who also happened to be a trained nuclear engineer and teacher — Charlie Papazian declared the day National Pie Day in order to celebrate his own birthday. At first, it was just a way for locals to hang out, eat good food and celebrate with friends. Then, in 1986, the American Pie Council jumped on board and decided to make it official — declaring the day National Pie Day, which is now celebrated across North America.
A Little History of National Pi Day
Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π and every year Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 — since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π.
The celebration of Pi Day became official in 2009 when the United States House of Representatives recognized that March 14 should be the official designation of Pi Day. (It was a nod to the great Dr. Albert Einstein, who was born on March 14.)
A Little History of Pie
It’s believed that the Greeks invented the pie back in the 5th Century B.C. Back then, Greek pie pastry was made several inches thick to withstand the hours of baking that was required to cook the pie. As a result, the crusts were so thick they were often used twice!
You don’t need a special holiday to enjoy pie, but it certainly helps if you decide to celebrate National Pie Day this Saturday, January 23, 2021.
3 of the Internet’s Best Pie Recipes
If you plan on celebrating National Pie Day or National Pi Day with a day of baking, then you’d be wise to remember the golden rule: “make it cold, bake it hot.” This means keep your ingredients nice and cold and only add heat when you’re ready to stick the pie in a hot oven.
In honour of National Pie Day (in January) or National Pi Day (in March), here are some of the best pie recipes.
Best Meat Pie Recipe
If savoury is your schtick, then you’ve got to try out this traditional meat pie (also known as tourtiere). The simple four-step recipe is from Rayna Jordan on Allrecipes.com and almost 200 reviewers give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground pork
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
Directions
- In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Spoon the meat mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes; remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.
Best Blueberry Pie Recipe
To get the most of fresh blueberries, try this blueberry pie recipe from Ashep on AllRecipes.com. The recipe is simple and straightforward and, better still, has almost 2,000 reviews and gets a 4.5 stars out of 5.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
- 1 tablespoon butter
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over blueberries.
- Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2 – 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges.
- Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
Tips
Since baking fruit draws out the water this can sometimes lead to a pie with a soggy bottom. One solution is to use a thickener, such as flour, cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca.
If you decide to use flour or cornstarch, keep in mind that these ingredients tend to create a cloudy filling and this can be off-putting, particularly in cherry pies. Instead, try using tapioca or potato starch or pre-cook the filling before adding it to the pie shell.
Best Gluten-Free Pie Crust Recipe
If you love pie, but can’t have gluten, consider this exceptional pie recipe from Nicole Hunn of Gluten Free on a Shoestring. The recipe is simple, doesn’t call for unusual ingredients and has almost 550 reviews — and a 5-star rating.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour, plus more for sprinkling
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains it)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, roughly chopped and chilled
- 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream (full fat, preferably), chilled
- Ice water by the teaspoonful, as necessary
Directions
- Make the pie crust dough. In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add the chopped and chilled butter, and toss to coat it in the dry ingredients. Flatten each chunk of butter between your thumb and forefinger. Add the sour cream, and mix to moisten the dry ingredients with the sour cream. The dough should be shaggy and somewhat crumbly. Knead the dough together with clean hands until it begins to come together. Add ice water by the teaspoon only if necessary for the dough to hold together. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and press into a disk as you close the plastic wrap around the dough. It will still seem rough. Place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch metal pie plate generously and set aside.
- Smooth out the chilled dough. Once the dough has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured piece of unbleached parchment paper. Sprinkle the dough lightly with more flour, and roll it out into a rectangle that is about 1 inch thick, moving the dough frequently and sprinkling it lightly with flour if it begins to stick. Fold the dough over on itself like you would a business letter. Sprinkle the dough again lightly with flour, and roll out the dough once again into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Twice more, remove the top piece of parchment paper, sprinkle lightly with flour, and fold the dough over on itself like you would a business letter.
- Shape the dough in the pie plate. Roll out the dough into an approximately 12-inch round, about 3/8-inch thick. Roll the pie crust loosely onto the rolling pin and then unroll it over the prepared pie plate. Trim the roughest edges of the crust with kitchen shears. Lift up the edges of the pie crust gently to create slack in the crust, and place the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Tuck the excess pie crust under itself, and crimp the edge gently all the way around the crust by pinching the dough at regular intervals with one hand, and creating a crimped impression with the forefinger of the other hand. Cover the pie crust with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (and up to 3 days).
- Parbake the crust. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and unwrap and discard the plastic. Pierce the bottom of the pie crust all over with the tines of a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the raw crust and cover the bottom of the crust with pie weights or dried beans. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the crust is lightly golden brown on the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove the pie weights and parchment and allow the crust to cool before proceeding with your recipe.
Now that you know some of the popular pies across North America and the best pie recipes, how are you going to celebrate National Pie Day?
