In 1621 the Pilgrims and Indians gathered for three days of feasting and celebration. The Wampanoag, a neighboring group of Indians, brought turkey and corn, and the Pilgrims brought pies. 12 selections. Everyone could choose their favorite species. It had to be the cakes that were the 'hit' of the feast. The cakes were so good that the Indians invited the pilgrims to stay. It had to be the cakes.
History of Pies by PJ's Totally Awesome Pies. PJ's also has 12 selections.
The history of real pie
Pies were baked in America as soon as the first settlers introduced housewives to dry land. Beyond mere preference, however, there was a practical reason for making pies, especially in the harsh and primitive conditions encountered by the early colonists. Piecrust used less flour than bread and didn't require anything as complicated as a brick oven to bake it. More important, though, was how the pies could stretch even the meager supplies and keep a few hungry mouths going.
The first pies were very simple and generally salty (meat and cheese). Flaky pastries filled with fruit appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. Some cake-type foods are produced for individual consumption. These portable pies…pies, turnovers, empanadas, pierogi, calzones…were enjoyed by the working classes and sold by street vendors. The cake variations (cobblers, dips, grunts, etc.) are endless.
While pumpkin pie was probably not served at the first Thanksgiving, as both the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag ate pumpkin regularly, it is very likely that pumpkin was present in other forms. In the late 17th century, pumpkin pie appeared in cookbooks.
While late 17th century recipes in both England and New England described filling a hollowed out pumpkin with sweetened milk or sliced apples and cooking over a fire.
A 1670 recipe by Englishwoman Hannah Woolly involved filling the pie with layers of pumpkin, apple, thyme, rosemary and marjoram.
In the 1700s, the pumpkin pie evolved into the more pumpkin custard-filled pies we eat today.
"American Cooking," a 1796 cookbook by Amelia Simmons, included a couple of pumpkin pie recipes that appear to be a custard precedent for today's version.
In 1842, pumpkin pie was mentioned in Lydia Maria Child's famous poem “Beyond the River and the Woods”: “Hurray for fun! Is the pudding ready? Hooray for pumpkin pie!”
When Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, pumpkin pie was still largely confined to the northern states and the New England region.
Many Southern Confederates saw the new holiday as an imposed "Yankee tradition" and not everyone liked the new holiday.
However, after the institution of the holiday, the popularity of the pie and the Thanksgiving menu spread until the pumpkin pie became a tradition.
In 1929, Chicago meat caner Libby's introduced a line of canned pumpkins, revolutionizing the process of roasting and straining your own pumpkin to make pumpkin pie, replacing it with a cheaper and more convenient solution.
Today, pumpkin pie is considered a Thanksgiving essential. Now, most people wouldn't dream of carving their own pumpkin to roast and then strain and use in their favorite pie. With preserved pumpkin, pumpkin spice (which usually consists of ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice), an outer crust, and sometimes a dollop of whipped cream on top, the pie is ready.
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