Shoofly pie
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| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Shoo-fly pie |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Pennsylvania |
| Details | |
| Type | Pie |
| Main ingredient(s) | Pie shell, molasses |
| Variations | Montgomery pie, chess pie |
Shoofly pie (or shoo-fly pie)[1] is a molasses pie considered traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch.[2]
The pie may get its name because the sweet molasses odor attracts flies that must be "shooed" away.[3][4]
The shoofly pie's origins may come from the treacle tart with the primary difference being the use of molasses rather than golden syrup.[5] A Montgomery pie is similar to a shoofly pie, except lemon juice is usually added to the bottom layer and buttermilk to the topping. A chess pie is also similar, but it is unlayered.
Shoofly pie also comes in two different versions – wet bottom and dry bottom. The dry bottom version is baked until fully set and results in a more cake-like consistency throughout. The wet bottom version is set like cake at the top where it has mixed in with the crumbs, but the very bottom is a stickier, gooier custard-like consistency.[6]
The Pie/Cake Controversy
Because of the cake-like consistency of the "pie", it could be said that it is not a pie at all and at best a "hybrid cake within a pie shell".[7][8] Historically it was a "breakfast cake meant to be eaten early in the morning with plenty of hot coffee.".[9][10]
References
- ↑ The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (ISBN 0-86730-784-6), by John Mariani.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ History notes on pie and pastry
- ↑ Shoofly Pie, Amish Country News
- ↑ History of Shoofly Pie
- ↑ Traditional Shoo Fly Pie Recipe
- ↑ ["The Best of Amish Cooking," Phyllis Pellman Good]
- ↑ A Pie Called Shoofly
- ↑ ["Pennsylvania Dutch Country Cooking", William Woys Weaver]
- ↑ A Pie Called Shoofly
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shoofly pies. |
- "Pebble-Dash" or Shoo-Fly Pie, a page from a 1915 cookbook (Mary At The Farm And Book Of Recipes Compiled During Her Visit Among The "Pennsylvania Germans") at the website of the Michigan State University Library
- Shoo-fly, don't Amish me, a March 2006 Yale Daily News article on the pie which includes a recipe
