Around 160 B.C.,关键字2 Marcus Porcius Cato, better known as Cato the Elder, penned a recipe for a rich, creamy mixture of fresh goat’s cheese and honey baked in between two crusts. While this may be the oldest known recipe for a double-crusted pie, both sweet and savory pies were already most likely part of the culinary lexicon of the ancient world. The Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks all enjoyed various permutations of them.
Today, pies are enjoyed just about everywhere, but even in a globalized world, they’re fiercely resistant to homogenization. From Shaker lemon pie to possum pie (don’t worry—it doesn’t contain actual possum) to pickle pie, humans are blessed with a bountiful diversity of crusted confections. And for those whose palates err on the savory side, there’s everything from Bonac clam pie to stargazey pie, the Cornish pastry with whole fish heads protruding from the lid.
But to break free of the hegemonic domination of apple, pumpkin, and cherry pies, you’ll want to hit the road. You might go to Cedar Creek, Texas, where a vending machine is stocked daily with freshly baked pecan pies. Or maybe you’ll go to Brooklyn, where you’ll find one of the last bakeries making the Nation of Islam’s signature sweet bean pies.
Or Minneapolis, where you’ll find a 19th-century church baking superb French Canadian-style meat pies. Or you could really lean in and just go to Pie Town, New Mexico, where the smell of baking blueberry-butterscotch pies wafts down the street.