Zach B., Yale University
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie:
Zach Bell, Yale University
Back in December 2010, I baked a raisin pie and commented on its usage as a “funeral pie.” Upon some further research into a variation, the sour cream and raisin pie, I found that it also originated among Mennonites settling in the Great Plains, quickly spreading to other local communities. Funerals in the mid to late nineteenth century were opportunities for the community to gather and express hospitality. This hospitality often arrived as edibles, and especially as dessert. Guests and relatives would bring food to show their sympathy and condolences. A funeral staple was the raisin pie (and other improvised variations) , a dessert that could be quickly made out of readily available ingredients.
Filed under Food, Pics or it Didn't Happen, pie, Recipes, Zach B.
by The Baker
[Jason]: A pie for the end of school and the start of summer. This recipe makes me want to chill out with a slice of Ace of Cake’s new EP, The Bakery.
Blueberry Pie with Sweet Corn Ice Cream Continue reading
Filed under College Life, pie, Recipes, The Baker
Zach Bell, Yale University
Traditionally thought of as a summer dessert, in my opinion key lime pie can be served at any time of the year. In order to make the pie a little more appropriate for the temperature though (despite an unusually warm December in St. Louis), I put the filling in a gingerbread crust.
Filed under Pics or it Didn't Happen, pie, Yale, Zach B.
Zach Bell, Yale University
A staple of American dessert culture is the lemon meringue pie. Although lemon flavored desserts and custards have been in use since medieval times, the lemon meringue pie as we know it did not emerge until the nineteenth century. For my lemon pie, I used a recipe that originated a bit more recently. My recipe came from my great-grandmother’s cookbook, dating from the early to mid- twentieth century. Although I only have vague memories of her, and none of her lemon pie, I hear stories of her baking virtuosity. So I decided to test out her recipe and see if I inherited some of her baking genes.
Zach Bell, Yale University
When my Dad requested a buttermilk pie, I was immediately skeptical. Buttermilk, a fermented version of cow milk, is thicker because the acid content (which also gives it a sour taste) denatures, or unravels the milk proteins (mostly casein). I used cultured buttermilk, made with lactic acid bacteria, for more thickness. For a smoother texture, I creamed the butter and mixed in the sugar.
With the addition of egg yolks and flour… Continue reading
Filed under Food, Pics or it Didn't Happen, pie, Zach B.
Zach Bell, Yale University
I made a butterscotch pie using the standard egg custard as the base
and adding brown sugar and butter, the base ingredients of butterscotch
flavor. The egg custard flavor was immediately evident, so I did not get
the “Hershey’s” style butterscotch, the cloying, saccharine, sticky
butterscotch. Instead, the butterscotch flavor emerged from the
background, more of a rich aftertaste than an anvil of flavor falling
from the sky.
Continue reading
Filed under Food, Pics or it Didn't Happen, pie, Zach B.