National Pie Day is an unofficial food holiday celebrated in the United States on January 23 each year. The holiday, created by the American Pie Council, celebrates pies of all types through activities promoting pie baking.http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/NationalPieDay/ A pie is a baked good which may be made at home, bought from a grocery store to enjoy at home, purchased in a bakery, or enjoyed by the slice at a restaurant.
Pies can be either savory or sweet. The food item can be served for any meal of the day or for a dessert depending on the ingredients. A pie may be made in an individual serving or baked in a pie tie and sliced into individual pieces. Pies may be baked in a crust made of flour or may be no bake type served in a pie shell already baked or a cookie crust which does not require baking. Some pie recipes include ingredients which allow the crust to form while the ingredients bake. Pies may be single crust or double crust.
History of National Pie Day
The American Pie Council established National Pie Day as a time to celebrate the pie. The Council sponsors pie events throughout the year, and hosts a National Pie Championship where pie makers from the U.S. and Canada compete for the American Pie Council's® Best Pie in America award.http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/NationalPieDay/
The Oxford English Dictionary traced the word "pie" back to 1303. The food item was well known by 1362. The first pies were savory in nature while the fruit filled versions appeared in the early 19th century.http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html The English settlers brought pie to America. The earliest versions were cooked in long narrow pans and were called coffins. The crusts for early versions of pies were not eaten but were simply used to hold the filling.http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/NationalPieDay/
National Pie Day Celebrations
In 2010, National Pie Day celebrations were documented on the American Pie Council website. Pie celebrations included baking contests in several states and free slices of pie to patrons at bakeries in some locations. In Saint Paul, MN, the Golden Fig gave away free slices of pie to men and women in the Armed Services as a part of a “Pie-triotism” event. In Spokane, WA, the Cyrus O’Leary restaurant offered free pies to a number of groups including police and fire departments, local community volunteer groups, and veterans organizations. The restaurant won gold medals for their pies at the 2008 and 2009 National Pie Championships.http://www.piecouncil.org/_docs/2010npdEvents.pdf Home celebrations can include baking a pie for the family or for a friend.
How to Make Banoffee Pie
Banoffee pie uses a combination of bananas and toffee in a graham cracker crust. The pie is made with two cans of caramelized condensed milk. Once the milk has cooled to room temperature, half of it is spread in the graham crust. The filling is topped with sliced bananas and the remaining caramelized milk is poured over them. The pie is then covered with whipped topping and Heath bar bits.
References
Fast Facts
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Date celebrated
January 23
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Where
United States and Canada
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When it began
1986
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Proposed by
American Pie Council (APC)
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Officially recognized?
APC designated and registered the holiday.
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Typical ingredients
Pie ingredients range from savory to sweet. Filling may be a meat and cheese, a fruit, or a pudding type, among others.
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Type of celebrations
Pie baking contests, free pie days, pie eating contests and more
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Cooking method
May be baked or may be no-bake type
