Pecan pie is a

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

of pecan nuts mixed with a filling of eggs, butter, and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

(typically

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to softe ...

). Variations may include white or brown sugar,

cane syrup Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...

, sugar syrup,

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

, or

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

. It is popularly served at holiday meals in the United States and is considered a specialty of Southern U.S. origin. Most pecan pie recipes include salt and vanilla as flavorings. Chocolate and

bourbon whiskey Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbo ...

are other popular additions to the recipe. Pecan pie is often served with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or

hard sauce Hard sauce is a sweet, rich dessert sauce made by creaming (food), creaming or beating butter and sugar with rum (rum butter), brandy (brandy butter), whiskey, sherry (sherry butter), vanilla or other flavourings. It is served cold, often with ho ...

Origin

Attempts to trace the dish's origin have not found any recipes dated earlier than a pecan custard pie recipe published in ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' in 1886. Pecan pie was made before the invention of corn syrup, and older recipes used darker sugar-based syrup or molasses. The 1929 congressional club cookbook has a recipe for the pie which used only eggs, milk, sugar and pecans. The makers of Karo syrup significantly contributed to popularizing the dish and many of the recipes for variants (

caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of caramelizatio ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

, Irish cream,

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

, etc.) of the classic pie. The company has claimed that the dish was a 1930s "discovery" of a "new use for corn syrup" by a corporate sales executive's wife. Well-known cookbooks such as '' Fannie Farmer'' and '' The Joy of Cooking'' did not include this dessert before 1940. Pecan pie came to be closely associated with the culture of the Southern United States in the 1940s and 1950s. Pecans are native to the southern United States. Archaeological evidence found in Texas indicates that Native Americans used pecans more than 8,000 years ago. The word ''pecan'' is a derivative of an Algonquin word, ''pakani'', referring to several nuts. Sugar pies such as treacle tart were attested in Medieval Europe, and adapted in North America to the ingredients available, resulting in such dishes as shoofly pie, sugar cream pie, butter tart and chess pie. Some Pecan pie recipes may be a variant of chess pie, which is made with a similar butter-sugar-egg plus the addition of milk or condensed milk to make a true

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency fro ...

. Some have stated that the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

invented pecan pie soon after settling in New Orleans, after being introduced to the pecan nut by the Native American Quinipissa and Tangipahoa tribes. Claims have also been made of pecan pie existing in the early 1800s in Alabama, but this does not appear to be backed up by recipes or literature.

Cultural context

Pecan pie is often mentioned in American literature (and television) and is associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other special occasions; for example: Pecan pie is a staple of the Southern U.S., and is often used in literary context as a symbol of the South; for example: The Texas Legislature designated pecan pie as the official "State Pie of Texas" in 2013.

Variations

Popular pecan pie variants include:

Alice Colombo's Race Day Chocolate Pecan Pie

:This pie is named after Alice Colombo, who was a food editor for the Louisville ''Courier-Journal'' in Kentucky. This pie was made by her on the occasion of the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. The special ingredients suggested in the recipe include cornstarch, to soften the top, bourbon, chocolate chips and whipped cream.

Butterscotch

:Characterized by the addition of butterscotch chips and brown sugar (in addition to, not in place of, corn syrup).

Chocolate brownie

:This pie has nuts on the surface and it is layered with chocolate pudding and fudge. It is served at room temperature or chilled.

Maple

:Includes

and

almond extract The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

Sawdust pie

:Sawdust Pie is a signature recipe of Patti's Restaurant in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, consisting of an egg-batter filling with coconut, graham cracker crumbs and pecans, topped with whipped cream and sliced bananas.

Transparent pie

:Many variations, but one is a regular pecan pie recipe with pecans omitted, and vanilla replaced with nutmeg or lemon juice.

Whiskey chocolate chip

:In this pie, chocolate chips and a few teaspoons of Jack Daniel whiskey are added.

References

External links

* * {{authority control American pies Christmas food Cuisine of the Southern United States Nut dishes Sweet pies Thanksgiving food Pecan