Historical Pies for Pi Day
Historical Pies for Pi Day
Yes, my nerd-ish tendencies are showing. Today is Pi Day (as in the number pi, 3.14) AND I’ve been watching the Great British Baking show. So I thought I’d offer a little advice and a few recipes from Austen’s day.
This time I dug into a newer addition to my historical cookbook library, by Mary Holland. The entire chapter one pies, tarts, and puffs is fascinating, with recipes for puff pastry, in several forms, multiple short crust, and hot-water crust pastries. Not to mention fillings that I would never have considered. Seriously, it seems like everything that wasn’t nailed down was thrown in a pie: Pear, Pigeon, Partridge, Pork and Pate’, all were served in a crust.
Below are a few pearls of historical kitchen wisdom. (I’ve kept the original spelling and grammar for fun!)
PIES , TARTS , AND PUFFS .
Observations . One very material thing to be attended to in all sorts of pastry is the heat of the oven . Light paste should be put into a moderately heated oven . If too hot , the crust cannot rise , and it will burn ; and if , on the contrary , it is too slack , the paste will be soddened , and not of a good colour . Raised paste should have a quick oven , and be well closed , otherwise the sides will sink in , and spoil its appearance . Iced tarts should be done in a slack oven ; or , before the tarts are sufficiently baked , the iceing will become brown .
Short Crusts
Take a pound of fine flour dried , and mix it with an ounce of sugar pounded and sifted ; crumble three ounces of butter in it, till it looks like flour , and , with a little boiling cream , work it up to a fine paste.
Another , somewhat richer . Mix six ounces of butter with eight ounces of fine flour ; make it into a stiffish paste , with as little water as possible ; beat it well , and roll it thin . Both these are proper for tarts of fresh or preserved fruits . Bake in a moderate oven .
Lemon Mince Pie .
Squeeze a lemon , boil the outside till tender enough to beat to mash , add to it three apples chopped , four ounces of suet , half a pound of currants , four ounces of sugar ; put the juice of the lemon and candied fruit , as for other pies . Make a short crust , and fill the patty – pans
Apple and Barberry Tart .
Sheet a tart – pan with short – paste ; put half apple , and half barberries ; add sugar , and cover it ‘ ; finish the same as other tarts . Cherry Pie . Make a good crust , lay a little of it round the sides of the dish , and strew sugar at the bottom , Then lay in your fruit , and sugar at the top . Put on your lid , and bake it in a slack oven . Currants mixed with the cherries will be a considerable im provement . A plum or gooseberry pie may be made in the same manner .
Hot Paste for raised Pies , or Fowls .
To one quart of water put two ounces of butter . , set it on the fire to boil , take what four is requisite , break two eggs into it, and stir the butter and water in with a spoon , so as to mix the egg with the liquid ; work it up well , at least a quarter of an hour , and make it quite stiff ; then put it in a stewpan before the fire , to sweat for about half an hour ; raise it to any shape you please ; the better way is to raise your pie , and finish it for baking , the day before you want it ; it will stand the oven the better , particularly if a large one ; but small ones , or cases , may be made and baked directly .
Raised Beef – Steak Pie .
Cut the skin from the fat of some rump steaks , beat them , pass them over the fire with a bit of butter , pepper , salt , lemon – juice , and shalots chopped ; when half done , put them into a dish till ” cold . Blanch and strain oysters , and preserve the liquor , raise a crust as described above , put a layer of steaks at the bottom , some oysters upon it ; and so alternately ; cover , ornament , and bake your pie . When done , put into it a good cullis , with the oyster liquor , and some ketchup mixed with it , and serve it . Steaks with oysters may be done in the same way , put into a deep dish , and covered with puff paste.
So have you been inspired to go out and bake? True confessions, my hubby doesn’t really like pie crust, so I probably won’t be trying these too soon.
Do any of you bake pies? Tell me about them!
Recipes from:
Holland, Mary. The Complete Economical Cook, and Frugal Housewife, An Entirely New System of Domestic Cookery … with Directions for Pastry and Confectionery; Likewise the Art of Making British Wines, Brewing, Baking &c.: T. Tegg& Son Cheapsde: London, 1837
Pears wrapped in pastry are really good. They hadn’t really caught on to potatoes yet, although Jane’s mother was well known for nagging Rev Austen’s parishioners to grow them as good sustenance. She also got the parish cowpoxed against smallpox. I love Bake Off and I make hot water crust raised pies, pork or chicken, jelly the lot, but I can’t make good short or puff…so I buy it. Thanks for another interesting piece.
Love the combination of Pi Day and Jane Austen! Most pastry crusts are beyond my meager culinary skills, though I once made a halfway decent Bakewell tart. Maybe the almond flour and jam were able to hide my inadequate shortcrust pastry. Well, it seems like pi day would be a really good time to work on my pie crust skills. Thanks for the inspirational post! 🙂
I tend to bake crumbles rather than pies, but have made my share of pies. I love meat pies and need to figure out how to make them as they are very hard to get on this side of the pond. However I have non idea what is meant as “instructions” in the section headlined “Hot Paste for raised Pies , or Fowls ” so I think I’ll stick to the instructions I found in an old book of Scottish recipes.
Shortcrust for tarts are pretty easy and decidedly tasty. For a “regular” piecrust, the absolute best fat to use is lard. The crusts come out flaky and tender and delicious.
I have never mastered the art of making pie crusts decorative. Usually I’m happy just to have them properly covered and vented! My younger daughter loves pie and she is the family pie craftsman. Her husband is the usual beneficiary of her skill these days.
John Kirkwood, on youtube, has some fabulous recipes for pies as well as for crusted main dishes. His “salmon en croute” is astoundingly easy and utterly delicious; I cannot recommend his channel more highly.
My goodness… Happy Pi Day! I’ve been cruising some of the videos and Catherine mentioned John Kirkwood and I was lost there for a while watching him. LA! I’m starving and this did not help. My husband likes dark cherry cobbler so I may have to make that for him. Blessings, everyone, stay safe, and healthy.
I’m rubbish at pie making. I’ll use a refrigerated crust for quiche or chicken pot pie once a year, but that’s the extent. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law bakes a fantastic pie, they are simply divine. My son is the chief cook in that couple. And in this one sense I’m glad we don’t live close enough to celebrate every holiday. Just that one sense. 😀
I enjoyed the historic recipes, and I love the history, but won’t be trying to reproduce them. If I was ever so lucky to try a sample of Regency foods I’d brave a bite. I can guarantee though, I would be able to taste the suet which I just find awful. What a wimp I am.
I make my own crusts from Better Homes and Garden cookbook recipe. I make Apple Pie, Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pies…Usually just for holidays as I am diabetic and avoid desserts.
I’m at a complete loss on ‘short’, paste pastry etc., and all the different names y’all have for pie crust. The one I was taught at an early age, only has flour, salt, vegetable shortening that is cut in with pastry cutter, then use cold water tossed with fork to make a ball. Then roll out on floured counter and eased into pan – then depends on what kind of pie you are making as where you go from there. But then again, I’m from Texas. I don’t use butter in it either.