Pecan pie

Homemade pecan pie

A slice of pecan pie

Pecan pie is a sweet custard pie made primarily of corn syrup and pecan nuts. It is popularly served at holiday meals and is also considered a specialty of Southern U.S. cuisine.^[1] Most pecan pie recipes include salt and vanilla as flavorings.^[2] Other ingredients such as chocolate and bourbon whiskey are popular additions to the recipe.^[3] Pecan pie is often served with whipped cream.^[4]

New Orleans Pecan Pie

Tradition holds that the French invented pecan pie soon after settling in New Orleans, after being introduced to the nut by Native Americans.^[5] It is sometimes referred to as "New Orleans pecan pie," adding an aura of French cuisine to a home-cooked comfort food.^[6] Attempts to trace the dish's origin, however, have not found any recipes dated earlier than 1925, and well-known cookbooks such as Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking did not include it before 1940.^[7]

The makers of Karo syrup popularized the dish and many of its recipes. Karo Syrup's own website contends that the dish was a 1930s "discovery" of a "new use for corn syrup" by a corporate sales executive's wife.^[8]

Cultural context

Pecan pie is often mentioned in American literature (and television) as associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other special occasions; for example:

Tonight was the monthly meeting and potluck dinner of the Lost River Community Association... Frances had brought two covered dishes, one a green-bean casserole, the other a macaroni and cheese, and several desserts. Mildred, who had prepared fried chicken and a pork roast, heard the phone ringing, but ignored it... After another trip to the car for two cakes and three pecan pies, the phone was still ringing.

—Fannie Flagg, 2004^[9]

The only kitchen item I usually bring to Italy is plastic wrap... This time, however, I have brought one bag of Georgia pecans and a can of cane syrup, pecan pie being a necessary ingredient of Christmas.

—Frances Mayes, 1997^[10]

Dooley handed them a basket stuffed with fruit, nuts, candy, a tinned ham, and a pecan pie. "Merry Christmas!" he said.

—Jan Karon, 1996^[11]

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Best Pecan Pie
3. ^ Cooks.com Bourbon Pecan Pie Recipes
4. ^ Pecan Pie with Bourbon Whipped Cream
5. ^ History of Pecan Pie
6. ^ Famous New Orleans Pecan Pie
7. ^ Food Timeline - Pecan Pie History
8. ^ Life's Sweetest Little Secret
9. ^ Fannie Flagg, A Redbird Christmas: A Novel. 2004; Random House; ISBN 1-4000-6304-3
10. ^ Jan Karon, A Light in the Window (The Mitford Years). 1996; Penguin; ISBN 0-14-025454-4
11. ^ Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun. 1997; Broadway; ISBN 0-7679-0038-3