In celebration of Pi Day, let’s delve into the history of pies and what they were in Renaissance England.
Before we go back to the 16th centuery, we should look into how Pi Day came to be a nationally recognized day passed by the House of Representatives on March 12, 2009.
Origin of Pi Day
Pi Day, observed on March 14 because the first three digits of pi are 3, 1 and 4, had its start in San Francisco, California in 1988. Scientists at the Exploratorium in San Francisco were trying to come up with ideas to get more visitors to the museum. One of them, physicist Larry Shaw, felt pi seemed like an ideal subject to recognize and promote. While pi, largely written as 3.14, is an irrational number and the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, it also has the lucky homophone in “pie,” and pies are typically shaped like circles, too. All of which offered up a catchy and tasty way to entice children and adults to learn about math. They hosted its first Pi Day on March 14, 1988, with fruit pie for everyone at 1:59 p.m. (Those are the next three digits after 3.14.)
Thus was the start of the holiday and what better way to celebrate than with pie!
But how did pies come to be?
The Humble Pie
As unassuming and simple a pie may seem, there’s a rich history to this perfectly packaged dessert.
While pie-like dishes have been around since the ancient Egyptians, the idea of enclosing a filling inside a sort-of-pastry made from flour and oil actually originated in ancient Rome. However, the pie we know and love today has its roots in Northern Europe. Olive oil was scarce to nonexistent in the region, butter and lard were the fats of choice in the harsher and colder climes north of the Mediterranean. The use of these solid fats created a pastry that could be rolled and molded – and so the true pie was born.
The early “pyes” were predominately meat pies. In the 12th century, the need for nutritious, long-lasting food that was easy to store and carry, was solved by making a crust of hardened pastry to put meat in. Pies acted as a means to preserve food, and were often used to keep the filling fresh during the winter months.
Mince pies are traced back to the 13th century, when European crusaders returned home from the Middle East with recipes containing meats, fruits and spices. And by the 14th century, these pies were firmly entrenched in Britain.
Pies in Renaissance England and Beyond
In the 15th century, other types of pie fillings started to be introduced like custard.
Fruit pies started to appear in England in the late 16th century. This was largely due to the price of sugar dropping in the 16th century; fruit pies until that point were called tarts and did not contain sugar.
In the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I was served cherry pie. This is the first record of fresh fruit pie. Apple pie was first referenced in 1589 by the poet R. Green.
A bit after Queen Elizabeth’s reign, because of their religious ties to Christmas, mince pies were banned during Oliver Cromwell’s period of power. A staunch puritan, he felt such frivolities as Christmas and pies were not to be tolerated. For 16 years, pie eating and making went underground until the pie ban was lifted following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
Celebrate Pi Day
Any way you slice it, the simple pie actually has a long and interesting history in Britain and beyond. And be it Pi Day or any old day of the week, it’s a tasty way to celebrate.
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