History of Apple Pie: Is it American?

Published on September 17th, 2024

As American As Apple Pie – Or Not

As temperatures drop across the U.S., millions of people will don their flannel and head out apple picking. What will they do with all those apples? Likely make some apple pie. Apple pie is such a part of American fall traditions that it’s hard to believe it could have come from anywhere else. It’s one of the country’s most iconic dishes, from Fourth of July cookouts to Thanksgiving feasts to Christmas dinners. “As American as apple pie” is a saying for a reason, right? Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that…

Where did apple pie originate from?

Apple pie as we know it today was actually first invented in England, though its influences stretch as far back as the Ottoman Empire. 

Apples originated in Kazakhstan and were brought to Europe around the 1500s. Europeans brought domesticated apple trees to North America in the 1600s. Before they arrived, only crab apples grew here. Other ingredients used in pie, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and lard, which was common in early recipes, were also brought by Europeans all the way from Asia and the Middle East. 

Settlers brought apples to the New World to make cider, but by the 1800s they had created sweeter apple varieties more suited for pie. The French, Dutch, and English had been making pies for centuries at this point. They brought those recipes to what is now the U.S., where the dish quickly caught on. In fact, Amelia Simmons, who wrote American Cookery, the first cookbook published in the U.S., included two recipes for apple pie in her book. 

Then there’s Johnny Appleseed, aka John Chapman, who spread apple seeds––literally––around Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana. He became a living legend and brought apples into America’s folklore, cementing their place as an American symbol.

Why were pies originally baked in the USA?

Pies were originally baked as a hearty, warm dish brought by European settlers. They were popular during the Civil War, when both Union and Confederate soldiers were said to eat them around the fire. Early pies were also more savory than the pies we know today.

Was Apple Pie Originally Eaten With Cheese?

Because apple pie started out as a savory dish, its connection to cheese makes sense. Both cheddar cheese and apple pie come from England. Originally, apple pies were topped with a custard-like sauce. But at some point, someone decided to try eating pie with cheddar instead. The details here are fuzzy, but we do know that historically cheese was served with fruit and nuts at the end of a meal, and that original apple pie recipes included more dried fruit and nuts inside. Whatever the reason, apple pie and cheddar cheese is still popular today in the Midwest, especially in Wisconsin, where much of the world’s cheddar is made today.

What does apple pie symbolize in America?

The history of apple pie in America includes a bit of propaganda. “Pie is the food of the heroic,” a 1902 New York Times editorial declared, positioning the dish as an “American synonym for prosperity.” After World War I, the paper published an article titled, “The Tourist Apple Pie Hunt Is Ended: American Army Abroad Has Failed Again to Find in Europe ‘the Kind They Make at Home.’ The piece argued that apple pie was American, and that no other country made it as well. 

No one knows for sure where the phrase ‘as American as apple pie’ came from. We do know that a 1924 advertisement for Lestz Suits said they were ‘as American as apple pie,’ and that a 1928 New York Times article said First Lady Lou Henry Hoover’s cooking and homemaking was “as American as apple pie or corn pone.” 

Apple pie became such a symbol of the U.S. that in 1935 New York and Oregon got in an argument over who produced the best apples. Oregon sent free apples to Congress to show that its apples were superior. New York responded by sending apple pies. 

A few years later, during World War II, American soldiers said they were fighting for “mom and apple pie.” With that, apple pie was cemented as an American dish. During the war, women shared recipes detailing how to make delicious pies for their returning husbands despite wartime rations and food shortages. Soon, apple pie was not only a symbol of America, but of something hearty, wholesome, and traditional. 

So, is apple pie American? It wasn’t originally, but it’s easy to argue it is now. It has endured as a symbol of America, and the version we know and love is eaten more in the U.S. than anywhere else.

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