‘Thy breath is like the steeme of apple pie’ says the lover wooing his beloved in the 16^th century, English writer R Greene’s book Menaphon.

Pies, sweet and savoury, flaky and crumbly have been a top of the charts food with a history dating back to the Greeks.

A pie is basically a baked dish consisting of a crust and filling. The crust may be a base for the filling, or may cover the filling. A pie can also have a crust on the bottom as well as the top.

It is now a universal favourite. The World Pie Eating Contest is held annually in Wigan, UK, attracts pie eaters from all parts of the world.

FACT 1: There is evidence that the Ancient Greeks made pastry shells with flour and water and baked them with a savoury meat filling.

FACT 2: The wealthy Romans used all kinds of exotic meats as filling for their pies. Pies often featured on the desert course of Roman menus. This course was known as ‘secunda mensea’. The oldest surviving work of Latin prose’ “De Agricultura’ by Cato the Older, written in the 2^nd century BCE, talks about a cheese cake like pie the ‘Placenta’.

FACT 3: In Medieval England pies were called ‘pyes’. They were filled with meat and game. Beef, lamb, wild duck, magpie and pigeon were used. The ‘pyes’ were highly flavoured. They were spiced with pepper, dates and currants.

FACT 4: Sweet pies are thought to have made their appearance in the eighteenth century. In 1796 only 3 sweet pie recipes were available. By the 1800’s there were about 8 recipes for sweet pies were recorded. The Modern Encyclopaedia of Cooking published in 1947, has 65 recipes for sweet pies. On the internet today, recipes from all corners of the globe can be found. The ingredients used range from the common place apple to the exotic zucchini.

FACT 5: Pumpkin Pie is traditional fare at Thanksgiving in America. However the Pilgrims celebrating the first Thanksgiving in 1621 are unlikely to have had any sweet pies on the menu. The Pilgrims found in pies a use technique of preserving meat. The crusty tops kept the meat fresh. The early Pilgrim pies therefore were spiced with dried fruit, cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg.

FACT 6: The Apple Pie is the symbol of traditional American home cooking. Other popular American pies are pecan pie and lemon pie with a soft meringue topping. All these standard American pies were introduced in the Colonial Era.

FACT 7: Mexican pies are called Tourtiere. Tortillas, the traditional Mexican flat bread made of wheat flour, form the crust. Wheat flour was unknown to the Native Americans. Before the arrival of the Europeans, Tortillas were made from corn flour (maize).

FACT 8: Refined wheat flour is the most common base ingredient in the pie crust. However potato, sweet potato, corn and corn flour are also used. Today gluten free pies are the rage, and coconut flour and almond flour are being used instead of wheat. Gluten free wheat flour is also available.

FACT 9: A traditional American pie is 20 to 25 cm in diameter and 5 to 8 cm thick. The sides of the pie dish slope downwards. Pies are not unmoulded, but sliced out of the pie dish. Traditionally the pastry is made from flour, cold water and lard. The crust is meant to be crisp and flaky.

FACT 10: A tart or flan is a variation of the pie. It is never covered on the top. It is shallow and baked in a dish with a removable bottom. Tarts are served unmoulded. Sugar, butter and shortening are used in the pastry. The crust is firm and crumbly. A flan is also sometimes called a pie. It is baked custard usually sweet and does not have any pastry. A quiche is a flan with a crust and a sweet or savoury, custard filling. A galette is a round pastry baked on a flat baking sheet and folded over the filling. The galette is basically round by does not have a clearly defined form.