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On display from
MAY 1ST, 2020 through
JUNE 1ST, 2020 at the
National Museum of American History 1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560
A
pple pie is America’s favorite dessert, but is it really all that American? Those who visit
the Not-So American Dream exhibit will experience the sweet history of the apple pie. Apple pie has certainly become a staple dessert in the American cuisine. Across the nation, you can find apple pie anywhere you go–diners, grocery stores, and even your grandmother’s kitchen. This exhibition will highlight all of the glory that apple pie has brought to the people of the United States. Visitors will learn all about the unique story of this sweet and savory treat. It has a timeline spanning all the way from ancient Egypt up to modern-day America. To celebrate National Apple Pie Day, everyone who visits the exhibition this month will receive a classic slice of apple pie on the house. Enjoy!
APPLE PIES CONSIDERABLE part of our DOMESTIC
HAPPINESS Jane Austen
Baker’s Timeline of Apple Pie
Spanning Years 1362 – Present Day America
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In medieval England, they were called pyes, and instead of being mainly sweet, they were often filled with meat — beef, lamb, wild duck, pigeon — spiced with pepper or dates. Historians trace pie’s initial origins to the Greeks, who are thought to be the originators of the pastry shell.
Contrary to grade school theater productions across the United States, there was no modernday pie at the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621. Pilgrims brought English-style, meatbased recipes with them to the colonies.
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The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word “pie” as it relates to food, was well known and popular. It started being used regularly in ancient Egypt.
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Pies were served with almost every meal. Pioneer women started to set the trend of pastry making and making it a form of American culture. Pie was a roughed dish that could handle the diverse temperatures of stoves using wood for heat. Soon pies took center stage at county fairs, picnics, and other social events.
John Chapman, or better known as Johnny Appleseed, was a pioneer that spread appleseeds around Colonial America and Canada.
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The New York Times wrote “Pie is the secret of our strength as a nation. Pie is the American synonym of prosperity. Pie is the food of the heroic. No pie-eating people can be permanently vanquished”. Since then, Apple Pie has become a symbol of America.
When journalists asked soldiers why they were fighting in World War II, a common slogan was “for mom and apple pie,” which gave rise to the phrase “as American as motherhood and apple pie.” By the 1960s, the phrase had mostly dropped the not-unique-toAmerica idea of motherhood.
Today, there are two hundred and thirty-one registered recipes of apple pie. In addition to every grandmother’s, mother’s carefully copied down on yellowed pages, stored, archived, and handed down. From McDonalds’ all the way to Oreos’ you’ll be sure to find a slice of apple pie within the roots of America.
SUGAR & SPICE
& everything nice
W
hen we reflect on our American heritage, images of baseball, the
Statue of Liberty, bald eagles, and perhaps most often, apple pie, immediately come to mind. But apples aren’t indigenous to America, so why is our identity so inextricably tied to this flaky dessert? Upon arrival, visitors will enter upon the ultimate American Dream setting. Walking through the sea of red, white, and blue of people enjoying America’s favorite treat. Cinnamon, apples, and sugar make up this delicious dessert. However, walking along visitors will eventually find themselves baked into the history of apple pie– which it’s history happens to be the key ingredient to this dessert’s success.
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A SLICE IN HISTORY a sweet & savory one
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n 1362, apple
known as America’s
pie first became
favorite dessert.
popularized by the
However, nothing
ancient Egyptians.
about it dates back
Visitors of the Not-
to being American.
So American Dream
Dive right in to
exhibition will be able
learning about the
indulge themselves
sweet history of
in the rich history of
this savory dessert.
apple pie. Dating back
Our own baker’s
over five-hundred
timeline will take you
years, the apple pie
into everything you
has a vast history.
need to know about
It’s expansion upon
the hisory of the
multiple groups of
all American apple
people gives apple pie
pie through all six-
unique background.
hundred years
Apple pie has become
of history.
A SMALL TASTE
of apple pie
B
utter, apples, cinnamon, and sugar are just a few of the ingredients you taste
when biting into a warm apple pie. It is an indescribable taste that melts in your mouth. There are thousands of apple pie recipes in the world, and each one is special on it’s own. Here we enjoy the combination of ingredients that create such a luscious dessert. To celebrate National Apple Pie Day, any visitor who attends the Not-So American Dream exhibition will receive a free slice of warm apple pie. It may not be your grandma’s recipe, but we know for sure it will taste amazing.
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National Museum of American History 1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560 For Educational Purposes Only.