Sweet Land of Liberty: A History of American in 11 Pies

Rossi Anastopoulo
Read: 2023
Cooking, Non-Fiction

In the debate on best desserts. and in the pie vs. cake debate, pie wins for me 100% of the time. Ive had some good carrot cakes, and I’ll eat a sheet cake with a whipped cream frosting, but pie rules. So when I saw that this book was written, I had to read it.  The book begins strongly, advocating for why pie  is a great way to study America

1. It’s a truly American dish. Damn right it is.
2. Like America itself, it’s highly adaptable.
3. It’s totally unnecessary, and you can tell a lot about a culture by how it chooses to spend its optional time and tastes.

Over and over in the book, Anastopoulo points out that just our current pie recipes have been altered so much as America has grown and changed. Pies were created and altered by European, Native American. African slaves, and other cultures around the world. As much as I like the idea of this book (did I mention I love pie?), it did not hold my interest enough to read every word. I skimmed to the end, but I’m still happy to have read it.

You can purchase the book here.