May 13th is National Apple Pie Day, and there isn’t a better way to celebrate (except for enjoying a slice of pie) than to take a look at how one of America’s most iconic desserts was covered by New Jersey’s newspapers.
Apple pie has a long history, tracing its origins to England; recipes go back as far as the 1300s. Its enduring popularity helped it make its way to the colonies, and even after American independence, apple pie remained as prevalent as ever. Its ubiquity across the country helped make it an American icon, and it is no surprise that this was as true in New Jersey as elsewhere. It was not uncommon for local papers to publish recipes, and despite how widespread the dessert was, apple pie made the occasional appearance.
Almost as common were small articles offering suggestions on how to improve on one’s own generic apple pie.
Apple pie also had its place in advertising. Those trying to market baking products were smart to highlight how their goods could be used to help make a staple like apple pie.
One ad in the February 2, 1917 issue of the Perth Amboy Evening News, for a product called Sawtay, actually included a recipe for apple pie! After all, what better way to show the value of a product than to make clear how it could be used in baking a common treat?
Also of interest is an article about mock apple pie in the Five Mile Beach Weekly Journal‘s April 6, 1917 issue. Like the name suggests, mock apple pies are pies designed to have a similar taste and texture to apple pie while using a substitute for apple, usually to get around issues like apple prices being too high or apples being out of season. Although the exact origins of mock apple pie are not clear, it appears mock apple pie can trace its origin back to at least the mid-nineteenth century (the article mentioned above claims to tell a story from 1852 California). The recipe truly became widespread after it became featured, in the 1930s, on the back of Ritz cracker boxes, on which it was printed for many years.
What is undeniable from all of this is that apple pie has long been a beloved treat. New Jerseyans of all eras have had an appreciation of the baked good, and it is no surprise that it remains such an iconic piece of Americana.
(Contributed by Tristan Smith)
Sources:
Anastopoulo, Rossi. “Why Apple Pie Isn’t So American After All.” Food52, October 8, 2021. https://food52.com/blog/24688-apple-pie-origin-story.
Quaint Cooking. “History of Mock Apple Pie.” July 17, 2019. https://quaintcooking.com/2019/07/17/history-of-mock-apple-pie/.