Chess pie

Chess pie

A vanilla buttermilk chess pie
Type	Pie
Place of origin	England
Main ingredients	Pie crust, eggs, butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, corn meal
Variations	Lemon chess pie, vinegar pie
Cookbook: Chess pie   Media: Chess pie

Chess pie is a dessert characteristic of southern United States cuisine.

History[]

Little is definitively known about chess pie's origins, but it has some similarities to English lemon curd pie. A recipe for similar cheesecake appears in Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, from the mid-18th century.

Chess pie is most commonly associated as a dessert of the American South. Common types of chess pie are buttermilk, chocolate, lemon, and nut.

Etymology[]

The origin of the name chess pie is unknown, but many theories have been proposed. It could be a derivation of "cheese pie", the combination of eggs, butter, and sugar making a custardlike filling that is similar in texture to British cheesecakes and lemon curd;^[1] it could be named after the town of Chester, England;^[2] it could be from a piece of furniture used prior to home refrigeration called a "pie chest", in which pies were stored; or it could be an eggcorn of "It's just pie," due to a misinterpretation of the pronunciation "It's jes' pie" in Southern American English.^[3]

Composition[]

The basic chess pie recipe calls for the preparation of a single crust and a filling composed of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. Some variations call for the addition of cornmeal as a thickener. Many recipes call for an acid such as vinegar, buttermilk, or lemon juice.^[4]

In addition to standard chess pie, other flavor variations include lemon, coconut, and chocolate chess pie.^[5] Nut pies, including pecan, fall under the category of chess pies.^[6]

See also[]

• Buttermilk pie
• Chess cake
• List of pies, tarts and flans

References[]

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