Pie in American cuisine

Pie in American cuisine has roots in English cuisine and has evolved over centuries to adapt to American cultural tastes and ingredients. The creation of flaky pie crust shortened with lard is credited to English innovation.^[1]

American cuisine in the colonial era was simple compared with the more elaborate dishes found in contemporaneous European cuisines. The simplicity of American cuisine, and the American preference for pies, was influenced by the religious culture and general circumstances of the colonial era. As European pies evolved into dainty tarts, the American "pot pie", cooked over the hearth in a Dutch oven, was generous and filling, reflecting American preferences for simple and hearty meals.