Chess Pie

Chess pie is a dessert characteristic of Southern U.S. cuisine. According to James Beard's American Cookery (1972) chess pie was brought from England originally, and was found in New England as well as Virginia. Recipes vary, but are generally similar in that they call for the preparation of a single crust and a filling composed of eggs, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. What sets chess pie apart from many other custard pies is the addition of corn meal. Some recipes also call for corn syrup, which tends to create a more gelatinous consistency. The pie is then baked. The finished product is often consumed with coffee.

Chess pie is closely related to vinegar pie, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. Vinegar pie generally adds somewhere between a teaspoonful and tablespoonful of vinegar to the above ingredients to reduce the sweetness. Some variations are called Jeff Davis or Jefferson Davis Pie.

Although preparation of a pecan pie is similar (with the obvious addition of pecans), pecan pie usually contains corn syrup.


American pies
Sweet
  • Apple crisp
  • Apple pie
  • Bean pie
  • Blackberry pie
  • Blueberry pie
  • Bob Andy pie
  • Buttermilk pie
  • Cherry pie
  • Chess pie
  • Cream pie
  • Derby pie
  • Fried pie
  • Jelly cream pie
  • Key lime pie
  • Lemon ice box pie
  • Lemon meringue pie
  • Mississippi mud pie
  • Pecan pie
  • Pumpkin pie
  • Rhubarb pie
  • Shoofly pie
  • Sweet potato pie
Savory
  • Pot pie
  • Natchitoches meat pie
Manufacturers
  • Hostess
  • Kellogg Company
  • Little Debbie
  • Marie Callender's
  • Sara Lee
  • Tasty Baking Company

Famous quotes containing the words chess and/or pie:

    “I once heard of a murderer who propped his two victims up against a chess board in sporting attitudes and was able to get as far as Seattle before his crime was discovered.”
    —Robert Benchley (1889–1945)

    “No man’s pie is freed
    From his ambitious finger.”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)