Don't Judge by the Name: Vinegar Pie is a Sweet Surprise

Photo byPublic Domain via rawpixel

Don't knock it until you've tried it. I promise you, this simple pie tastes nothing like vinegar, despite its name.

Vinegar pie, sometimes known as a "desperation pie" is often thought to have come from Depression-era cooking. The time when people had to make do with what they had, and consequently, recipes got creative.

However, we can trace Vinegar Pie all the way back to the 1800s, long before the stock market crash of the 1920s which launched the Great Depression. The first known recipe for Vinegar Pie appears in a cookbook from 1855.

Old-Fashioned Vinegar Pie by Annalee AshPhoto byMichon Boston Group Ltd, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

According to Epicurious, the old-fashioned vinegar pies were more tart and used more vinegar than the modern versions. By the 1900s, cooks had begun to add butter and eggs, while using less vinegar, which made for a less tart and more sweet concoction.

Vinegar pie provides a tart flavor of a lemon pie, but without needing lemon juice. I followed this simple recipe from AllRecipes, and ended up with a lightly tangy pie with a soft interior and lightly crunched exterior, almost like a crème brulée.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted)
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 tablespoons of self-rising flour (or mix together 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Combine all the ingredients, mix well, and pour into the prepared pie shell.
3. Bake for 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the center still jiggles slightly.
4. Let cool and serve on its own or with a dollop of whipped cream.
5. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

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