A long time ago, on a Thanksgiving table far, far away…..Pie Wars!
What is the most important part of a Thanksgiving meal? Turkey, right? Wrong: it’s the pie. Pie is an essential part of a complete Thanksgiving repast; as David Mamet, an American film director, once said, “stress cannot exist in the presence of pie.” Having Thanksgiving without pie is, to me, similar to having a McDonald’s meal without fries. It just isn’t right. There are multiple flavors of pie that are associated with the holiday of giving thanks, but only one of them reigns supreme. Among this list are pecan pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. There is controversy surrounding which pie belongs to Thanksgiving, as each of the four contestants in the list above have their own attributes that they bring to the table. Apple pie is classic, fruity, and sweet and can be eaten year-round. Pecan pie, also sweet as most pies are, has a gooey and caramel flavor along with the added taste of the nuts. Pumpkin pie, a fan favorite, isn’t terribly sweet and has a smooth texture. Finally, sweet potato pie is a very close rival of pumpkin pie, and has a similar texture to the former but with a more earthy type of sweetness.
These four pies put up a fight when it comes to which one takes the cake- or pie in this case- for the best filling-in-a-crust dessert for Thanksgiving day. Apple pie and pecan pie both feature their namesakes in a much more upfront way than the other two candidates. Meanwhile, sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie are both very similarly smooth and silky without any chunks or bits of their name once cooked. Sweet potato pie, although a fraternal twin of the beloved pumpkin, has to come in last. There’s nothing wrong with sweet potato pie, but it simply doesn’t make the cut. Other dishes sweet potatoes can be used for are casseroles, mashed with marshmallows, candied sweet potatoes, and more.
Three pies remain on the pastry poll, and in third place comes pecan pie. While apple and pecan pie both put up a good fight in sweetness, texture, and ingredients, the people of West simply prefer the warm and homey flavores of a classic apple pie on their Thanksgiving dinner plans. A poll given out on social media confirmed that students prefer apple pie to pecan pie by a landslide. While 18% tried to save pecan pie from taking third place, 83% sent its fruity opponent into second place, clearly declaring apple as the second place winner in the roster. With sweet potato in fourth place, pecan pie in third place, and apple pie in second place, there is only one dessert standing in this pie-off.
The declared winner, and favorite among West and the whole state of Wisconsin, pumpkin pie takes the blue ribbon in the Thanksgiving pie war. Although there were four quality candidates, only pumpkin pie could win over the pie poll. Proof of this comes from the Taste of Home magazine’s website itself, which features a map of the United States and which pie is favored in each state on Thanksgiving. Wisconsin, and all of the Northwest portion of the country, hold the smooth taste of pumpkin in their preferred pie palette. Of course, this is disputable, as some other loved pastries were left off of the roster. Some of these honorable mentions are blueberry, cherry, cranberry, rhubarb, chocolate, and lemon pies.
Of course, Thanksgiving is about more than which flavor of pie completes your aching stomach, but hopefully the clarified victory of pumpkin as the ruler of fall flavors will ease your mind for the Thanksgivings to come.
By Paige Helfrich
Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue III
December 11th, 2020