This pie tends to be made in the American South,
though I don’t find it commonly here. Some confuse buttermilk pie with chess
pie, but probably because the final results looks similar and neither are
commonly made anymore. Chess pie needs
to contain cornmeal and usually vinegar for the tartness, and buttermilk pie
does not.
Buttermilk pie uses staples you probably have in your
kitchen and it was able to be made year around with these simple ingredients. These types of pies were sometimes called Desperation
Pies because of their easy to obtain, non-seasonal ingredients, like
Vinegar Pie and Shoofly Pie. Back in the
days when there wasn’t a Walmart in each town, we couldn’t zip to the store to
grab a few things. In winter months most
fruit wasn’t available and pantries were often exhausted of their dried
fruits. Enter to the scene, desperation
pies—don’t let the name fool you. These
can be delicious!
I’d tried a few recipes for Buttermilk Pie, my
favorite being from my friend Charlotte.
I wanted to try out a few experiments on my own to adapt the recipe to
find the flavor and consistency I liked best.
Much to my husband’s delight, I worked on several different versions of
this pie, but now I’m ready to present to you, my official version of
Buttermilk Pie! I hope you enjoy. (I added the lemon juice and zest, because
I like it best. If you want a truer version of desperation pie, leave it
out--it's also delicious.)
2 c sugar
¼ c flour
¼ c corn starch
4 eggs
2/3 c buttermilk
½ stick oleo
2 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1 Pie crust
Preheat oven to 365 degrees. Beat eggs in med bowl until well
scrambled. Add sugar, flour, corn starch
and salt until no lumps. Add buttermilk,
vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Beat in
oleo til well mixed. Pour in pie crust
and bake for 45 minutes until top is golden brown and center is set.
For more fun facts on pies, check out this podcast episode of "Miss Kylie's Peculiar Guide for Ladies (and Gentlemen) in the Art of Cookery and Household Management" https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/ZPfzWTTSRyb
