The idea of encasing meat with a flour-based paste is ancient. Certainly, the Romans made a paste of flour, water and oil to cover meat in order to keep the juices from evaporating. The cooked paste was, however, not eaten. In the northern parts of the empire, animal fats were used to make the paste instead of oil. Lard was mostly used but by the Middle Ages butter was also being used particularly for pastry that encased fruit or provided a base for sweet fillings.
During the early Middle Ages in Britain, the paste of flour and water made to contain a filling was known as a ‘coffyn’, and was for the most part not eaten, but used purely to keep juices in and bacteria out during storage. Over time, however, the paste began to be enriched with animal fats such as lard and butter, making it much more palatable. As a result, people started to enjoy the pastry along with the filling, and these richer versions eventually came to signify wealth and served as a valuable source of nutrition:
‘Here! You go and buy a tart – Mr Nickleby’s man will show you where – and mind you buy a rich one. Pastry,’ added Squeers, closing the door on Master Wackford, ‘makes his flesh shine a good deal, and parents think that’s a healthy sign.’ Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
The origin of the word ‘pie’ is not clear although a rather nice suggestion is that it derives from ‘magpie’, a bird that collects a variety of materials to make their nests, just as a variety of ingredients is encased in pastry. Originally the pastry for a pie would be moulded around a round wooden ‘shape’ or ‘dolly’ and could only be made with a paste of flour, hot water and animal fat so it was strong enough to stay standing. However, with the invention of metal and pottery pie tins, butter and eggs could be used to create a more delicate pastry, such as shortcrust or puff pastry.
A pie is either completely encased in pastry or is topped with pastry. A tart has the pastry on the bottom with the filling exposed on the top.
Until the nineteenth century most desserts were referred to as puddings. Strictly, puddings are placed in a skin, cloth or basin and simmered in water or steamed, but often pastry-based tarts were also referred to as puddings. For that reason, I have included some puddings in the ‘pie’ section.
