Pie Theory

When It Comes To Pie, People Are Naturally Pro-Dessert

Recently, I showed a random group of people a photo of raw dough and cherries, arranged in a round container, and then asked them to tell me what it was. Folks unanimously described the image as “pie”. When I pointed out that it was obviously uncooked, not one person changed their opinion. All agreed that once a pie is thrown together, it is regarded as a pie, whether done or not.

Prying for more detail, I asked, "At exactly what point does a pie become a pie?" Well, according to everyone I spoke with, once you combine all necessary ingredients and place the mixture into a proper baking container, no matter how crude the pastry appears, it is from that moment on, a bona fide pie.

Now, for the purpose of my theory, picture yourself just finishing the latticework on top of a colorful cherry pie, nestled gracefully in an old corrugated tin. If on the way to the oven you trip and your creation topples to the floor, you would most likely scream, “My pie!” But, why the upset, and why choose the word, “my”? The reason is that even an *uncooked* pie possesses a special kind of value! After all, there is something heart felt about creating a wholesome treat, just as your mother and grandmother once did.

Because of the accident, tears well-up in your eyes. But upon seeing your emotion, a friend crosses her arms and says, “What’s the big deal? Who cares about uncooked pie? That mess never meant anything to me and it should mean nothing to you.” Now, would not such a remark seem callous and outright ridiculous, considering you just lost something that, for whatever reason, you deeply valued?

As you might have guessed, behind my humble survey lies a simple, yet indisputable truth. That is, certain things in this world actually assume value upon conception, and the greatest of these is human life.

You see, just as a raw pie is still a pie, when all the necessary ingredients come together within a mother’s inner kitchen, a human comes into existence. Whether in a crude, early stage or fresh out of the mother’s body, from the moment the elements spark to life, a valuable human being joins our shared reality. And because of this, like the care required during the entire pie making process, the baby needs to be harbored carefully and faithfully nurtured until ready to make its debut, as not only a great achievement by a loving guardian, but most importantly, as a sweet and wonderful delight to the world.

Happy baking!