Vinegar Pie (ingredients, sugar, onion, baking)

[lubby]

I was watching this movie called Miami Blues which came out in the early 1990's. They talk about making vinegar pie. http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-...ar_pie,FF.html, so I looked it up. Has anyone ever made this or tasted it? I am not sure if I'd like it.

[Dirt Grinder]

That's on my list of pies to avoid, along with Onion Pie. I've always heard that Vinegar Pie is good and that I wouldn't know it had vinegar in it - but it's all in the name.

[Cliffie]

If it doesn'y taste like vinegar, what in the world does it taste like?

[momtothree]

I bet it tastes like buttermilk pie. There's only 2 tbsp of vinegar and all that sugar, the vinegar taste is moot.

[tpk-nyc]

It’s essentially a sweet and sour custard—rather like a lemon tart. The pH level is probably the same a lemon tart.

The sources all say it’s an old-fashioned recipe. I bet it dates from the 19th century when lemons (all citrus, really) were a rare and expensive luxury in most parts of the country.

[elston]

Is the vinegar pie and a "chess pie" the same thing?

post script:
I looked it up and the major difference is the chess pie has a T. spoon of corn meal added to the filling before baking. (Being southern...I would assume that is white corn meal). The recipe in the link above is cooked on top of stove and then put into a baked pie shell....but all the recipes I looked at for either chess or vinegar pies were baked and had at least 4 eggs rather than the single egg in the linked recipe.

Some chess pie recipes call for melted butter in the filling also.

[oaktonite]

Good discussion, history, and sources here...

[elston]

very interesting blog about old recipes...pie and taffy.

[sandrew834]

Ingredients

4 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 tablespoons cider or white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked pie shell (9 inches)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, butter, vinegar and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes.

Serving: 8

[Happy in Wyoming]

I first heard of vinegar pie years ago. But contrary to the story of midwestern origins I always heard of it as cowboy food, particularly on a trail drive. I found several recipes but chose this one as the most likely chuck wagon recipe. The cook wouldn't have had a big selection of spices, certainly no lemons for zest. But he would have had lemon extract. Separating the whites would have been likely too much work, especially after rolling the pie crusts..

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/ap9ss403/vinegar-pie.html

Here's a recipe for son-of-a-gun stew, another cowboy favorite but ingredients are hard to find unless you know someone who's butchering a steer.

Son of a Gun Stew Recipe