Time Travel Kitchen

An Old Fashioned Sweet Cherry Pie (1931) & An Even Sweeter Pie Bird (1942)

Introducing ‘Pie Bird’, that venting, steamy songstress whose relatives have been around since before the Victorian era, when they were merely funnels.

The legend is that ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’ was the inspiration for turning these simple baking tools into the sweet ceramic creatures they are today

I’d seen decorative pie birds online and always thought they looked absolutely adorable and charmingly ridiculous.

I had to have one.

My pie bird had humble beginnings as part of a free giveaway with the purchase of Pillsbury Flour in the early 1940’s. But today, vintage pie birds are having a moment as affordable collectibles.

I’d never used one before and here’s the thing— it worked. The filling of this very juicy cherry pie could’ve made for a soggy mess of a bottom crust. Instead, it was crisp and cooked-through, the moisture and steam released by this ingenious device and there was no major (just a little) bubbling out of filling.

I underestimated my tiny kitchen helper, so I say with heartfelt admiration, “Pie Bird, you’ve got some crust!”

I thought this cherry pie recipe would be a good test to see how it worked and also cherries are in season and summer weekends are upon us. It’s from the 1931 Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes Revised Cookbook. (Remember Aunt Sammy? You can read about her radio program and cookbooks in an earlier, archived newsletter.)

First, the filling recipe, followed by some notes.

• I used sweet cherries and reduced the amount of sugar by 1/4 cup.

• I cooled the filling before pouring into crust

• I par-baked the bottom crust, then placed the pie bird in the center.

• Invest in a cherry pitter — I’m going to, after pitting 2 pounds of cherries without one.

For the crust, with notes:

• I used a 9-inch clear glass Pyrex pie dish.

• I doubled this recipe because it would have not been enough for top and bottom crust (I think it might be a single recipe)

• I used a mix of 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 cake flour sifted together which made it similar to pastry flour.

• If I wasn’t testing out the pie bird, I would have completely blind-baked the bottom crust before filling and cut traditional vents in the top crust.

• I egg-washed the top crust

• Towards the end of baking, I put foil around the rim of the top crust so it didn’t brown too much.

• Using a glass dish is useful in seeing that the bottom crust is browning, but I love ceramic pie plates, too.

• I used cold unsalted butter and ice water.

I hope you enjoy this 90-year-old recipe and I’d love to see your pictures if you bake it.

TIME TRAVEL KITCHEN SUMMER HOURS 😎 ANNOUNCEMENT

I’ll be publishing the newsletter every other Friday till Labor Day when I’ll resume Time Travel Kitchen’s weekly schedule. See you next on July 9th!

Have a great weekend!
Jolene

Sources:

Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes Revised, 1931. Used with permission from the USDA (thank you!) ; Taste of Home, February 2020, ’How to use a pie bird and why you should’, Kate Ellsworth; Wikipedia. Ebay; Etsy.