This weeks pie is from New York! I have some ties to the state, but I mostly chose this one next out of sheer curiosity. Have you ever heard of a Grape Pie? Me neither.
I was actually born in New York, I only lived there until I was three. My parents and my in-laws were born and raised in 'The Empire State." My brother-in-law is from upstate and he and my sister lived in New York City for several years. I have been to the ’The Big Apple’ countless times, but haven’t explored much more of the state outside of the city. For all the New Yorkers I know, not one has ever mentioned anything about a Grape Pie.
The Grape Pie seems to have a more recent history than some other traditional pies. It gained popularity in the Finger Lakes region in the 1960’s, one of the largest wine producing regions outside of California. Specifically, the town of Naples, NY is know for the Concord Grape Pie, considered the ‘Grape Pie Capital of the World.’ The town hosts the Naples Grape Festival every Fall, which actually takes place this coming weekend (early September]), typically selling nearly 30,000 pies during the event.
I was super excited to make this pie, not knowing what to expect in flavor. Traditionally this pie is made with Concord grapes, but the Taste of Home recipe I followed uses red seedless grapes. This simplifies the process, because you don’t have to remove skins or pits -yay. I honestly wasn’t expecting to like this pie. After boiling the grapes with cinnamon and lemon juice, the smell alone had my mind changing. This pie is unlike anything I’ve ever had. The texture was like biting into a cherry pie, but then it was all different flavors and smells. I was reminded of the warm scent of mulling spices with the citrus and the cinnamon. The taste is almost wine like. It was so good. My apple pie loving husband has a new favorite. Definitely give this pie a try. I thought it was better served warm and I added mini peanut butter cookies on the side, for a little PB&J flavor. I hope to one day travel to Naples, NY to try the original Grape Pie.
*Originally written September 12,2019
First time using a pie bird, isn't he cute?!
Mini PB cookies are the perfect compliment to the grape filling- yum!
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