During the Great Depression, American families did what they could to make satisfying meals. Dishes such as Hoover Stew, chipped beef on toast, and different types of hash developed during that time, which we still enjoy today.
While certain ingredients were scarce or no longer affordable, people still enjoyed desserts. Depression-era chefs and bakers came up with creative recipes for wacky cake, rice pudding, and one simple and delicious pie: buttermilk pie.
Referred to as a “desperation pie,” buttermilk pie was a custard-style pie made with love and ingredients families already had on hand.
History of buttermilk pie
The USDA defines buttermilk as “the byproduct of churning cream into butter. Cultured buttermilk is usually made from skim milk by adding a starter culture and incubating until lactic acid develops to about 0.8%.”
Milk prices plummeted during the Great Depression, which made it widely available. Congress would go on to pass the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 to stabilize dairy and other agricultural industries.
During the Great Depression, people considered milk a “wonder food.” In an interview with NPR’s Terry Gross on Fresh Air via Houston Public Media, culinary historians Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe (authors of A Square Meal, which examines the impact of the country’s decade-long Great Depression on American diets) explained its importance:
Ziegelman explained, “It was considered a complete food, meaning that it hit all of the bells. It was a carbohydrate. It contained protein. It contained fat. It contained a range of vitamins and minerals and also sugar. So it gave energy.”
With buttermilk commonplace and extremely affordable, buttermilk pie became a popular dessert thanks to its other simple, cheap ingredients.
Historic recipes for buttermilk pie
A recipe for buttermilk pie first appeared in the Texas newspaper Dallas Herald in 1867. In 1877, another recipe appeared in the cookbook Buckeye Cookery, which included a sliced apple:
Buttermilk Pie
“Beat together a heaping cup sugar and four eggs; add half cup butter, beat thoroughly, and add one and a half pints buttermilk; line the pie-tins with crust, slice an apple thin, and lay in each pie, fill the crust with the mixture, and bake with no upper crust.”
The next documented recipe came from Mrs. F. W. Westgate, of Uniondale, Pennsylvania, who shared it in the 1884 cookbook Mrs. Owens’ Cook Book and Useful Household Hints:
Buttermilk Pie
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
Stir well together. Flavor with nutmeg, bake in one crust.
Bake an old-fashioned buttermilk pie
Pastry chef Tyra of Tyra’s Table shared her great-grandmother Willie Mae’s recipe that you can make today:
Grandma Willie Mae’s Buttermilk Pie
Ingredients
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Pinch of salt
Pinch of nutmeg
One 9 in. pie crust
Instructions
Prepare ingredients: For the best results, ensure all ingredients are at room temperature. This helps the batter come together smoothly. Poke a few holes in the pie crust to prevent air bubbles from forming.
Mix the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Pour and bake: Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust, which should be set on a sheet tray to catch any drips. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 45-50 minutes, or until the filling is set and the top is a light golden brown.
Cool and serve: Allow the pie to cool completely before serving. I prefer mine chilled and plain, but feel free to add a dollop of whipped cream or some fresh berries if you like.
