Talk:Shoofly pie/Archive 1

picture?
Can we have a picture of it please? Zigzig20s 11:51, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

✅ Spudlace (talk) 22:05, 25 April 2021 (UTC)

Bumper Sticker Error
I'm correcting the note about the bumper sticker. It actually reads "I break" and not "I brake." It's a play on words for taking a break to eat it. You can see that by following the bumper sticker contest link. Aengle1 23:37, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
 * removed unnecessary trolling insult about Pennsylvanians.24.187.134.112 (talk) 15:48, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

Description of its taste
Would it be acceptable to point out the taste similarity between a shoo-fly pie and a brown-sugar pop tart? One of the most common (and unsatisfactorily answered) questions regarding this pie is what it tastes like.

Westquote (talk) 01:41, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * The article in general should have more actual information on the pie itself. Someone unfamiliar with the dish would come away knowing next to nothing even after reading the entire article. --NEMT (talk) 02:08, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Part of the thing about Shoofly pie is it's texture, there should be a gooey layer along the bottom crust (yes this is my opinion).. I've described it to friends as a molasses crumb pie. My wife has tried making it where we live now (we both grew up in south central Pennsylvania, but moved to the Rocky Mountain region), but to little success, we are not sure if it's because of the altitude or the low humidity. It just doesn't "set" right. Some have said that to really make proper Shoofly pie, you need King's Corn Syrup. CheyenneWills (talk) 01:46, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The article describes shoofly pie as "fluffy"--I grew up in shoofly country and would not describe any true shoofly pie as "fluffy." To the contrary...the filling is generally sticky, or downright gooey, and the topping is crumbly. Nothing fluffy about it. I so want a slice of shoofly now...Schwalms will be closed by the time I could get there, but they'll be open tomorrow morning at 5!!! PurpleChez (talk) 23:12, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

There are two versions: wet bottom and dry bottom. The dry bottom pie is more like a heavy cake in texture (not fluffy). The wet bottom pie has a gooey bottom (also not fluffy). I've removed "fluffy" from the article since it's not always true and it's not sourced. Rklawton (talk) 16:30, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

PICTURE SHOULD BE CORRECTED
The picture is not representative. It may show some modern version of a shoo fly pie, but by having a top crust it lacks its original very distinguishing feature of a crumb topping. The crumb topping on a gooey molasses pie is why it needs protection from flies. Look at the recipe links given on the Pennsy. Dutch cuisine page and you will find that all recipes for shoo fly pie call for a crumb topping.Metanabe (talk) 00:50, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree, i've never heard of a raspberry shoofly pie. The picture is not only not representative it would be misleading to someone who knows nothing of shoofly and reads this page


 * Agreed. Surv1v4l1st (Talk 19:27, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

By Any Other Name
I have no doubt the pie would be delicious, but the name makes me lose my appetite. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8821:0:D88:7821:B50E:9BF3 (talk) 02:22, 21 February 2016 (UTC) Well stated, that's my opinion too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8821:0:D88:7821:B50E:9BF3 (talk) 05:40, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

I edited the article
I edited the article to make it clear that shoofly pie is of Pennsylvania Dutch origin. It may be common in parts of the South (though none of my Southern friends have ever heard of it before), but that is most likely because the recipe spread there.

History of the Pie
I found this article through Google, which presents a fair bit of plausible history for the pie. Can anyone verify that this information is legitimate: http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/ShooflyPie.htm Westquote (talk) 15:46, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

First Use in Print
It seems that if the 1915 cookbook listed in the references section and accessible via the provided hyperlink mentions "shoo-fly pie" then the earliest known date in which the term was used in print cannot possibly be 1926, but rather 1915.
 * I have no doubts that the name is much older than that - I'll see what I can find. I'll also check out the 1926 source to see what I can learn. Obviously the 1926 source isn't reliable. Rklawton (talk) 16:39, 24 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Google Books search and ngram viewer are your friends. Try 1829 -Miskaton (talk) 22:27, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Gotta love Google. The problem is, though, that the 1829 date is a typo. Rklawton (talk) 16:24, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

I checked out the source for 1926, and yes, that's what it says. But the photocopy of the older book's page contradicts it (External links). As a result, I've removed the date. In reading the source, however, I found that it supports the hyphenated version and the name "Montgomery pie" - so I added those bits in and moved the reference to make it clear these details have a source. Rklawton (talk) 16:24, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

Name Origin
A citation is needed for the claim that the name of the dessert is most likely an anglicization of "souffle." This smacks of internet-originated urban legend to me, not unlike the claim that the word "golf" originated as an acronym for "gentlemen only, ladies forbidden." Shoofly pie bears little resemblance to a souffle either in taste or makeup so it simply would not make sense that the pie would originally be called "souffle pie". Moreover, "souffle" is a word which has been in wide use in English as a borrowed word for a long time, so there would be no need to "anglicize" it. And that's not to mention that the pronunciations of "souffle" and "shoofly" are very different. When a word is "anglicized" from another language, the anglicization usually relates more to the spelling than the pronunciation.

In contrast, the explanation that the name is due to the high sugar content and the attraction of flies makes perfect sense. Many foods obtained their name this way. For example, "hush puppies" got their name because they were supposedly tossed to dogs to keep them from barking for food. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.216.160.225 (talk) 13:59, 15 April 2010 (UTC)


 * That story is wrong. There is also nothing to the urban legend that it was called "shoo fly" because houseflies were attracted to it.  It's named after a brand of molasses from Philadelphia.  WhatamIdoing (talk) 23:51, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

If this is indeed the case, where is the evidence that the Shoofly Molasses Company existed, because I have been unable to find a single mention, outside of Shoofly Pie recipes? --MrsMAB (talk) 09:45, 9 October 2021 (UTC)