Editing Chess pie (section)

==History==

It is unknown where the name "chess pie" came from, although there are several well-known theories.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chess pie |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/chess-pie |website=Britannica |access-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314094622/https://www.britannica.com/topic/chess-pie |url-status=live }}</ref> The most likely is  "chess-cake pie", as in cheese cake pie, became chess pie over time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=chess pie |url=https://dare.wisc.edu/words/quarterly-updates/quarterly-update-17/chess-pie/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Dictionary of American Regional English |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417122201/https://dare.wisc.edu/words/quarterly-updates/quarterly-update-17/chess-pie/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Martha Washington|Martha Washington's]] Chess Cake recipe is very similar to today's chess pie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calta |first=Marialisa |date=2012-02-13 |title=We cannot tell a lie: this cake looks a lot like a pie |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2012/02/13/we-cannot-tell-a-lie-this-cake-looks-a-lot-like-a-pie/61096875007/ |website=The Oklahoman |access-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911040258/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2012/02/13/we-cannot-tell-a-lie-this-cake-looks-a-lot-like-a-pie/61096875007/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="jes_pie">{{Cite web |last=Cathey |first=Dave |date=2016-01-06 |title=A dessert gambit: Oklahoma cafeteria's closing brings the Food Dude to search for a chess pie recipe |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/dave-cathey/2016/01/06/a-dessert-gambit-oklahoma-cafeterias-closing-brings-the-food-dude-to-search-for-a-chess-pie-recipe/60700232007/ |website=The Oklahoman |access-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911040257/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/dave-cathey/2016/01/06/a-dessert-gambit-oklahoma-cafeterias-closing-brings-the-food-dude-to-search-for-a-chess-pie-recipe/60700232007/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The 1881 cookbook ''Buckeye Cookery—With Hints on Practical Housekeeping'' included a recipe submitted by Mrs. J. Carson of [[Glendale, Minnesota]].{{sfn|Wilcox|1881|p=217}} The recipe maintained the basic custard ingredients of eggs, butter, and sugar, but the egg whites were whipped into a meringue and spread on top.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilcox |first1=Estelle Woods |title=Buckeye Cookery: With Hints on Practical Housekeeping |date=1881 |publisher=Buckeye Publishing Company |page=217 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJ5GAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22chess%20pie%22&pg=PA217}}</ref>

One of the most popular theories is that it is an [[eggcorn]] of "It's just pie" due to a misinterpretation of the pronunciation "It's jes' pie" in [[Southern American English]]. The pie was thought to be so simple any home cook with eggs, butter and sugar would know what to do.<ref name=jes_pie/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Salkeld |first=Lauren |date=Sep 8, 2022 |title=What Exactly Is Chess Pie? |url=https://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-chess-pie-23431662 |website=The Kitchn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Donovan |first=Lisa |date=2018-12-17 |title=I wanted the real story behind chess pie's name. But no one wanted to talk about it. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/i-wanted-the-real-story-behind-chess-pies-name-but-no-one-wanted-to-talk-about-it/2018/12/17/ab387360-fcca-11e8-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |newspaper=Washington Post |archive-date=December 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203040429/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/i-wanted-the-real-story-behind-chess-pies-name-but-no-one-wanted-to-talk-about-it/2018/12/17/ab387360-fcca-11e8-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

It is the South's most searched-for Thanksgiving pie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cericola |first=Lisa |date=August 29, 2024 |orig-date=October 13, 2023 |title=Even We Were Surprised By The South's Most Searched For Thanksgiving Pie |url=https://www.southernliving.com/chess-pie-favorite-thanksgiving-pie-8349850 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427005237/https://www.southernliving.com/chess-pie-favorite-thanksgiving-pie-8349850 |archive-date=2024-04-27 |website=Southern Living}}</ref> Despite the pie's iconic status in the South, no recipe for "Chess Pie" appears in the first Southern cookbook, [[Mary Randolph]]'s 1824 ''[[The Virginia Housewife]]''. One food historian explains the early recipes for transparent pudding, such as "Mary Randolph's Transparent Pudding" (containing no milk) in the 1825 edition are "for all intents and purposes chess pie". Recipes for "Chess Pie" made without milk can be found in early 20th-century cookbooks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Jean |date=2012-03-14 |title=The South's Storied Chess Pie: Food + Cooking |url=http://www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/food/gourmetlive/2012/031412/the-souths-storied-chess-pie.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=gourmet.com |archive-date=September 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914155524/http://www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/food/gourmetlive/2012/031412/the-souths-storied-chess-pie.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Variations of the chess pie include transparent pie, molasses pie, brown sugar pie, syrup pie, and vinegar pie.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDermott |first=Nancie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkRvhbmZ5QMC&dq=compendium&pg=PT94 |title=Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie Recipes, From Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan |date=September 2010 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0-8118-6992-8 |access-date=12 September 2024 |archive-date=September 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914155524/https://books.google.com/books?id=BkRvhbmZ5QMC&dq=compendium&pg=PT94#v=onepage&q=compendium&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>