It was one of those crystal cold Ozark mornings, the sun was up bright and you could see little flakes floating in the air now and then. Willie Hachenberg loved his team, Mickey and Minnie, who were invigorated by the crisp air and pulled the Road Wagon effortlessly this bright morning.
He was headed for Delia Eppens home just a few miles away to pick up a few bales of prairie hay. His team got a bag of grain several times a day, but the local hay was packed with nutrition and gave the horses the roughage they needed to stay healthy.
Delia heard him pull up the drive and went out to greet her brother in law. The frigid air bit her face and sent a shiver all through her even with the warmth of the sun. She invited him in to soak up some heat from the wood cook stove in the kitchen.
When Willie walked through the front door Delia noticed for the first time that his beard and mustache were frozen solid with snow and ice. She exclaimed in surprise “Willie, you must be frozen, can I get you something to eat?”
Willie just chuckled in his good natured way and remarked “Vinegar Pie”.
The Rest Of The Story
Willie Hachenberg was my great grandfather and his daughter, Vera May Hachenberg was my grandmother. This story came down through as a family tale and when I ran across it, I wondered what in the world is “vinegar pie”? It didn't sound very good.
Once I found a good recipe, I could see why it probably was popular during the early days of Ozark settlers. All the ingredients are things that most people would have around their home anyway, like apple cider vinegar, flour, sugar and fresh eggs.
It has a regular pie crust on the bottom, but they didn't have Crisco back then. Fat for making the crust was either homemade butter or hog grease. The crust was rolled out on the counter and cut to fit a tin pie pan, then baked in the oven until brown.
I don't really know Delia's exact recipe, but I tried several and like this one because it's probably the most authentic for pioneer times:
3 egg yolks
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup vinegar
2 cups boiling water
Beat egg yolks until think, add boiling water, stirring continuously.
1. Cook in double boiler until thick and smooth.
2. Add butter just before removing from heat.
3. Pour into baked pie shell and bake in 325 oven till pie is light brown.
4. Remove from oven, cover with meringue and bake until both crust and
meringue are brown.
Meringue for Vinegar Pie:
1. Beat three egg whites until stiff.
2. Add three Tablespoons sugar, one at a time
Pretty simple, right? Just some stuff you would find around one of the pioneer kitchens made into a really great dessert. The recipe I'm sharing here uses a meringue topping, but it's really not necessary. What does it taste like? I think it has a nice lemony taste and the texture of a custard pie.
