What is apple pie with cheese

Apple Pie with Cheese: The Surprising Story Behind the Iconic (and Polarizing) Combo

Maybe you love it. Maybe you hate it. Maybe you have no clue it’s even a thing. But cheese on apple pie has a long history—and is so beloved that many feel the iconic dessert is incomplete without a cheddar topper. So, why do some Americans love apple pie with cheese? Here’s the lowdown on this unexpectedly delicious tradition, plus a few ways to try it out this Thanksgiving.

Why Is Cheese Served with Apple Pie?

Cheese, specifically sharp cheddar, has been served with apple pie in the U.S. as early as the 1800s. But the combination was likely born in England in the 17 th century; a tradition of using dairy-based sauces in pies evolved into an affinity for topping pie with cheese instead.

Atlas Obscura notes examples in literature of poets and authors expressing their love for the combination. (Writer John T. Edge wrote “at lunch or dinner I thought a wedge of pie was naked if it wasn’t crowned with a preternaturally orange slice of cheddar.”) So, not only was it a thing, it was a serious thing. After all, pie on its own (especially apple) was regarded as a symbol of American prosperity. Of course, skeptics and haters have always existed—we guess they liked their pie à la mode. But freezers weren’t common in homes until the 20 th century, so a scoop of vanilla ice cream was pretty much out of the question for most families until then. Apple pie also doesn’t taste the way it did back in the day, since apples weren’t actually sweet until the Red Delicious was created in the 19 th century.

Areas with lots of dairy farms, like New England, Pennsylvania and the Midwest, became hotspots for cheesy apple pie. Today, the tradition seems to hold strongest in New England (a region that’s also known for both dairy and apple production) and the Midwest, as well as parts of England and Canada. Throughout the rest of the U.S.—particularly the South—it’s not so common. And to some, it’s as polarizing as pineapple on pizza.

But hear us out: This trend makes sense. Think of the filling’s gooey, syrupy sweetness and the buttery, flaky crust. Now imagine what it’s like biting into a wedge of sharp orange cheddar: Salty, savory, nipping sharpness. Put the two together, and it could be the best of both worlds. You’ve had apples in grilled cheese and on cheese boards before, right? This is the same concept, only wrapped in pie crust and made with a lot more sugar and spices.

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The Long, Storied Controversy Over Cheese on Apple Pie

Some love it. Some hate it. Some have no idea what it is.

Apple pie is not an American invention. In the 14th century, farmers in England began wrapping apples into inedible containers known as “coffins,” a pie prototype. Only in 1697 did the concept reach the United States—through European immigrants.

But the USA has laid claim to the iconic dessert, a process that was crystalized when a 1902 New York Times article lambasted an English writer for complaining that eating apple pie more than two times per week was excessive:

[Twice a week] is utterly insufficient, as anyone who knows the secret of our strength as a nation and the foundation of our industrial supremacy must admit. Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of changing seasons. Pie is the food of the heroic. No pie-eating people can be permanently vanquished.

But even in the United States, apple pie has its regional variants—and, inevitably, detractors of those variants.

Perhaps the biggest controversy? Cheese.

This is going to completely shock a number of apple pie fans and elicit an “of course” from a whole slew of others, but: a lot of people put cheese, specifically a sharp cheddar, on their apple pies.

Apple pie with cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Kisså/CC BY-ND 2.0

The tradition has silently polarized the nation, with some, like author John T. Edge, confessing, “at lunch or dinner I thought a wedge of pie was naked if it wasn’t crowned with a preternaturally orange slice of cheddar.” The poet Eugene Field (1850-1895) once wrote, “But I, when I undress me / Each night, upon my knees / Will ask the Lord to bless me / With apple pie and cheese.” There is even a saying, popular in many circles: “An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze.”

Meanwhile, another faction has lamented, “Why would anyone choose to crown their apple pie with stinky old cheese when they could have a scoop of ice cream melting on top?” In 1998, a reader of the Los Angeles Times complained that “[a column] about cheese and apple pie left me feeling like I live in the twilight zone… I have so far never encountered American friends or acquaintances who even want to try this.” When asked whether he ate pie with cheese in his home state of Mississippi, one chef said: “Oh, God no! They’d put you away in a home.”

Proponents of apple pies with cheese defend their choice by pointing to the contrast between “the sweetness of the pie” and “the sharpness and saltiness” of the cheeses, saying it works the same way as chocolate-covered pretzels.

There are many ways to prepare it: some people bake cheese into the pie crust, some slip it into the apple filling, some melt it on top of the pie, and others leave it on the side of the plate. Though in the United States, cheddar is the favorite, many types of cheese can be used. Recipes may call for Wensleydale, Roquefort, gouda, parmesan, or Gruyère. The ABC show Pushing Daisies featured an iconic scene in which Ned, owner of a restaurant called The Pie Hole, prepares an apple pie—with Gruyère in its crust—for his girlfriend’s aunts.

More cheese, please. jeffreyw/CC BY 2.0

Though fans of apple pie with cheese exist everywhere, they seem to be concentrated in the American Midwest, New England, and parts of Canada and Britain. Vermont even has a 1999 law on the books requiring that proprietors of apple pie make a “good faith effort” to serve it with ice cream, cold milk, or “a slice of cheddar cheese weighing a minimum of 1/2 ounce.” In some circles, apple pie with cheese is tradition.

So where does this come from? And why, especially in the United States, do some people expect apple pie with cheese, while others have never even heard of the concept?

The idea appears to have originated in England, where all sorts of fillings were added to pies. At some point, the 17th-century trend of adding dairy-based sauces to pies morphed into a tradition of topping them with cheese. For instance, in Yorkshire, apple pie was served with Wensleydale, which is likely how the phrase “an apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze” began. (Though it is in dispute whether the phrase originated in the United States or England, it caught on in both places in the 19th century, suggesting a kind of cultural collaboration between the two.)

According to The Mystic Seaport Cookbook: 350 Years of New England Cooking, New England settlers brought the idea behind these Yorkshire pies with them, but instead of Wensleydale, they began using cheddar.

Why cheese? At the time, apple pies were quite bland: prior to the creation of the Red Delicious apple in the late 19th century, few apples tasted sweet. Cheese offered a readily available supplement. After all, in an era before the ubiquity of freezers, the most popular pie topping today—ice cream—was out of the question.

Is this apple pie without cheese lonely or just right? Iliana Mestari/Getty Images

Places in the United States with heavy concentrations of dairy farms therefore became centers of the cheese-on-apple-pie craze. These included New England, Pennsylvania, and especially the Midwest—largely the regions where cheddar cheese apple pie is popular today.

Regions that pioneered pie a la mode, meanwhile, largely lost the trend: New York City, for instance, has served the dish since the 1890s, and today generally falls into the “pie with ice cream” camp.

During the 20th century, ice cream gradually usurped cheese as the most popular pie topping in the United States at large. But the cheese-on-pie love has endured. So beware: Whether you serve your apple pie with cheese or without it, you might get some funny looks.

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Why Cheddar Cheese and Apple Pie Go Together So Well

Do you think apple pie and cheddar cheese are a classic combination or a strange pairing? Your answer likely reveals where you grew up. The so-called «American» tradition of serving apple pie with cheddar cheese is prevalent in New England and the upper midwest. Don’t knock it till you try it, though—there’s a reason so many people swear by this combination.

It’s possible that the cheddar cheese and apple pie tradition dates back to 17th and 18th century England, according to a 1998 Los Angeles Times article by food historian Charles Perry. Perry explains that the tradition of serving pie with dairy-based sauce could have evolved into the cheese and pie combo. These days, though, the odd pairing is just as popular in some parts of the United States as it is across the pond.

Here’s a look at the odd pairing and why it’s only popular in certain parts of the country. Even if you’re not from New England or the midwest, you can still give this food pairing a try.

The great American pie debate

The question of whether or not Cheddar cheese and apple pie «works» is strangely polarizing. The cheese on pie tradition is largely rooted in New England, Pennsylvania, and the upper midwest, Atlas Obscura found. Which makes sense, because those tend to be places where cheese products are readily accessible.

In the rest of the United States, meanwhile, apple pie à la mode dominates the dessert scene. But while a scoop of ice cream adds to the dessert’s sweetness, the cheese’s saltiness provides a contrasting flavor.

And if you’re not sold on putting a cheddar slice atop your pie, there’s also an in-between solution: baking cheddar into an apple pie’s crust for a sweet and savory combination.

The «right» way to combine cheese and pie

So, you’ve agreed to try putting cheese on your apple pie. But where to start?

If this Chowhound discussion is any indication, there’s no wrong way to combine apple pie and cheddar cheese, although there are a number of ways to do it. Some apple and cheese lovers suggest keeping the cheddar on the side and taking things bite by bite. Others will add a cold piece of cheese to a warm pie slice. Still others will bake the cheese into the crust directly.

There’s a famous saying around the pairing

If you call someone out on their love of cheese with apple pie, they might quote this adage to you in response: «An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze,» the saying goes. But where did the saying come from?

Etymologist Barry Popik has traced this saying back to the late 1880s when people on both sides of the Atlantic used it to describe the American custom of eating apple pie with a nice bit of cheddar. The saying still lives on today, even if its advocates don’t know its origin. And cheese lovers will often cite it in defense of loading their pie up with the dairy product.

Apple pie and cheese isn’t just an American combination

Savory pies originated in the U.K., and combining apple pie with cheddar cheese is still a common tradition among British folks. Pie and cheese is a traditional dessert pairing in Yorkshire, for instance. But there, the region’s famous Wensleydale cheese is used in place of Cheddar.

This apple pie recipe from The Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood calls for crumbling the cheese on top of the prepared apple filling just before baking. Hollywood even references the «kiss without a squeeze» saying in his intro to the recipe.

If you’re still not sold on the sweet-salty combo that is cheddar cheese and apple pie, cheddar ice cream might be the perfect compromise. But if you don’t want to veer from vanilla ice cream, we can’t say we blame you.

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The Yorkshire Shepherdess’ apple pie with cheese

Over the past few weeks Amanda’s shown us how to make her favourite starter and main course, and now it’s time for dessert.

Amanda’s at the farmhouse kitchen where her children Nancy and Milo are helping her make the apple pie — with cheese, because in Yorkshire, an apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze!

Apple pie with cheese

Prep time: 15 minutes plus 1 hour to chill

Cooking time: 55 minutes

460g plain flour

320g butter, diced

8 tbsp icing sugar

8 dessert apples

4 Bramley apples

75g caster sugar

200g Wensleydale cheese

Small bunch rosemary

A few sprigs of thyme

1 tbsp caster sugar

Thick double cream

1. To make the pastry, place the flour, butter and icing sugar into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and pulse for a couple of seconds until the dough comes together. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge until needed.

2. Meanwhile peel, core and slice the apples and transfer to a large pan. Sprinkle over half of the sugar and heat the apples gently until the sugar dissolves. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes until the apples soften. Add more sugar to taste.

3. Transfer the apples to a bowl and allow to cool, then chill in the fridge until needed

4. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly beat the egg with a fork for the egg wash.

5. Roll out two thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use this to line a lightly buttered 28cm deep pie dish, leaving a slight overhang

6. Spoon the apples into the base, crumble over the cheese and scatter over the herbs

7. Roll out the remaining pastry to top the pie then trim and crimp the edges. Brush the egg wash over the pie and sprinkle with sugar then bake for 35-40 minutes until the pie is golden.

8. Serve warm with thick double cream

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