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Peach Pie
Open a pint a can of fine peaches. Slice into thin slices. Sprinkle three tablespoons of fine sugar over them, thoroughly mix. Prepare a pie paste proceed to finish the pie the same way.
A shorthand entry that assumes you have just read the pie recipe above it in the book, so the crust, assembly and baking are all left implied. What it actually gives you is the filling.
- "A pint a can"A pint can holds 16 fl oz; the standard modern can of peach halves or slices is 15 oz, which is close enough to use one for one. Two cans give a more generous filling for a 9-inch pie.
- Drain themCanned peaches sit in heavy syrup or juice, and the book does not mention pouring it off. Drain well and let the slices sit in a sieve for ten minutes, or the bottom crust will be soaked before it ever sets.
- Sugar"Fine sugar" here most likely means finely granulated sugar; period usage of "fine" and "powdered" overlaps, so the distinction is not firm. Three tablespoons suits fruit packed in water or light juice; peaches in heavy syrup need little or none, so taste a slice first.
- Add a thickenerCanned fruit comes packed wet and will loosen further in the oven. A tablespoon of cornstarch or two of flour tossed with the sugar will keep the filling from running out when cut.
- "Finish the pie the same way"The instruction points back to the pie recipe printed above it, which is not reproduced here; on the usual pattern that means lining the plate with pie paste, filling, covering with a top crust, sealing the rim and cutting vents. Butter dotted over the fruit before covering is optional.
- OvenThe original gives no oven direction at all. As modern guidance: bake at 425F for the first 15 minutes to set and brown the bottom crust, then drop to 350F for another 30 to 35 minutes, until the vents show thick bubbling juice.
- Brightening itCanned peaches are flat compared with ripe fresh ones. A tablespoon of lemon juice and a pinch of salt in the sugar restores some definition without changing the character of the recipe.
- YieldThe original gives no pan size or yield; one pint can will fill a small pie, roughly six servings, or a 9-inch plate thinly. Cool at least two hours before cutting or the filling will not hold a slice.
Alexander Filippini, long associated with Delmonico's in New York, compiled The International Cook Book in 1906, and its brevity here is typical of the genre: recipes were written in runs, each one leaning on the technique spelled out a page earlier. What is striking is that a peach pie in a book of this ambition begins with a can opener. Commercial fruit canning had expanded enormously in the last third of the nineteenth century, much of it out of California, and by 1900 tinned peaches are often said to have become a year-round staple in ordinary American pantries rather than a luxury. A cook working in February could not get a fresh peach at any price, and Filippini simply acknowledges the fact, treating the can as an ingredient in its own right rather than a substitute to apologise for.