A slice of American pie

"As American as apple pie." "A piece of humble pie." "Easy as pie." Pie is everywhere in our culture, and now there is a whole month to honor it.

February is Great American Pie Month and what better way to celebrate than by, well having a piece of pie.

"America has taken pie and turned it into an American tradition. Motherhood and Apple pie," said Linda Hoskins, director of the American Pie Council. "Even though pie was not developed in the United States, we have taken it, made it our own and celebrate life with pie."

As for why so many people like it? Tom Herman of Noble Pie in Warwick, N.Y. has an idea.

"People like pie because it is not as sweet as cake," said Herman. "Pie has a lot of good things in it."

Noble Pies first began with an entry in the Warwick Applefest baking competition in 2007. After a second place finish, Herman and co-owner Leslie Noble were inspired. Slowly but surely they progressed from selling pies out of their home kitchen and now sell thousands of pies per year in 42 different flavors.

On average Americans purchase about 155 million pies per year in grocery stores alone. That does not include discount stores, bakeries, restaurants or homemade pies.

Hoskins considers pie an American experience.

"Pies are not only a great dessert, but an American icon," she said. "Pie making is a tradition that's been passed down from generation to generation. Everyone has a great story about pie. Everyone has a fond memory related to pie. Whether your receive or give a pie, sharing pie is something that we feel good about."

The most popular, predictably enough, is apple, except around Thanksgiving, when pumpkin takes over. As for the origin of the celebratory month, that is still unconfirmed.

"I have a pie calendar and it lists January 23 as National Pie Day," Herman said. "There are five pie days listed in February, one for cherry, one for chocolate, but there is no information about the month."

Even Hoskins is not sure where the holiday comes from.

"The American Pie Council sponsors National Pie Day on January 23rd. I tried to find out about the Great American Pie Month and could find no sponsor of this month. I assume it has to do with President's Day and American traditions."

No matter how you slice it, people love their pies.

"It's more American than cake," Herman says. "It represents a feeling of home. Everyone knows someone who baked pie, whether it was their mother or their grandmother or their aunt, they have a memory of a certain kind of pie and what it was like. That's what people want from pie. They are looking for that taste, that feeling."