The Spirit of Seventy-Six!
In honor of the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, all recipes through July 4, 2026 will be from Centennial and Bicentennial cookbooks and the 1796 first American cookbook. Enjoy this look at the (gastronomic) spirit of ’76 as we head into the sestercentennial!
I’ve also published a Sestercentennial Cookery with recipes and photos.
This is an amazingly tender pie crust. Technically it’s called a “puff paste”, but I think what they meant by puff pastry in 1796 was a bit different from what we call it today.
There’s no missing step: the only liquid in this dough is the egg white. That makes it very dry, but that also makes it very light and tender when done. It should be great for any fruit pie or pre-baked for a pre-made filling, although in the latter case you won’t want to use the top crust.
As long as you keep the ingredients cold, this isn’t even hard to make, especially compared to the Royal Pastry from a few weeks ago. My guess is that it was meant for pies in autumn and winter, because it would have been crazy to work with in the summer without refrigeration. We, fortunately, have refrigeration, so we can use this pie crust year-round.
When I feel sad, I need a bowl of leek and potato soup. — Jacques Pépin (Today's Gourmet: Garlic Soup)