VERMONT - Pie #45 of 50 - May 2021 - Annie Gormley Kraus
State Fruit: Apple
State Pie: Apple Pie
State Vegetable: Gilfeather Turnip
I have been to Vermont!
The first time I went to Vermont for a friends wedding in 2012 in Chittenden, VT. I remember very little about the wedding because of the copious amount of drinking and dancing I partook in. What I do remember is the morning after. Sitting with our sin from the night before my friends and I drove to diner Maple Sugar & Vermont Spice and ate stacks on stacks of pancakes. That was the first time I tasted real maple syrup and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I left with a half gallon and never looked back.
My favorite bacon comes from Singleton’s General Store in Proctorsville, VT. Its smokey as all heck but so delicious, it’s unreal. My buddy Pete’s family has a place at the Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, VT that we get the honor is visiting and we never not stop at Singleton’s on the way home to stock up.
Pete’s Pop is the inspiration behind my next state pie. Pete told me that his pops used to always say “an apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze”. 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.”
The idea of adding dairy/cheese to pie originated in England in the 17th century. In Yorkshire apple pie was served with Wensleydale, which is most likley how the phrase “an apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze” began. It is a hot button dispute to whether the phrase originated in America or England let’s just chalk it up to cultural collaboration.
The pie its going to my fine friend Annie Gormley Kraus. Annie is from Chittenden, VT near Killington and I can without a doubt say that her smile will light up the darkest of nights and brighten you cloudiest days. I met Annie in in 2013 at a scavenger hunt my friends from SCAD and I used to do every year in the city. We instantly hit it off. We had an instant connection. Annie recently shared with me that growing up pie was something her mom always made for their family, friends and anyone that would come round their house even when Annie insisted she not bother. For her mom cooking for people was her way of saying “welcome to our home”. Her mother and I have that in common. All Annie’s recollections of pie are centered around special days, her mom, and family and friends being together. What is more wonderful than that! I am so glad that I got the chance to gift Annie this pie after a long hiatus on my pie project due to the pandemic. We got to meet up all fully vaxed, hug, drink spritzes and eat pie together. I’m so blessed that even though the pandemic kept us physically apart we are now friendship wise closer than ever.
This pie is also dedicated to my fellow pie team member Lauren Wright at Four and Twenty Blackbirds who hails from Bennington, VT. I met Lauren in October of 2020 when I joined the pie team at Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Lauren and I bonded on our love for early 00’s emo music and our deep love of dad jokes. Meeting and befriending her was definitely a highlight of the turbulent seas of 2020.
Vermont Naturally like the fall leaves I am falling for you.
45 down 5 to go 🇺🇸💪🏼🇺🇸