On National Pie Day, Jan. 23, the Christiansburg Public Library will hold a Pie Exchange at 2 p.m.
“People bring in a pie and its recipe. Everybody shares and you go home with a new recipe for a pie you liked,” Selena Sullivan, library supervisor, said.
The library holds gatherings and exchanges like this one supporting mid-week connection among home schooling families and seniors.
“We do these recipe swaps and exchanges occasionally, with cookies and candies, depending on the season,” she said.
Like seed swaps and potlucks, a pie exchange is a way to enliven traditional food ways with new ideas, bolster a region’s traditional skill set, strengthen community through conversation, and just share pie.
“Bring in your favorite pie and recipe to share with everyone,” she said.
According to the American Pie Council, the national organization dedicated to promoting commercial and amateur appreciation of the pastry, the first pie recipe was published by the ancient Romans explaining how to make a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. What’s old is new in pie, it seems, and there is a surprisingly similar recipe on the web site, Epicurious.
On Pi Day (the mid-March celebration of the number pi, 3.14) we have a pie exchange too,” Sullivan said.
Contact the Christiansburg Public Library at 382-6965 and the American Pie Council at www.piecouncil.org
