Central Market (Stoltzfus Baked Goods) - Shoo Fly Pie

I have been wanting to start reviews on Central Market stands for a while. Mostly I stick to 3 or 4 main stands for lunch - Saif's, The Goodie Shoppe, S. Clyde Weaver, and the Thai place (whose name is not Lemon Grass, but is apparently run by the Lemon Grass people - I forget the name). Aside from the occasional stop at another stand here or there for produce, raw milk, or spices, my Central Market visits are quick and to the point. Now that I've started this blog, however, its time for me to break out of that set routine and really explore some of the other stands that I usually rush past on my way to get a falafel sandwich. Where do I start? How about with one of the most quintessential Lancaster County/Pennsylvania Dutch offerings ever - The Shoo Fly Pie.

I have not had Shoo Fly pie since I was a kid.
When I was a kid, I hated it.
20+ years later? ...well...



I have been curious about Shoo Fly pie for a few years now, curious to know if my taste buds have matured enough over time to the point where I can appreciate the subtlety of a molasses pie. It seemed plausible, I used to hate olives with the anger of one thousand burning suns, now - please give me a bowl of olives and top them with more olives. Tastes change. Its a known fact. Its also a known fact that I will hate grapefruit until the day I die, but whatever... Maybe I will like Shoo Fly pie now. This desire to try Shoo Fly pie again was never strong enough for me to actually go out and try Shoo Fly pie again, however. But now I have a food blog, so rather than simply boring a few friends with the (bedtime) story about how I tried Shoo Fly pie again, I can bore the whole internet! With words and pictures! Say Goodnight, internet! ZZZ...

So I set out to market and bee-lined it to Stoltzfus Baked Goods, and bought myself an entire Shoo Fly pie. There were 3 or 4 sitting there, and my criteria (decided at that moment) for choosing the perfect pie was this - one with a decent amount of that delicious-looking crumb topping (I would later regret that) and - no fancy labels (Achenbach's had one there - okay, Achenbach's stuff is delicious - but they are a professional kitchen, established and capable of churning out pie after pie after pie in giant ovens all day and night) fancy labels mean pro-jobs, I want a simple -covered in plastic wrap- pie, made by some little old lady in her kitchen at home, who every Monday, Thursday and Friday night, spends her time baking as many pies as she can - the "limited edition" Shoo Fly pie- thats what I wanted. Oh, look: I found it...

 Shoefly.

Esther Sangrey. Perfect. Apparently, Esther is best known for her award winning Chow Chow, (for which there are a few blue ribbons proudly displayed around the stand). The Chow Chow review will have to wait (I've NEVER had Chow Chow - should be interesting), for now, lets stick to the Shoo Fly pie.

First, I will say that, in general, I don't like pie very much. Or rather, I don't like pie crust. Crust is for people who like Pop-Tarts, and people who like Pop-Tarts are wrong (Toaster Strudel is obviously the better choice). I prefer crumb topped pies, or meringue, or no "top" at all (or I prefer to just not eat pie). The topping on this Shoo Fly pie looked more like dust than crumbs, a big pile of dust with some dark molasses poking through. That is pretty much all a Shoo Fly pie is. I found out later that this is a wet-bottom pie (that term grosses me out), this means no bottom crust either: I win!

The next day, I woke up, brewed a cup of coffee, and sat down to have my breakfast.

 A breakfast fit for Amos King.

Cutting into the pie, it was softer than I expected. I don't know why I expected a pile of molasses and dust to offer any resistance to a knife, but my first thought was "Oh.. huh" It was then that I realized there was no crust on the bottom, just a decorative ring of crimped crust around the rim, I suppose there only to identify this as being a "pie" and not simply a bowl of molasses and dust. I'm being very hard on the dust, I know... I'll get to that.

The first bite was pretty good, but it also took me right back to being 10 years old and digging into what I thought was going to be this deliciously sweet and decadent pie, and coming up with a mouth full of what seemed like burned glue. To me now, it was no longer that bad. I had to fight past my bad memories, though and allow my grown-up taste buds to find a new way to appreciate this pie. It took a bite or two, and then a sip of coffee and I was finally willing to accept all that Shoo Fly pie is and all it is not. It is heavy, and thick, and rich. It is not the most flavorful thing in the world, nor is it the sweetest, by far. The coffee helped. Greatly.

My bites were becoming harder to swallow because molasses and flour baked in an oven doesn't really give your mouth a whole lot to work with. And that "dust" topping - ugh. Essentially it's just more flour. I expected a sugary crunch of crumb; something sweet and something to elevate the molasses underneath (which itself was sadly not as sweet as I would have liked it to be - its molasses!) whatever else was in the dust/crumb mixture (sugar, flour, b.soda) did sort of cut the molasses a bit, and there was an ever so slight variance in textures, but overall it was just kind of bland. Again, the coffee helped at this point, to not only wash each pasty bite down, but to also pull what subtle flavor the pie had to the forefront. Its because of this (the coffee) that I was able to get through this slice of pie, and ultimately, to kind of enjoy it.

When I got to the end of the slice, the crimped crust edge, that's where I first got to taste anything of a different flavor. It was the place where the molasses had boiled over and hardened around the crust, and the sweet burnt sugar taste was finally something that got my attention. Also, the chewiness of this particular part of the pie, it kind of reminded me of  Cow Tails candy. Is that why people like crust? For this crimped rim of flavor? Is this why Wet-Bottom (ew) Shoo Fly pie doesn't bother with an entire crust, and instead just puts this rim around it to reward the eater for making it the whole way through the rest of the pie? I may never know the answers, but (I can't believe I'm saying this): that crust was pretty good!

I do not want this review to come off as me just being a jerk to the nice old lady  who stayed up all night to bake delicious pies for the people of her community.  I am sure Esther is the best! I think its great that she makes all this stuff, and we can all be so lucky to simply enjoy the fruits of her labor. I am also sure that Shoo Fly pie is an acquired taste -  like beer, coffee, or olives... Maybe I just need more time to realize and fully understand and appreciate the subtle complexities of Shoo Fly pie, its layer upon layer of flavor that one slice of pie in 20+ years will never reveal to me. 
I now have the rest of the pie to finish, so who knows, maybe as I keep eating it, everything will just suddenly make complete and total sense and I'll be like "Double Shoo Fly pie all the way"... We shall see...
I'll keep you updated. ON TWITTER!

For now: Shoo Fly pie - 5.5
By comparison, at 10, I would have rated Shoo Fly pie: 1.9 ...So - Progress! I'm all grown-up!