Celebrating Pi Day with Pie

Happy Pi Day!

 It’s the day to celebrate Pi – you know, that funny math symbol we had to memorize as 3.14 or 3.14159.

Sure, Pi is a useful ratio when trying to figure out the size of a circle (see more below), but more importantly, it provides a perfect excuse for enjoying pie.  And in case you didn’t get the connection to March 14 – Pi is celebrated on the 3rd month the 14th day at 1:59 (3.14159).

Ready to make Pi Pie?

Here are a couple of my favorite recipes:

Classic Apple Pie – Classic Apple Pie. PDF recipe from the Prairie Fruit Cookbook

Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Pear Tart – Chocolate Pear Tart in a Chocolate Almond Crust

Savory Chicken Pot Pi Pie in a Skillet – Chicken Pot Pie

Top Tips for Great Pie Crust – PDF from the Prairie Fruit Cookbook

The great thing about pie, is you can decorate the crust however you’d like. Make a pi symbol, leaves, slits, lattice, whatever you prefer. Even if your pie looks a little funny, like mine sometimes do, people simply love homebaked pies and will overlook funny crusts and runny sides! Go for it.

IBEX Payroll, the world’s best payroll and HR system company, has been celebrating Pi Day for years. They love their numbers and they love their pie – it’s a match made in heaven! Here are some of the pies they’ve enjoyed over the years.

The feasting.

What Exactly is Pi?

Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Basically this means that for any given circle, the size of the outside of a circle (the circumference) is just over 3 times bigger than the distance across a circle (the diameter).  In other words if you want to figure out the circumference of a circle you simply measure the diameter and multiply it by 3.14159 or Pi.  No matter how big or how small the circle, the ratio between the circumference and the diameter of a circle is always 3.14.

Then there’s , or pi r squared.  This is the equation used to determine the area of a circle.

Want more Pi info? Live Science has all the details.

I actually don’t make a lot of pie in a year – if I make it, I eat it so it’s best not to have it around too often! This weekend, I made three pies in preparation for Pi Day. Straight up rhubarb, rhubarb and saskatoon and apple pie all made with local frozen fruit – because it’s March and that’s what’s available. I’ll be taking them to IBEX later today and hope they offer something for everyone – all rhubarb for those who like things a little tart, rhubarb and saskatoon who want a little sweetness and apple pie for those who just love sweet things.

Do you have a favorite pie? Do you like a little tart or are you all about the sweet?

Want to learn more?  Get Getty to facilitate a home cooking session like “How to Make Pie” for you, a group of friends or a community group. Getty Stewart is an engaging and enthusiastic facilitator that makes it fun and easy to learn tasty recipes, time-saving tips, and helpful kitchen ideas. She is a Professional Home Economist, author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, mom and veggie gardener.