Christmas pie plum
'Little Jack Horner' : NPR
Reason Behind the Rhyme: 'Little Jack Horner' Host Debbie Elliott and Chris Roberts dissect the meaning of the nursery rhyme "Little Jack Horner." It's about a real estate swindle in 16th-century England. Roberts is the author of Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme.
Heard on All Things Considered
Reason Behind the Rhyme: 'Little Jack Horner'
Host Debbie Elliott and Chris Roberts dissect the meaning of the nursery rhyme "Little Jack Horner." It's about a real estate swindle in 16th-century England. Roberts is the author of Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Debbie Elliott.
You think the real estate market is treacherous today, try England in the late 1530s. That's what the nursery rhyme "Little Jack Horner" is really all about.
(Soundbite of music)
ELLIOTT: Here to explain is our London librarian Chris Roberts. He's the author of "Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme," and he's at our London bureau.
Hello again, Chris.
Mr. CHRIS ROBERTS (Author, "Heavy Words Lightly Thrown"): Hello. Hi, Debbie.
ELLIOTT: So who was Little Jack Horner?
Mr. ROBERTS: Little Jack Horner was actually Thomas Horner. The name Jack comes up in nursery rhymes a lot, usually to reflect a slightly knavish character, a bit of a ne'er-do-well. So I suspect that's why they changed his name to Jack from Thomas.
(Reading) `Little Jack Horner sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie. He stuck in a thumb and pulled out a plum and said, "What a good boy am I."'
Where to begin with this? This is talking about the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII taking property from the Catholic Church.
Jack, as we know, is actually called Thomas Horner. Now he was a steward to the Abbot of Glastonbury during the reign of Henry VIII. This is how the story goes: He was entrusted to take some title deeds of properties to Henry VIII as a bribe so the abbot could keep the main monastery, but was prepared to give away some of the lesser properties.
Now the title deeds were held and sealed in a pie, and Jack's off to London. But instead of delivering the bribe to Henry VIII, he helps himself to the pie, puts his hand in, pulls out a plum piece of real estate--in this case, a place called Mells Manor--and thinks he's very clever for doing this. That's one version of it, that Jack is a thief and he's stealing the bribe that's intended for the king. And he...
ELLIOTT: So was this common? Is there historical evidence to support the theory that bribes were often delivered in pies?
Mr. ROBERTS: It comes up bewilderingly often in nursery rhyme.
And it's--I think the pie is used as a metaphor. I think it's not necessarily what we would think of as a pie. It's just referring to a means of concealing a document, concealing anything. It could be jewels in some cases. Now the Horner family, who incidentally lived in Mells Manor until the 20th century, are quite outraged at this slander of their ancestor and understandably so.
And there are actually two rhymes that mention Mr. Horner. The first one that mentions him is: `Hopton(ph), Horner, Smith and Finn, when the abbots went out, they came in.' And a much more likely reading of what happened is that Thomas Horner, along with the other people mentioned in the previous rhyme--Hopton and Smith and Finn--were up-and-coming gentry. They were Protestant, they were local merchants doing quite well for themselves in the area around Glastonbury, and that they bought the property. You could see it as an early example of gentrification.
They bought the property at the time admittedly at a knockdown rate, and admittedly the land had been stolen from the Catholic Church by Henry VIII. This seems to be what happened after the dissolution of the monasteries. The king didn't keep all the land for himself; he distributed it amongst his supporters so he then could rely on their loyalty should anything occur in the future, should there be a rebellion in the future. I suspect, though I can't prove this, that the popular `Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, eating his Christmas pie' version is actually the Catholic take on proceedings there.
ELLIOTT: Chris Roberts is the author of "Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme," and he's a librarian at Lambeth College in South London.
Thank you, Chris.
Mr. ROBERTS: Thank you, Debbie.
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Spiced Plum Pie Recipe | Epicurious
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
2 Tender Pie Crust dough disks
3 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons (packed) finely grated orange peel
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 1/2 pounds plums, halved, pitted, each half cut into 4 wedges
2 tablespoons whipping cream
Step 1
Roll out 1 pie crust disk on floured surface to 13 1/2-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch glass pie dish.
Trim overhang to 1 inch. Refrigerate crust while preparing filling.
Step 2
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Place foil-lined baking sheet in bottom of oven to catch any spills. Mix 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl; set aside. Whisk 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and next 6 ingredients in large bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Add plums and toss to coat. Spoon filling into crust, mounding slightly in center.
Step 3
Roll out second pie crust disk on floured surface to 13 1/2-inch round. Drape crust over filling; trim overhang to 1 inch. Press top and bottom crust edges together. Fold edges under; crimp. Using sharp knife, cut four 2-inch-long slits in center of top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust (but not edges) with cream. Sprinkle reserved cinnamon sugar over crust.
Step 4
Bake pie 30 minutes. Tent pie loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning. Continue to bake until filling bubbles thickly through slits, about 1 hour longer.
Cool completely on rack.
How would you rate Spiced Plum Pie?
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Reviews (18)
Back to TopTriangleThis review is for the filling because I have a crust recipe that I've always used that is absolutely delicious. I used 3 lbs. of plums and 2 ripe peaches that needed to get used cuz I felt there weren't enough plums. Instead of cornstarch, I used 3 tbsps. flour. Reduced the cardamom to 1/2 tsp, added 1/2 cinnamon, 1/4 ginger, 1/8 allspice, 1/8 mace and 1 tbsp. lemon juice. I also put small pats of butter on the top of the filling before placing the top crust on... again, this added more liquid to the already juicy pie filling. Won't do that again either. I think the temp. is off cuz my crust was not done at 40 min. I ended up bumping the temp to 400 degrees for last 15 min. It still needed more time to cook the crust so bumped the temp again to 425 degrees for 15 min. and left the pie in the oven for 10 more min.
with the oven off. I think in all I cooked the pie way too long just to get the crust cooked. The result was that my filling turned to mush and there was loads of juice which ran all over the counter. The pie was delicious, but I think next time I would bake it at 425 degrees... and reduce the cardamom and cinnamon to 1/4 tsp. each. The juice was fantastic served over vanilla ice scream! It was deliciously edible anyway. My first ever plum pie in all my years of baking! I'm ready to take the challenge again!rose_hoppe
Los Osos, CA
8/29/2014
I liked the idea of this pie, but I did not like the cornstarch as a thickener. I used 2tbsp (per the recipe), not more, and felt it dulled the flavor. I guess I'm just used to using tapioca in my fruit pies. Next time I make this pie I'll probably use ground tapioca. Company loved the pie -- served it with vanilla ice cream.
mooglegirl
Mansfield, MA
8/24/2014
This review is for the filling only as use another recipe for the crust.
I love this recipe. I make it all the time. I have a prune plum tree in the yard so we have a lot of plums. I even make this recipe with plums that have been frozen. The flavors are strong in this recipe so adjust them to match the people you are serving it to.denisetech
Victoria, BC
5/28/2014
Review is for the filling only, as I use my family's pie crust recipe for all my pies. This pie is amazing. I found this pie several years ago, and I've made it every year since. Because of the combination of spices it is quite reminiscent of Christmas, so eating this pie reminds us all of the holidays. When plums are in season here (late summer) I will prepare this pie filling and freeze it for use later in the year - Christmas time! It's absolutely a keeper.
VintageAvonLady
8/4/2011
I absolutely love this recipe! This pie is to die for- but here is the secret. I loved it the first two times I made this, but this time I learned a great lesson.
Make this pie two to three days before you actually intend of serving it. By that time, the flavors will have settled and become balanced. We all liked the pie the day- but the second and third day (I made a big pie) we were besides ourselves. Also, I was to lazy to go to the store to buy cloves- so I used Pumpkin Pie Spice instead. It was still wonderful.Anonymous
St. Louis, MO
11/28/2010
I was excited about discovering this pie recipe. Unfortunately I was really disappointed with the filling, and so was my company. We found that the spices overwhelmed the fruit. I bake a lot and my spices are really fresh, especially freshly grated nutmeg. Ultimately, the pie reminded me of a meatless mince pie, in flavor. The recipe for the tender pie crust is excellent, though. It will be in my recipe box forever.
mumathome2
Calgary, Alberta
9/6/2010
I love to bake, and this is the best pie I've ever made.
The dough recipe came out flaky and light. (I refrigerated the dough for about 5 hours, and then rolled out each one in a Ziploc bag before finishing on the counter -- this really helps to roll out an even crust that doesn't stick.) The only changes I made were adding about 8 strawberries since I didn't have quite enough plums, replacing one tsp. of orange zest with lemon zest, and using about 4 1/3 tbsp of cornstarch, per the other reviews. The flavor from the spices was outstanding, and the consistency of the filling was great. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Highly recommended!andreabf
San Francisco, CA
7/12/2010
Went with the 4 cornstarch which was about right. Next time I'll use apricots or even apple as we couldn't really taste the plums. Overall, very tasty.
penns
Sydney, Australia
6/2/2010
This review is only for the filling, as regrettably, I did not make the crust.
I was not crazy about the filling using purple plums because they were just too strong and bitter for my taste, though they tasted fine out of hand.I would recommend the red plums or combo pluots and apricots which I will try next time.The spice mixture with the zest was wonderful. Perfect balance of flavors and definitely double the cornstarch. I used 3 tbsp and wished I had used 4 and half as it was still pretty runny.TheCrazyGourmand
Bay Area, CA
6/2/2010
I really liked this pie. I too used pluots along with plums and also added more cornstarch. The spice combo was really interesting with the plums and the crust recipe is one I use over and over. My husband loved the crust, liked the spice, was just ok with the plums. Which left more pie for me. (And I know I can't be the only one who will eat pie for breakfast, right?)
Anonymous
Columbus, OH
10/19/2008
SO GOOD! The spice combo is really good, and not overpowering like I thought it might be.
Like the other reviewers, I used 4 tbsp cornstarch instead of 2. My plums didn't seem very juicy when I cut them so I was kind of reluctant to increase the cornstarch, but I'm glad I did, because it made the pie the perfect consistency. Also, DO NOT FORGET THE DRIP TRAY!!!!dombot
Calgary, AB
8/22/2008
Fabulous, one of the best fruit pies I have ever eaten and made. The cardamom is wonderful in this pie. I used home grown pluots and apricots...WOW...my fruit was so juicy that I indeed went to 4 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch and when putting the fruit in the pie shell, I used a slotted spoon and only took the fruit mixture, I left all the juice in the bowl which was a good idea because even doing that the juice ran over the pie dish while cooking. I recommend making this pie in the morning so that the fruit has a chance to set up before serving.
debbiede
san rafael, ca
8/7/2008
I made a version of this pie that was strawberry and plums.
It was absolutely magnificent. Had it for a dinner party and my future in laws loved it. I did add the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch like someone else suggested in their review, and it was the perfect cohesiveness. Not too soupy at all. It was so popular I'm making two more of the same tonight.AngelavengerL
American Fork, UT
3/20/2008
this is perhaps the best pie i've ever made! i used pluots (cross btw plum and apricot), which were delicious. i also served it with fresh whipped cream. highly recommended!
ssuchdev
brooklyn, ny
9/2/2007
The whole family agreed that this was the best pie EVER. I made it twice and went to the store and bought 8 lbs of plums for freezing so we could enjoy this pie year around. As a result of the other comments I prepared the filling in a pot and cooked it until it was the right consistency. I added tapioca to achieve this.
You will surely enjoy this pie. CarolynCarolynhauswald
Colorado Springs
11/3/2006
TagsPieDessertPlumStone FruitFruitCinnamonHerbs & SpicesCardamomVanillaNut FreeEasyBakingFood ProcessorSummerBon Appétit
Plum pie according to the recipe from The New York Times, step by step recipe for 2472 kcal, photos, ingredients
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It is better to take dense apples, for example, antonovka. Serve this cake well warm, you can with whipped cream or sour cream.
Yulia Vysotskaya
Yulia Vysotskaya's recipe
Pie with raspberries and figs
This pie can be made with apricots - they go great with raspberries, they also work well with plums and blueberries. For lemon flavor and aroma, replace the orange zest with lemon zest,
Julia Vysotskaya
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Recipe from Yulia Vysotsky
You can add not six, but four eggs , the cake will turn out to be more dietary, but it will also rise much less!
Julia Vysotskaya
Recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya
Upside-down pie with dried apricots and pecans
Instead of dried apricots, you can take other dried fruits, plums or pears. Pecans can also be safely replaced with any nuts that you like. Cooking0003
1 hour and 10 minutes
Recipe for:
8 persons
DESCRIPTION
Thanks for the recipe to Irina, author of the blog "Notes on Kitchen Curtains".
Legend has it that every year since 1983, The New York Times has published a recipe for plum pie, yielding to the pleas of American housewives.
In 1995, the editors announced the last publication of the recipe, offering an ultimatum to cut it out, laminate it and hang it on the refrigerator :-)
Pie is incredibly easy to make and very tasty!
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The food value of the portion
309
kcal
13%
| Squirrels | 4 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 42 g |
% of the daily rate
1 %
3 %
3 %
is based on your
age, weight and active. It is a reference information.
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0003
| ¾ cup |
| chicken eggs | 2 pcs. |
| 1 cup |
| baking powder |
| 1 pinch |
| 15 pcs. |
| brown sugar | 2 tbsp. l. |
It seems to be a simple recipe, but the cake is so delicious that I had to hand out the recipe all day :-) 
baking powder 
