Pie nursery 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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Nursery Rhyme Pies with surprises inside

Illustration by William Wallace Denslow.

Little Jack Horner

Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner
Eating his Christmas pie
He put in his thumb
And pulled out a plum
And said, "What a good boy am I!"

It's a familiar nursery rhyme that has been said to be about stealing land during the reign of Henry VIII. Whether true or not, the story goes that the Abbot of Glastonbury, one of the last abbeys to be confiscated by Henry VII in the 1530s, decided to bribe the king with a Christmas pie that contained the deeds to twelve of his properties (other than the Abbey itself) rather than the ingredients of a regular Christmas Pie.

The classic Christmas pies were large, well suited to hiding deeds, and the sort of thing that an abbot would be expected to send to the king. In Henry's day, they were filled with mincemeat containing thirteen ingredients (one for Christ, and twelve for the apostles). They had mutton, representing the shepherds in the Nativity story, and a rectangular box shape like that of the manger  Thus, the Abbot's pie had symbolic meanings, as well as being a gift he hoped that the king would accept.

The abbot delegated delivery of the pie to his steward, Thomas Horner (who became Jack in the nursery thyme, because the name "Jack" was often associated with someone up to no good). Thomas took the pie to the king, but before he got there (so the story goes), pulled out the deed to Mells Manor. Because he was Protestant, Thomas got to keep the manor. The King had the abbot hung anyway, took the rest of the abbey and properties, and everyone continued on. The Horner family owned Mells Manor into the twentieth century; no word about whether they kept up a tradition of Christmas pies.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds Baked in a Pie

Another familiar nursery rhyme had blackbirds instead of plums in the pie:

Four and Twenty Blackbirds

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing
Now wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before a king!

The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour,
Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird
And pecked off her nose.

In this case, the pie was an entremet, an entertainment served between courses by wealthy hosts. Birds, pigs, and frogs, even people, could be trapped inside a big pie shell, and let out by breaking the crust, to amaze the guests. One interpretation of this nursery rhyme also ties it to Henry VIII.   Henry VIII was the king in the counting house, and the singing birds were people who turned others in to save their own hides, or to get rewards (a pocket full of rye) from the king. The queen was Catherine of Aragon (note that she was eating bread and honey, not pie), and the maid in the garden was Anne Boleyn.

Both of the rhymes demonstrate one of the essential qualities of pie crust. Properly made with wheat, it is a structurally sound container. An engineering school's experiments with building the perfect gingerbread house led to the conclusion that "Dough with a tough, springy consistency and decreased moisture content is ideal, and can be achieved by using flour with high protein content, such as bread flour. Higher-protein flours contain more glutenin and gliadin proteins, which create the springy gluten network that gives dough its elastic properties." From the Middle Ages into the present, pie crusts have been used as free-standing structures in which food was cooked, or  as containers holding entertainments of live creatures.

A German cookbook from 1553 described how to make the crust. It advised the cook to take flour, mix it with eggs, melt some fat in boiling water (which could have been butter or lard, or other meat fats), pour that over the flour, and  "work it well." (i.e., knead it to develop the gluten). The cook shaped the dough into whatever three-dimensional shape was needed. Then they shaped a lid and fastened it to the box with water,  crimping the edges together with their fingers. After filling the crust (or "coffin," from a French word meaning basket), the cook baked it.

Sometimes the crust was inedible, but just as often, it could be eaten as part of the meal. If the nobility didn't eat the crust, they often passed it on to poor people, who relished the pastry soaked with the juices of the meats and spices that had filled the pie.  Alternatively, baking food in the relatively dry and impenetrable crust could preserve food, if the top layer of crust was sealed with fat of some sort.

Blackbirds in a pie (Creative Commons, 8-5-2018)

funny children's games, nursery rhymes, counting rhymes, tongue twisters, fairy tales, outdoor games, educational games, finger gymnastics, graphic dictations, etc.

Grandma's birthday
We baked a cake with jam.
Of course, I helped,
Decorated with my mother.
It turned out lush,
With a crust on all sides.
There will be a lot of treats,
I want a pie with jam,
I need to sit closer to him,
Delicious, you will lick your fingers.

Oh, what a pleasant smell.
How it tugs at our soul.
We didn't see it, but the smell,
Says a lot.
He's talking about stuffing.
That the dough rose on time.
That today is a wonderful day.
What do we bake a big pie .
Right side and left side too.
Browned already.
I am sitting on a chair now.
And as if on a hedgehog.
With fragrant mint tea.
They will give me a piece now.
I invite you all to visit.
Very tasty our pie!

A. Eroshin

Was one centipede
Baked cake with cloudberries.
The cake was ruddy and fresh,
Eat with tea right now.
Without guests, everyone knows,
Eating a cake is not interesting,
And with a company of guests
Sugar is sweeter, tea is thicker.
Culinary centipede
Thought a little,
And touchy snails
Invited for a pie.
From the porch to the gate
The snails crawled all day,
And then two days in the dust
From the gate they crawled into the forest.
Yes, two more days girlfriends
We got to the edge of the forest,
Yes, then two more days
To the mistress's stump.
Sit together around the table…
What a strange thing:
Where's the centipede pie?
There are only crumbs on the table.

I. Brilko

Two fairies walked with a bag of caramel.
Where to? - It's a terrible secret.
We didn't want to tell you about it,
But suddenly we blabbed by chance:
Two fairies were walking along a long alley
Into a dense dense thicket -
The alley was made of cookies with sage,
And the thicket was made of crispy waffles.
And at midnight the wonderful fairies arrived,
Passing through the jam puddles
As elegant as possible, as tasty as possible
Decorate PIE for Vanyusha.

N. Volkova

No mood at all today.
Maybe I got up on the wrong foot,
But I have such an impression all day,
That there are only pies everywhere !
A chandelier is a birthday cake,
Candles stood on it - exactly six!
I walk decorously around the room
And I dream of eating this cake.
Mother's hat is cabbage,
Since childhood, the most favorite pie. nine0009 It's so appetizing and tasty -
Nobody could refuse!
At night I dreamed of a cherry pie,
I cut it - and in my mouth!
And the cake is whole again, like new,
It grows on a huge plate.
I've been on a diet for half a year:
My choreographer is formidable and strict,
Says:
"Since you're dancing in ballet,
Don't you dare even think about the pie!"

Scenario of the holiday "All about pies"

(Two hosts enter to the music.)

1st: Hello, dear guests, invited and welcome guests! nine0003

2nd: Glad to see you all at our party! And our holiday is dedicated pies!

1st: How immense is Russia, how diverse are the traditions, customs, peoples of its inhabitants, their cuisine is so original, and above all pies.

2nd: You will learn the history of the pie,
And you will shine with culinary skills as always!

1st: A noble treat awaits you here,
And a pleasant pastime.

2nd: In ancient times in Rus', people, gathering for holidays, arranged feasts on the occasion of the celebration. And for this day they baked a special holiday cake. nine0003

Song performed:
We need to make a cake,
So that everyone can taste it.
Let's take a hundred grams of smiles,
And quite a bit of mistakes,
Laughter, ringing joy
Half a kilo - for sweetness.
Let's add a handful of kindness,
Season with affection, tenderness,
Heart's ardor and warmth of the soul.
Plant in the oven and do not grieve.
Our pie turned out surprisingly
- a feast for the eyes!
Just a miracle - not cooking,
All relatives will be treated!

1st: Russian cuisine knows a lot of recipes for a variety of pies: baked and fried. They differ in the composition and method of preparing the dough (yeast, puff, fresh, rich.), by appearance (open, closed, small and large, round and square. nine0009 (Multimedia show)

2nd: Baked pies with meat, game, mushrooms, eggs, cereals, vegetables and forest berries, with cottage cheese, apples, poppy seeds, fish and sorrel. vegetable The toppings were also varied.

1st: There were even borage pies with pickles. There were also so-called bread pies: they cut off the crust and ate the filling with spoons. Cooked such pies-plates with onion, cabbage and carrot fillings. All features Russian pies cannot be listed. Each locality has its own rules, traditions and secrets. nine0003

2nd: On holidays in Rus' they liked to arrange competitions. Competed in dance, valiant daring, in strength. According to the old Russian tradition, today we Let's have a competition to bake the best cake. Well, they will be evaluated the most honored guests, our jury.

1st: Good people, before you start baking a cake, listen Russian traditions and wise advice from a hostess:
Do not sweep the floor when you are baking pies - you will sweep with ergot. You know guys what was called ergot in the old days? Ergot is a black seed which was ground together with grains of rye, the dough rose well from ergot. And when the housewives kneaded the dough, they said, raising the hem of their skirt: “Ergot in sourdough”, “Rise the sourdough higher”. Remember the tips, and then you will succeed fluffy, delicious cake. nine0003

1 Competition:

2nd: It's time for you to try yourself as a hostess. I suggest bake a birthday cake. The execution sequence is given in the instruction map. Before starting work, we need to repeat the sanitary - hygienic requirements and TB. Who can tell me about them?
- Cook food in overalls.
- Nails to be cut, hands to be thoroughly washed, hair to be hidden under the scarf.
When handling a knife:
- Use proper knife handling techniques. nine0009 - Pass the knife with the handle forward. (nationality)

(Children do the task, clean their place)

(Pleshakov V. reads a verse)
There is a circle in our house.
I could not pass by.
The aroma soared.
That my stomach is dear
Grumbled like clockwork.
I wanted to eat like that,
As if I had not eaten for three years.
And the girls, as luck would have it,
That's because we were not lucky,
They run around, treat everyone.
They don't notice us point-blank.
Where is justice, brothers? nine0009 No, she's probably asleep.
And she doesn't care,
That my stomach grumbles.
I will go to the director,
I will find justice
Maybe he will help me?
I want to cook too!
For yourself and for friends,
For relatives and guests!

1st: Dear guests, tell me why in the old days they said: in the oven, don't sit on the oven?" Answer: (Pies will go bad.)
-Tell me, good people, why did they put small children under the sourdough? stuck in the oven on a shovel? (Answer: If the child speaks badly and grows, he was put under a sourdough.)

1st: The housewives moistened their hands with water, crushed their sourdough, while saying: - As my sour sour, so you, my child, sour; - Like my sauerkraut rose, so you go my child. ) And when the child was frail and sickly, performed the rite of "baking" - put on a shovel and in a cold stove, as pie, popped.

2nd: Tell me, what Russian fairy tales speak of the rite of baking, and who, then, puts small children on a shovel and puts them in the stove, but not make-believe, but in the most burning fire? (Answer: Baba Yaga, Witch.)

1st: That's right, Baba Yaga is a sorceress, and the Witch is a witch. And in these stories reflected the ancient rite of baking. Guys, the round cake was still served and a talisman against all witches and evil spirits, therefore this word is found so often in lullabies, ditties and jokes.

2nd contest:

2nd: And our 2nd contest is called the “Competition of Chastushechniks”. Each the family prepared ditties about pies, it was your homework, let's listen to them together.
(chastushkas are performed)

1. I'm waiting for my dear girlfriends
Visit me this week.
I want you to eat my
Pies.

2. I'll knead the dough in the morning,
I'll bake pies!
I'm waiting for you, dear guests,
Just be full!

3. Pies with different fillings
Bake on the weekend.
We'll put the samovar for tea,
And we'll gather the neighbors.

4. There will be tea with pies
With mint and hops.
Hey, girlfriend, don't be bored,
Pour more!

5. Let's sing songs,
Standing on the porch
Let's dance "Lady"
With the exit from the stove.

6. Pies, pies
Lush and delicious.
Pies, pies
With meat and cabbage.

7. We cook on a mug,
We try very hard.
Don't praise us too much,
Otherwise we'll be arrogant!
8. We are about delicious pies
We sang ditties for you.
Ah, thanks for coming,
Girlfriends!

2nd: Today, perhaps, a rare girl at the age of 17-18 will boldly demonstrate ability to bake pies. And her peers in the last century considered this matter simply necessary. According to old traditions, the day after the wedding the young woman had to bake a pie. With this cake she treated guests, and according to his taste they judged the homeliness of the future hostess. nine0003

1st: Pies played a special role in birthday ceremonies. By the name day It was customary to bake pies and send them to relatives and friends. pies served sort of an invitation to the party. There were so many pies sent how many members of the family that were waiting for a visit. The one who brought the pies set them on the table and said: "The birthday man ordered to bow to the pies and asked eat bread.

3rd competition:

2nd: And we will continue our culinary competition. Every family should solve cooking puzzles. (Each team is given an envelope with riddles) nine0009 - I'm bubbling and puffing, I don't want to live in a pot, I'm tired of pot, plant in the oven me ”(dough).

Foka's nosed one
Constantly hands to hips.
Foka boils water
And shines like a mirror.
(Samovar)

I don't eat myself,
I feed people. (Spoon)

I feed everyone willingly,
And I myself do not rotate.
(Spoon)

Kruglobok and olives
Moderately cool and salty
Smells like sunshine,
Smells like a sultry field. (bread)

Cut me,
Knit me.
They beat me mercilessly,
They wheel me.
I will go through fire and water,
And my end is
Knife and teeth. (BREAD)

Puffs, groans, crawls upwards,
If you don't watch it, it will fall,
But it doesn't hurt him. Why?
What is it?
(Dough)

1st: Numerous proverbs and sayings are composed about pies - the most famous of them: “Eat a pie with mushrooms and keep your mouth shut”, “Do not tap hut with corners, and red with pies ”And on Epiphany holidays they baked pies-crosses from sour dough. Some housewives put a coin or a button in them “on happiness". nine0003

2nd: In Rus', a pie was a symbol of housekeeping. At times, pies were revered in Russia is higher than bread. There was a time when they were served as an independent dish, but in the middle of the 19th century they began to be consumed with tea. It's time to and us to taste the festive cake prepared by your hands, and for this you need to pass the final test.

4th competition:

2nd: Each family needs to set the tables according to the rules of etiquette for tea (serving table for tea).

(Alyona Orlyanskaya reads a poem after the competition)
Begging, asking for future pie,
Bake me soon, my friend.
I want to show off in plain sight,
And, of course, I will quickly get on the table.
You put me in the middle,
Let them admire what I am in the window.
Lush, delicate and tasty,
Well, admire me soon, guests of me.
Just a request from me for all guests.
Are you enjoying yourself? Eat quickly!
I ask you not to prick with a sharp fork.
Gently cut off a chunk with a knife.
And I ask you not to swallow and hurry,
You can, oddly enough, choke on me.
So know, you, comrades, friends!
Gently eat me!

2nd: This is the end of our culinary competitions,

1st: According to an old Russian tradition, the holiday ended with tea baked pies in the family circle, and we invite you to taste the pies with tea. (Tea drinking)

As a schoolboy, I looked forward to Sunday. Why? The fact is that my mother baked PIES! The most delicious pies with potatoes with meat and the most delicious with cabbage and meat. nine0003

In the morning, my mother would send me to the grocery store for dough, and she would prepare the filling herself. Dad, on the other hand, took a weighty beater made by him and went on a responsible task - to shake out carpets and paths. The older sister at that time was doing wet cleaning in the apartment. Each had their own responsibilities.

And already in the afternoon, closer to three, the four of us gathered in our little kitchenette. Be sure to put an electric samovar in the center of the table and plates with cakes and …

How many dumplings were there? nine0006