Pies are as American as pizza is American: we took a great idea, adapted it to our needs and ran with it. They used what they had available locally and made the most from it. In the Northeast and Midwest, it was apples; in the South it was molasses pies, in Florida the Key Lime Pie and from the Southwest came nut pies. Apple pies were not always dessert, our American ancestors considered them survival food often eating pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner for six month stretches.