North Carolina’s Most Popular Pie is Filled With Flavor

Pie is always a delicious treat, no matter the season, and everyone has their most popular pie flavor. In the summer, it's all about fruity pies such as strawberry or lemon-lime, while the fall and winter months tend to lean towards pumpkin and apple pies. There's something that's just comfortable about enjoying a sweet slice of pie as a dessert or mid-day snack. But, tastes vary throughout the United States, and every state has their favorite pie. So, what kind of pie does this state absolutely adore?

Pies date back a very long time. Actually, pies date all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians, according to the BBC. "The Ancient Egyptians were the first to invent a dish close to what we know as a pie today," the BBC states in a feature about the history of pies. "They had a honey filling covered in a crusty cake made from oats, wheat, rye or barley. A recipe for chicken pie was also discovered on a tablet carved prior to 2000 BC."

Cold Hollow Cider Mill adds, "Historians trace the origin of pie to the Egyptians back in 9500 BCE. In Egypt, the first pies were made with ground grains like barley, wheat, or oats combined with water," and "this 'dough' was shaped into an oval and filled with savory ingredients like nuts, honey, and meat."

Now, let's get to the best pie in the state. Instacart has a study up with the most popular pies in each U.S. state. Since Instacart is a huge online grocery platform in North America with hundreds of national, regional and local retailers, they have data from more than 3.6 million pie sales. So, they used that data in their research on what kinds of pies people in each state most love.

For North Carolina, the top pie is pecan pie. That's totally appropriate for this state and always a popular and delicious pick.

So, what's the most popular pie in the entire U.S. It's a classic in apple pie. In the study, Instacart states that "apple pie is the most popular pie flavor in the United States, with over 27% of pie sales on Instacart's platform accounting for the classic flavor." They add that cherry pie was the top flavor in 11 states, and pumpkin came in next with nine states.