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An eatery inside the Library of Congress (LOC), the national library that serves the US Congress, recently removed a fruity sweet treat from its menu. An LOC spokesperson told Fox News that: “The cafeteria at the Library is managed by an external vendor, which briefly offered the peach mint pie. When this was brought to the attention of library management, the item was removed because the LOC is a non-partisan government agency.”
The dessert, Peach Mint crumb cake (essentially a fruity crumble-topped pie), whose name was a pun on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump (“mmm-peach-mint” – geddit?), left a bitter taste in the mouths of some diners.
Impeachment is the process whereby the US Congress decides on whether a sitting president is no longer fit to serve and should be removed from office.
It is undertaken in accordance with Article II of the Constitution for the United States of America, which sets up the presidency and executive branch but also lays out a way to remove the president.
The key clause is: “The president, vice-president and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanours.”
House Democrats began a formal impeachment inquiry into the behaviour of President Trump on September 24, hence the Republican sense-of-humour failure when it comes to foodie puns.
Epicurean advocacy is not a new trend in the US.
In 2017 the High Point Creamery chain of ice cream parlours in Denver, Colorado, donated 10% of the pint sales from its I’m Peach Mint flavour to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network. The Denver Post newspaper interviewed chef and owner Erika Thomas at the time, who said, “One in four restaurant workers are immigrants, and the immigrant population is the backbone of the supply chain that brings us fresh and delicious food.”
Puns aside, in the US the politics of fruity pie and crumbles is no joke.
They have historically been embraced and celebrated as a symbol of the nation’s abundance, so much so that “as American as apple pie” is a national statement of identity. People from the US sing songs about American pies.
They bake them and eat them on Independence Day and at Thanksgiving.
To them, offering a person pie is so much more than a gift of butter, sugar and fruit.
Pies pass messages of love, inclusion, sharing, generosity, decency, grace, and community building.
Consequently, the kitchen staff at the LOC café were serving President Trump and his supporters a clear message: those who mess with the core values that fruity desserts represent must expect mmm-peach-mint…
Serves: 6
For the pastry
- 150g butter
- 150g caster sugar
- 1 egg
- grated zest of one lemon
- 250g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- a little milk
- Icing sugar, for dusting
For the filling
- 6 medium-sized ripe peaches
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- grated zest of one orange
- 1 heaped tablespoon cornflour
- fresh mint leaves, to garnish
Equipment
24cm (18cm across the base) metal pie plate
Method
* Preheat the oven to 180°C
* Cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Lightly butter or spray the pie plate.
* Slowly add the egg to the mixture as you continue creaming, then add the grated lemon zest.
* Sift the flour and baking powder into another bowl, then fold it gently into the butter and sugar mixture until a dough forms.
* Form the dough into a ball and place it on a floured work surface. Knead it very lightly for a minute or so, then cut it in half. Use one half of the dough to line the pie plate. Place this and the remaining half in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
* While the dough is resting, halve the peaches and remove their stones. Cut each peach half into large pieces and add them to a bowl with the sugar, orange zest and cornflour. Toss gently.
* Spoon the peach filling into the pastry covered pie plate.
* Roll out the reserved pastry so that it will fit the top of the pie generously. Brush the rim of the pastry in the pie plate with a little milk, then lower the second piece of pastry on top. Press the edges to seal them, then brush the pie lightly with milk and dust it lightly with sugar. Pierce a small hole or cut in the centre of the crust to let the steam out.
* Bake the pie for about 40 minutes or until the crust is pale gold. Leave the pie to settle for at least 10–15 minutes. Garnish it with fresh mint leaves and serve.
