Traditional chess pie is easy to make and calls for the simplest of household ingredients — eggs, butter, sugar, cornmeal, and vinegar — and it's been a Southern dessert favorite for more than a century.
And WFDD listener Sam Edwards wants to know more about it.
"I'm interested in the etymological root of chess pie," says Edwards. "It's a favorite delicacy of mine. It's a Southern dessert dish and I've always been fascinated by it — a.) because I enjoy the heck out of it, but b.) because I've always wondered where the name came from. It's a curious title for a name. Blueberry pie. I can get my arms around that. Chocolate pie. I can get my arms around that. Apple pie. But chess pie?"
There are lots of chess pie variations, and almost as many theories on the history behind the name, and every Southern chef has a personal favorite.
American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Famer