If pie weren't good for us, why should it taste so good ?

- Riddles to Solve.

Occasionally, I give my stomach a piece of mince pie just to show it who is the boss

- The Bishop.

IT would be a waste of paper and space to warn the average American against the indigestibility of pastry, even at its best, and to explain that starch cells thus combined are armored against the influence of digestive fluids. Therefore every good cook endeavors to produce the best kind of pastry, light and flaky, and as digestible as possible; for heavy, soggy pastry is an endurance test for the digestion of even the most healthy person.

The baking is especially important, because even good crust poorly baked is unfit to eat. The oven must be hot, with the greatest heat at the bottom, so that the under crust may be thoroughly cooked, and cooked before the filling of the pie has a chance to soak in and make it soggy.

Butter makes a more flaky crust than lard, although the recipes call for lard because that is generally more available; but other preparations, of which there are several on the market, may be used.