To Whoppie or Not to Whoppie?

It seems I’ve opened a can of worms with regards to one of Maine’s favorite treats, the Whoppie Pie. (See Make the Whoppie Pie the Official Maine Dessert). It’s like that children’s toy, a can that looks like a can of peanuts, but when you open it, a coiled snake-like device pops out. In this case, however, our can is stuffed full of Whoppie Pies.

I don’t know the whole history of the Whoppie Pie in Maine, but it’s said that it was invented in our state. That’s a story for another time. The question of the hour is: Should the Whoppie Pie be made the official dessert of the State of Maine?

 In my defense, I was only passing on information about an event taking place at the Sail, Power and Steam Museum down in the South End. Attached to that information was an added piece about how you can support such an idea on the state government level if you wish. I have no strong opinion one way or the other, and I can’t vote on it anyway because I’m no longer a resident of Maine.

My friend and former classmate, Judy Harriman Chapman, suggests that maybe we should concentrate more on the beautiful berries we produce in Maine, like blueberries and strawberries.  She has a point, of course. I do believe they have a Blueberry Council of some sort that does promote our blueberries elsewhere. We do also have a blueberry festival every year in conjunction with the Union Fair.

I like blueberry pies as much as anyone in Maine. I also used to pick the biggest and best strawberries in the State of Maine, over on my Uncle’s farm in Bremen. I think we ate more that we picked though and we would always come back to the house with red mouths and tongues. Ditto with the blueberries. Before I was old enough to work at Newberry’s, I raked blueberries for a local blueberry farmer. I then came home with a blue tongue most every day.

As for my history with Whoppie Pies, my mother made the best. She often sent them to me in a Care Package when I was away at school. Sometimes she sent so many we couldn’t eat them all and we ended up having a whoppie pie fight with them. They are still one of my favorite sweets.

You can find homemade Whoppie Pies for sale in many small stores of the Mom and Pop variety in Maine. They are almost as prevalent as “Italian Sandwiches,” which is another unique Maine food. The sandwich goes by other names in other states, but nowhere is it made exactly like ours.

In any event, if I had my druthers, I’d make the Rhubarb Pie, as made by my mother, and now made for me every summer by my sister-in-law, Natalie, as the official Maine dessert. It’s my all time favorite dessert.

If you’d like to participate in the Whoppie Pie Jamme at the Museum, the date is June 26. So mark your calendars. Maybe we can convince Captain Sharp to include a Whoppie Pie backoff at the event. If I were home at that time, I’d be the first to volunteer as a judge. You folks in the South End who are involved with the museum might put a bug in his ear for me. To answer my friend, Judy, how ‘bout this?  Invent a whoppie pie recipe that uses blueberries or strawberries with the filling in some way. I’d be up for that.

There is a Valentine Day recipe for Whoppie Pies in this month’s recipe blog if you’re interested. The picture here comes from that blog. Now I’m hankering for a Whoppie Pie myself. See you later and thanks for listening.