A pie bird, pie vent, pie whistle, pie funnel, or pie chimney is a hollow

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

device, originating in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, shaped like a

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

, or upstretched bird with open beak used for supporting or venting a

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

. Occasionally other whimsical shapes are used.

History

Pies with top crusts need to be vented, to allow steam to escape. Funnel-style steam vents have been placed in the center of fruit and

meat pie A meat pie is a pie baked with pastry with a filling of meat and often other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, Frying, fried, or deep-fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the ...

s during cooking since

Victorian times In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

; bird shapes came later. The bird shape was likely inspired by the "four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" from the nursery rhyme "

Sing a Song of Sixpence "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is an English nursery rhyme, perhaps originating in the 18th century. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 13191. The sixpence in the rhyme is a British coin that was first minted in 1551 and became obsol ...

"; that "the birds began to sing" suggests a means for a vent.David McCormick,
Flights of Fancy: Pie Birds Are Functional, Whimsical Collectibles
; Antique Trader, May 13, 2020; accessed 2021.03.02; and works cited therein. Pie funnels were used to prevent pie filling from boiling up and leaking through the crust by allowing steam to escape from inside the pie. They also supported the pastry crust in the center of the pie, so that it did not sag in the middle, and are occasionally known as "crustholders". Older ovens had more problems with uniform heating, and the pie bird prevented boil-over in pie cooking. The traditional inverted funnels, with

arches An arch is a curved vertical structure span (engineering), spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th mill ...

on the bottom for steam to enter, were followed by

birds; and from the 1940s they have been produced in a multitude of designs. Creigiau Pottery of South Wales produced a 'Welsh Pie Dragon' in copper

lustreware Lustreware or lusterware (the respective spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic oxides in an Ceramic glaze, over ...

. This trend has been particularly noticeable in recent times, due to their increasing popularity as gifts and collectors' items rather than simply utilitarian kitchen tools.

References

Kitchenware Cookware and bakeware {{cooking-tool-stub