Pie-making may seem like an odd lens for scrutinizing 17th-century interactions between Indigenous People and European Colonizers, but careful analysis of cultural details—yes, even of pastry— can help historians squeeze surprising amounts of information out of scanty documents. Join Paula Marcoux to hear the stories of the first two colonial pastries—one French and one English—documented to have been baked here on the shores of what is now southeastern Massachusetts. In an examination of the pivotal yet under-studied events relevant to these pies, you’ll learn what is known of their bakers, the singular situations in which the baking occurred, the most probable types of ovens to have been used, and best of all, how the pies were likely to appear and taste.

Paula Marcoux is a Plymouth-based food historian with a background in archaeology, cooking, and living history. She is the author of Cooking with Fire and many magazine articles, most recently for Gastro Obscura.

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