Historical information

Pies with top crusts need to be vented, to allow steam to escape. Funnel-style steam vents have been placed in the centre of fruit and meat pies during cooking since Victorian times.

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 centre of the pie, so that it did not sag in the middle, and are occasionally known as 'crust holders'. Older ovens had more problems with uniform heating, and the pie funnel prevented boil-over in pie cooking.

The traditional inverted funnels, with arches on the bottom for steam to enter, were followed by ceramic 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. 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.

Adapted from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_bird

Significance

This item shows how a simple object can provide a significant improvement of the final product.

Physical description

Pie Funnel, ceramic white glaze with scalloped edges.

Inscriptions & markings

None