Japanese pie

I haven’t been this confused about food in a long time.

I don’t experience culture shock about Japan often these days. Certainly moving to Tokyo came with many shocks to my system but, these were primarily about metropolis life and less about Japanese culture.

During a visit from some relatives, we received a souvenir. ‘Shonan cheese pie’ is the name. Quite tasty! It matches well with some coffee. It is a baked stick-shaped crunchy confectionery covered in powered sugar. It tastes like the flaky crunchy crust of a pie - in stick form.

I asked my wife ‘why do they call this pie?’ Her response was along the lines of ‘because it’s pie!’

I realized my pie and her pie are not the same.

To me (and to the English definition) pie is:

1. Baked

2. Usually flaky or crunchy crust

3. Filled with a sweet or savory filling

That third point is important! The whole point of a pie is the filling. A pie without filling is like a hamburger without meat.

Needless to say, I am still confused on what is a ‘pie’ in Japan but, after living here for so long I’ve learn not to worry about such things.

What is pie to? Do you think filling is necessary?