Michigan Just Took Your Favorite Holiday Dessert And Ruined It

Not really sure how or why this started but I am NOT a fan of it.

Apparently this dessert staple has been a tradition in homes across Michigan and the rest of the Midwest for ages, but we definitely didn't do this in my house growing up. Did you?

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I was born and raised in West Michigan, but I had never heard about this particularly unique food combination until a fellow Michigan transplant introduced me to the recipe while we were both living out-of-state in Missouri:

Have you ever tried apple pie topped with cheddar cheese?!

While I'll admit eating a slice of apple pie topped with cheddar cheese wasn't the worst pie I'd ever had, it also wasn't the best. However, those who are big fans of the sweet and salty flavor combo will probably crave this dish.

And when you stop to think about it, what's more American than taking a slice of our nation's favorite dessert and adding cheese to it?

But, who did it first?

Atlas Obscura claims earliest recordings of putting cheese on pie dates back to the mid-1800s writing,

The poet Eugene Field (1850-1895) once wrote, “But I, when I undress me / Each night, upon my knees / Will ask the Lord to bless me / With apple pie and cheese.”

One theory also explains eating apple pie with cheese became popular in states with large dairy populations i.e. Michigan, Wisconsin, and the rest of the Midwestern farmlands, which makes sense.

There's also evidence suggesting cheese was the preferred pie topping before ice cream became à la Mode. Which household did you grow up in: cheese on pie or no cheese on pie?