In the hamlet of Knowlesville, N.Y. – just outside the village of Albion in Orleans County – is a pie pan that was once the home of the world’s largest apple pie.
Orleans County previously boasted being the home of the world’s largest apple pie when the record was first set with a 6,000 pound sweet treat in 1928. However, the world of competitive large pie-baking waits for no one, and that record was swiftly broken by other colossal crumbly delights (it’s unclear whether all were apple).Â
Orleans County locals set out to reclaim their title in the 1970s. The first attempt to do so, on August 2, 1977 at the Orleans County Fairgrounds, ended in disaster when the tin that held the 17,985lbs. pie broke mid-bake and the half-baked pie covered the fairgrounds’ parking lot.
Undeterred, local pie-enthusiasts made another attempt to bake their name in history the following year. After 5 hours and 58 minutes of baking, Orleans County’s apple pie glory was finally restored with a 21,210 pounds pie filled with around 300 bushels of apples, as well as 3,500 pounds of sugar, 76 pounds of salt, 600 pounds of apple juice and water, 1,144 pounds of spices and stabilizer, and 600 pounds of French pastry crust.
Unfortunately, that record was broken in the 1980s by a group from England, and is now held by the town of Wenatchee, WA, whose 40,000lbs. effort baked in 1997 still holds the title.Â
But Orleans County was the only record-setter to preserve the tin in which their pie was baked, and that tin is still proudly displayed. The pan received a new paint job and updated signage in 2022 as part of the 75th Orleans County Fair. Today, you can view the pan along with a sign of the pie’s recipe with the tin’s dimensions next to the Lartz Commercial Exhibit Building. With a diameter of over 16 feet, the pan is the world’s largest apple pie tin – try bringing that to Thanksgiving!
