This recipe was named the best from the state of Indiana, and this Hoosier isn't sure why?

Hoosier Cuisine

When it comes to Indiana, we aren't well known for our unique cuisine. The Hoosier State has its fair share of staples, who doesn't? But we don't have food that we're known for, in the way that Louisiana has Cajun food, or Illinois is home to the Chicago deep dish pizza, things like that.  So when I saw what was named one of the best recipes from the state of Indiana, I was a bit confused because this is something I've only heard of online, and never heard of by living here. I've never even had this supposedly "iconic" Indiana dish.

Named One of Indiana's Best Recipes

Taste of Home has gone through the archives and dubbed the best recipes from each state. For Indiana, the recipe that was highlighted was the sugar cream pie. It makes sense Taste of Home would choose the sugar cream pie to highlight the Hoosier state because it has been named Indiana's "un-official state pie"  but why?

Now obviously everything with food depends on preference and we all have our personal preferences, and that's fine, this has nothing to do with the taste of the pie and everything to do with the fact that I am a born and raised Hoosier and never once have I heard of sugar cream pie being an Indiana delicacy EXCEPT for online.

I've never gone to a cookout and been served sugar cream pie, I've never seen it on a menu at a restaurant, I've never even seen it at local bakeries.  Now is it possible that maybe I've never had it because it's a northern Indiana thing, and I'm from as far south as you can pretty much go in the state?  Possibly.  But it still doesn't explain why this pie is all over the internet as being "Indiana's unofficial state pie" but no one I know has ever made one.   I'm just confused.  I would have thought a giant breaded pork tenderloin was the quintessential food of Indiana if I was being honest because you see those everywhere!

What is Sugar Cream Pie?

Well according to Atlas Obscura, it's a pie that dates back to the year Indiana entered statehood.  The recipe involves easy-to-source ingredients like sugar, cream, and vanilla.

The earliest known recipe dates back to 1816, the same year Indiana became a state. But as with any recipe, families were making “desperation pie” long before it ended up in print. Many attribute its spread in popularity to the presence of Shaker (a small Christian sect from England) and Amish communities in Indiana during the 18th and 19th centuries. Thanks to the pie’s lack of seasonal ingredients, anyone could combine sugar, cream, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and flour throughout the year.

After doing more research on this (honestly delicious-sounding) pie, I see why Taste of Home dubbed it an "iconic" Indiana dish.  But my question is, why have I never heard of this type of pie until now?