The Air Nomads baked an array of colorful fruit pies, including a purple variant.
The fruit pie was one of the Air Nomads' most popular desserts. The monks sold them for one silver piece each and donated the profits to charity.[1] According to Monk Gyatso, the secret to the pie's taste was the gooey filling, and they came in four distinct colors: orange, purple, red, and yellow.[2]
History[]
After Aang learned about his destiny as the Avatar, he was saddened to find out that the other children did not want to play with him anymore. In an attempt to cheer up his pupil, Monk Gyatso invited Aang to "help" him with the four pies he had just baked. The two airbenders took a stance in front of the pies, created concentrated spheres of swirling air, and released them, sending the pies flying. The projectiles descended on the heads of the four other members of the Council of Elders, who were meditating. As soon as they hit the monks, several winged lemurs rushed in to feast on the desserts, making Aang and Gyatso laugh.[2]
After the end of the Hundred Year War, the fruit pies were among the recipes that Avatar Aang attempted to reconstruct in order to keep the Air Nomad cuisine alive. He also started to serve the red and purple pies regularly at the Southern Air Temple.[3]
Trivia[]
- The Air Nomads used airbending in the creation of the pies, adding a quick infusion of air into the filling to make it rise and create its distinctive spiral cone shape.[2] According to Aang, the trick to the texture is to airbend the egg whites until they form "fluffy peaks".[3]
- When asked by Professor Zei what the chief agricultural product of his people was, Aang confusedly asked whether or not fruit pies counted as an agricultural product.[4]
- When Aang found difficulty sleeping days before the invasion of the Fire Nation, Momo told him in his hallucination that he was "just a few plums short of a fruit pie."[5]
- Aang's favorite flavor was purple, while Monk Gyatso's was red.[3]
- When they first appeared in "The Southern Air Temple", Monk Gyatso referred to these pastries as "cakes",[2] with Aang later using the term "fruit pie" during his conversation with Zei in "The Library".[4]
- A real-world adaptation of this dish is shown in a recipe from Avatar: The Last Airbender Cookbook: Official Recipes from the Four Nations.[6]
References[]
- ↑ Avatar Extras for "The Southern Air Temple" on Nicktoons Network.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 DiMartino, Michael Dante (writer) & MacMullan, Lauren (director). (February 25, 2005). "The Southern Air Temple". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 3. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Avatar: The Last Airbender Cookbook: Official Recipes from the Four Nations, p. 17.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 O'Bryan, John (writer) & Volpe, Giancarlo (director). (July 14, 2006). "The Library". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 10. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ O'Bryan, John (writer) & Spaulding, Ethan (director). (November 16, 2007). "Nightmares and Daydreams". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 9. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender Cookbook: Official Recipes from the Four Nations.