‘This Is Us’: What Is the Secret Ingredient in Rebecca Pearson’s Sugar Pie? Fans Weigh In
This Is Us shared one element that tied together four Thanksgivings in the newest episode of the NBC series titled “Taboo”; a Sugar Pie. Rebecca’s (Mandy Moore) mother, Janet (Elizabeth Perkins), passed down the original recipe from her clan. Currently, Rebecca’s daughter Kate (Chrissy Metz) has the instructions for the coveted family dessert. Fans debated the secret, special ingredient contained within the pie on social media and questioned the origins of this traditional dessert that makes it a Pearson family favorite.
What is a Sugar Pie?
According to the website What’s Cooking America? a Sugar Pie contains three basic kitchen ingredients that create a sweet, creamy pie held together with a pastry crust.
The origins of the pie date back to the early Amish and Shaker communities who made baked goods with the resources they had on hand at home. Also known as Hoosier Pie, the dessert was named Indiana’s State Pie in 2009.
The sweet dessert can subsequently be made with either a store-bought or homemade pie crust.
The method for making Sugar Pie is simple. Add pats of butter to the bottom of a pie crust. Then, mix brown sugar and flour together, adding cream to the sugar and flour mixture, breaking up clumps with fingers.
Pour into a pie shell and bake for about an hour until the crust is golden. Let cool before slicing.
Why is Sugar Pie so important to the Pearson family?
The recipe for Sugar Pie is one of the traditions Rebecca carried with her from her clan to the family she created with her husband Jack (Milo Ventimiglia).
Making a Thanksgiving Sugar Pie was a bonding experience for Rebecca and her mother, Janet (Elizabeth Perkins). Subsequently, there was one missing ingredient Janet would not reveal to her daughter when it came to making the dessert.
However, the pie symbolized two things to Rebecca. While putting it together was a bonding experience with her mother, at the same time, the dessert symbolized Janet’s difficult relationship with food, one she tried to instill in her daughter.
In later years, as Rebecca’s daughter Kate struggled with her weight, Rebecca was determined not to let history repeat itself when it came to how she handled her daughter’s relationship with food.
For the present-day Pearson clan, a Sugar Pie became a symbol of love and tradition that Kate was determined to continue as their family struggled with Rebecca’s ongoing Alzheimer’s battle.
Fans weigh on the secret ingredient in Rebecca Pearson’s Sugar Pie
This Is Us fans weighed in on the secret ingredient in Rebecca Pearson’s Sugar Pie, which Janet was reluctant to share with her daughter until she grew older.
During the last moments of the episode, the Pearson matriarch told daughter Kate the missing ingredient. As she wrote down the remainder of the recipe, Kate told her daughter Hayley she would someday share the complete dessert recipe with her.
“Love, I think it’s love,” wrote one viewer in the comments section of Instagram.
“Pretty sure it’s love. I never heard of this pie before, what’s in it?” questioned a second fan.
“I always say, my cooking was made with love. My husband appreciates it,” penned a third follower.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
