The reason why it's called funeral pie is because the funeral pie was baked traditionally and also served traditionally during the post funeral community meals that were hosted by Amish and also Old Order Mennonite communities in Pennsylvania.
The name funeral pie comes from practical reasons, which include pantry staples, no refrigeration needed and community tradition.
Neighbors brought the funeral pies to the home of the bereaved as a practical expression of care, although within the communities themselves, it was also more commonly called simply "raisin pie".
Also the dense, sweet raisin filling of funeral pie kept well for days without needing refrigeration.
And families could also bake the funeral pies ahead of time to feed large groups of mourners and visiting travelers who gathered after the funeral service.
The funeral pie is also made with dried raisins, (rosine in Pennsylvania German), sugar, and also spices.
And because raisins were shelf stable and also available year round, women also could bake the pie very quickly when a sudden death occurred without needing fresh fruit or a special trip to the store.
Funeral pie—also known as raisin pie or rosina pie (from the German word for raisin) is a traditional sweet pastry pie made by Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish, and Mennonite communities and detailed in historical archives like What's Cooking America.
What funeral pie is and it's ingredients are include:
Core Ingredients of funeral pie: It is a dense, double-crust or lattice-topped pie filled with raisins, water or milk, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and brightened with lemon juice and zest.
Some variations of funeral pie include a custard or sour cream base.
Practical Origin of funeral pie: Before modern refrigeration, fresh fruit was seasonal and difficult to preserve, but dried raisins were a shelf-stable pantry staple.