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There is exactly one day a year where mathematicians and pastry chefs completely agree on how to celebrate.

This Saturday, March 14, is National Pi Day (3.14).

Whether you are a geometry nerd or just someone who will use any excuse to eat a slice of cherry pie for breakfast, today is your day. The beauty of Pi Day is that it brings everyone to the table. You don't need to know how to calculate the volume of a cylinder to know that a buttery, flaky crust is the best thing to come out of an oven.

Here is how to honor the infinite number with an incredibly finite dessert.

Why We Celebrate: The Infinite Ratio

Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. In math class, you probably learned the formula for the area of a circle:

But in the kitchen, Pi Day is an excuse to celebrate circles in all their delicious, edible forms—fruit pies, pizza pies, and quiches.

The Big Why: We celebrate because baking is fundamentally just delicious chemistry and math. Following a recipe is an exact science; eating it is an art.

3 Ways to Make Today Memorable (and Delicious)

1. The "Soggy Bottom" Solution (The Dish)

If you are putting in the effort to make a pie, do not bake it in a flimsy disposable tin that won't cook the bottom crust evenly.

• The Move: The French standard.

• The Amazon Find: Emile Henry 9-Inch Pie Dish.

• Why we love it: Made in France from high-fired burgundy clay, this pie dish distributes heat slowly and evenly. That means the center of your apple pie won't be raw while the edges burn. Its elegant, ruffled edges naturally crimp your dough, making even a store-bought crust look like it came from a professional bakery.

• Shop the Emile Henry Pie Dish on Amazon

2. The "Savory" Loophole (The Pizza Stone)

Not everyone likes sweets. But a pizza is a pie, and therefore, legally qualifies for Pi Day.

• The Move: The Pizzeria Crust.

• The Amazon Find: Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan (14-Inch)

• Why we love it: Ceramic pizza stones crack easily and are hard to clean. Cast iron is indestructible. You preheat this heavy pan in your oven at 500°F, slide your pizza onto it, and the crust immediately blisters and crisps up just like it would in a brick oven. It works brilliantly on a grill, too.

• Get the Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan on Amazon 

3. The "Nerd" Flex (The Gadget)

You can't celebrate a math holiday without leaning into the aesthetic.

• The Move: The Geometric Garnish.

• The Amazon Find: Ann Clark Pi Symbol Cookie Cutter.

• Why we love it: Roll out your leftover pie dough, stamp out a few $\pi$ symbols, brush them with egg wash, and bake them to place on top of your finished pie. It is a brilliant, low-effort way to make your dessert explicitly on-theme for the holiday. (You can also use it to cut out cheese for your pizza!)

• Shop the Pi Symbol Cookie Cutter on Amazon

The "Zero Dollar" Hack: The "Pilish" Memory Trick

Want to impress your friends by memorizing the first digits of Pi (3.1415926) without actually studying numbers?

• The Trick: Speak in "Pilish."

• The Method: Memorize this exact sentence: "How I wish I could calculate pi."

• The Science: Count the letters in each word.

  • How = 3

  • I = 1

  • wish = 4

  • I = 1

  • could = 5

  • calculate = 9

  • pi = 2

• The Result: You just recited $\pi$ to seven digits just by remembering a single sentence.

Join the Conversation

We need to settle a very important household debate.

Fruit Pie or Chocolate/Cream Pie?

(Are we talking warm blueberry with ice cream, or a cold French Silk?)

Defend your favorite slice in the comments on Instagram or TikTok and tag us @OnManyOccasions!