Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze

 

Photo by Retiring Guy

Growing up in Warren Pennsylvania, I occasionally heard adult members of St. Paul's Lutheran use this expression at church socials.  

Since then I sometimes share it with friends in other parts of the country.  To a person, they look at me like I'm from Mars.  (Not Mars PA.)

The origin of the phrase is unknown, but Atlas Obscura offers a hint:

The tradition has silently polarized the nation, with some, like author John T. Edge, confessing, “at lunch or dinner I thought a wedge of pie was naked if it wasn’t crowned with a preternaturally orange slice of cheddar.” The poet Eugene Field (1850-1895) once wrote, “But I, when I undress me / Each night, upon my knees / Will ask the Lord to bless me / With apple pie and cheese.” There is even a saying, popular in many circles: “An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze.”

 

I prefer a slice of apple pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of caramel sauce.