Pi Day: How to Cut the Perfect Slice of Pie

In honor of Pi Day, the Pie Queen shares how to cut the perfect slice.

ByABC News
March 14, 2016, 5:46 AM
An undated stock photo of sliced pecan pie.
An undated stock photo of sliced pecan pie.
Getty Images

— -- In honor of Pi Day, the one day of the year that matches mathematical constant pi, the Pie Queen is teaching us how to cut the perfect slice of pie.

Lorin Cook, otherwise known as Marie Callender's Pie Queen, told ABC News she's "a busy mom, so for me the most important thing is having something that's convenient."

The mother of four breaks down how to get that perfect slice in four steps:

Step 1: Wait a Bit

"Your pie needs to be at room temperature [before you slice it,]" the New Jersey resident saidd. "A hot pie is not ideal. If you take the pie out and you don't let it cool completely that can be a pie disaster."

Step 2: Measure the Pi ... Oops, Pie

"You take pi, which is 3.14, and multiply it by your pie's diameter," Cook said, noting that most pies are 8 inches in diameter. "Then you divide the number by the number of slices that you'd like. A pie usually serves 8 people so the perfect slice of pie is conveniently 3.14."

Step 3: Use Butter

"Take some butter and rub it [on] your pie cutter. When you rub it on the sides of it, it slides right through [the pie], especially the cream pies."

Step 4: Take Out Dental Floss

After taking a "bendable measuring tape" to measure how wide to cut, Cook said she has one trick. "I take a piece of dental floss and I stretch it across the pie, which makes a perfect line of indentation. Then you're gonna cut from mark to mark. You come out with the perfect slice of pie."

Voilà!