Pooflapoo Pie

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Edith from Los Angeles.

Hi, Edith.

Hi, Edith. Welcome to the program.

Thank you.

My question is another food question for you guys.

Yay!

Yummy.

Yeah, and this is about an ambrosia that my grandmother used to make decades ago, 50 years ago.

I hate to use the word white trash, but that’s kind of what it is.

It’s a pistachio pudding, cool whip, pineapple, walnuts, and I think I might have said marshmallow bits, but all of that mixed together.

Oh, my heavens.

You know, it’s not classy, but it’s tasty.

And the name that we had for it in our family, this is my question, is Pooflopoo Pie.

Say that again.

One more time?

Right, right.

Poof-la-poo pie.

So you would spell it P-O-O-F-L-A-P-O-O pie.

Okay.

And I’ve never heard it called that.

I’ve heard it called other things.

This is what I’m wondering about.

I’m wondering if this is only within our family, because the story is that it was, you know, and my grandmother had seven children.

And the youngest of the children had, I guess, just seen a play and heard that word.

And then named this dessert, whatever they called it, he coined it Poo-Foo-Poo Pie, and it stuck.

It’s something that’s been in our family.

You’d only really eat at a family reunion, if ever.

You wouldn’t bring it to somebody’s house and say, hey, I brought you some Poo-Fla-Poo?

No, no, no, no, no.

Unless they really loved you and knew you very well.

But I know this dish.

You said something about white trash.

Believe me, there were seven or eight dishes of this stuff at my family unions.

Really?

Yeah, and they called it a Watergate salad usually, although I have heard it called ambrosia, as you called it, but exactly the same stuff.

Fruit, usually pineapples.

Pineapples?

Sometimes the pistachio pudding is left up because that adds to the bill.

But a little Cool Whip, walnuts, pineapple, marshmallows.

I actually don’t care for it at all, but there were always big bowls of this stuff.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

You could eat mountains of it and then not really feel very full, just a little gross.

So your question is, is this a family word, or do other people call it this?

Yeah, yeah.

And it’s beginning to seem like it’s just a family word, but I don’t know.

It might be, but you know what it made me think of when you first said it?

Say the word again, please.

Poo-f-la-poo, pie.

There is a dessert called ful, which is made of a pureed fruit mix with cream or custard.

And so the ingredients are kind of similar to what you’re talking about.

And the ful or the fool is in there as well.

And I wonder if it’s just a corruption.

If the relative who coined the word actually heard somebody calling it pudding ful pie or pistachio pudding ful pie and then just came up with a shorter version.

I’m wondering.

I’m just speculating there.

I think they probably just ate a whole bunch of it, leaned back, put their hands on their tummy and said, poof, la boo.

You know, both of those sound good.

It’s one of those stories where you really have no idea because it’s been so long and no one really knows.

And it’s a little kid who used the word.

So I’m kind of glad to know that it might be a unique phrase.

A lot of times you guys don’t get those.

You usually get an answer.

Right.

It might be something you want to keep in your family.

I don’t know.

I know.

Languages, families do tend to have their own words and their own language, and it’s always one of the bonding things between family members.

Oh, yeah.

Well, you know, I’m really happy to have gotten an answer.

Thank you so much for calling, Edith.

It was fun to talk to you, and I’m going to see if I can get my wife to make this and see if I still dislike it.

Why don’t you make it?

All right.

Well, great. Thank you, guys.

Okay, bye-bye.

Okay, bye.

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