[1] Because of improvements in oven reliability and consistency, homemade and increasingly complex cakes had been overtaking pie as a popular American dessert, which inspired Strause to his experimentations.
[1] He considered pie to be the "Great American Dessert," superior to most other foods.
[2] Strause's technique was more scientific in nature; he called his recipes "formulas."
His focus on quality combined with secrecy and showmanship allowed him, according to The Globe & Mail, to earn "a bank president’s salary out of pie.
[3] Strause and his wife Violet Marian had a daughter, born May 21, 1938,[4] and a son.