http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x68958Oh my.
Here the primitives go again, making life more difficult than it needs to be.
eleny (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 11:50 AM
Original message
Cherry Pie question
How do you thicken your cherry pies? I've found some recipes that call for tapioca. But in the comments section, some bakers noted how tapioca adds a flavor to the cherries that can detract.
Our seasonal green grocer sells small tubs of pitted sour cherries. So I'll get one and make as many pies as I can and freeze some. So I hope to get it right the first time.
P.S. Yesterday, I made a pineapple pie for the neighbor who likes those. The fluted edge came out decent since I found a video that showed how to do it. In the past I'd cut off the excess and then make an edge with fingers or a fork. But now I let the excess dough hang there until I make the fluting then I slice it off.
I made extra filling & dough, so I made a pineapple turnover for the new neighbors across the street. They were intrigued when they learned I was making a pie for Jess. So they get to try it out without it being a whole pie. Their favorite is cherry.
Grandma, who wants a chest freezer for Christmas, although it's doubtful her old skinflint tightwad husband Scrooge is going to get it for her:
hippywife (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 12:14 PM
Response to Original message
1. Not sure but the ATK method of adding grated green apple might work for cherries as it did blueberries. It does still use tapioca but a lesser amount. The idea is too cook half of the fruit to almost a jam consistency and then combine with the rest of the fresh fruit and add tapioca, sugar and a peeled grated green apple to use the pectin from it as the rest of your thickener.
Okay, franksolich needs some help here. What the Hades is the "ATK method"?
It gets rather irksome, the primitives writing in "code," as if it's cute or something.
eleny (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. well now, that's interesting
i never heard of using apple for thickening but it makes sense. i'm going to look into this.
The defrocked warped primitive:
Warpy (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 05:33 PM
Response to Reply #1
10. Don't forget to put the grated apple into a towel and wring the juice out first, or it'll offer a lot of water in addition to the pectin.
I saw that last Saturday, too, and it's an important step.
The sparkling husband primitive:
Stinky The Clown (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 12:22 PM
Response to Original message
2. I know bakiong (sic) is science and cooking is art, but ....... pie filling is in between
Hence, a typical Stinky recipe ...... ingredients with no precise measurements .....
Cherries, pitted, reserve the juice
Sugar. (I am sure Splenda can be used, too, but I'm not sure how.)
Water
Cornstarch <---- the thickener
Almond extract or kirschwassser or both (completely optional)
Cook the cherries and sugar. Some people make a simple syrup and cook that and then add the cherries. I see no need for the extra step. Add enough water to the cherries and sugar to get the volume you want.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the kirsch (or water or the juice from the cherries, cooled down) and add to the cherries and stir. Cook till thick.
You can add the almond extract wherever you wish, but I suggest doing it late in the process so oyu (sic) can check the flavor and add more if needed.
eleny (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 01:04 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. thanks...splenda has a baking product that's half sugar/half splenda. you use half the amount of sugar that any recipe calls for. i've used it in all the pies i've made and so far, so good. there seems to be more flavor of the fruit instead of sugar dominating. i thought that was odd since splenda is sweeter than sugar. but i'm happy about how it turns out.
supernova (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 01:13 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. Cornstarch is great for thickening fruit fillings. It completely disappears. You know you've done it right when all you see is clear juice with the consistency of hand lotion, more or less.
franksolich uses corn starch on the cats here; it dries them off, relieves itching, and is utterly harmless.
eleny (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 05:12 PM
Response to Reply #5
9. i just got some fresh the other day and used it for the pineapple pie
so cornstarch it is!
The wired gassy primitive, from the farmette up there in Wisconsin:
grasswire (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 01:16 PM
Response to Original message
6. fresh sour cherries are hard to find!
Lucky you. Are they frozen by chance? If so, I would let them thaw before baking in a pie.
When I was baking pies at the coffee house, I thickened the cherry filling on the stove, turned it into the shell, and baked it. That way you can control the thickening more easily than trying to let it happen inside the pie while it is baking.
I used a combination of flour and some cornstarch, and juice from the thawed cherries (I never was able to get fresh ones.) I don't like tapioca in pies. If you make the filling on the stove, you can always add a little slurry of some more cornstarch in a bit of water to thicken it more if necessary.
Be sure to finish off your thickened filling with a tsp of butter while it is still hot. That gives a lovely sheen to the filling.
The trick for you is going to be getting juice from the fresh cherries to cook on top of the stove. You could try the other way of mixing your sugar and 2-3T of flour-cornstarch mixture together and tossing the fresh fruit in it then dumping into the shell and dabbing with butter. That would take some experimentation for best results -- some cherries release more juice than others.
eleny (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 05:12 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. thanks!
i got an 8 lb tub of frozen, pitted montmorency pie cherries. they're from payton, utah so just one state away from here. the store is open until the first freeze. i'm not sure if they're fresh from this year. but the tubs of cherries seem to turn over pretty quick. i tasted one and it's firm.
i'll take pics. next thing to learn will be doing an easy type lattice top. but maybe not right now. i tried it for the first pineapple pie and i couldn't even cut the lines straight. and there was no peeling them off the waxed paper. seems like it's an art.
The Bayer aspirin primitive:
cbayer (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 07:22 PM
Response to Original message
12. I pit and sugar the cherries, then let them sit for a few hours.
They will release a lot of their juice, which then can be cooked down to a thick syrup (just the juice, not the cherries)!
I have also used cornstarch, but I was so happy with this method, that I have stuck with it.
I dunno. franksolich loves cherry pie; can't have enough of it.
When franksolich wants cherry pie, he goes to the grocery store and buys one; cheaper, cleaner, easier, and no mess to clean up.
