primitive's blueberry pie runs away

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x50132

Oh my.

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Tue Nov-11-08 12:34 AM
Original message
 
blueberry pie help needed

Okay, so today I made a beautiful deep dish two-crust blueberry pie. Just one problem: the interior was runny. Way too runny. Here's what I used:

6 cups of frozen blueberries, thawed, and then tossed with cornstarch and sugar, vanilla and spices.

Baked until lovely brown.

This is the recipe posted at the blueberry farm site, where it said that frozen could be used interchangeably with fresh.

I realize that I could use a different method -- make a top-of-the-stove filling with cornstarch and then pour into the pie and bake.

Any other recommendations?

eridani  (1000+ posts)        Tue Nov-11-08 03:11 AM
Response to Original message
 
1. Cornstarch was the first thing I thought of

I dunno.  franksolich has corn starch in the cupboard.

The cat Harold has a peculiar reaction to fleas, and whenever it starts getting bad, franksolich sprinkles, and rubs in, corn starch on Harold, which solves the itching problem.

Other than that, franksolich has no idea what else one might use corn starch for.

Lurking_Argyle  (1000+ posts)      Tue Nov-11-08 07:58 AM
Response to Original message
 
2. Arrowroot is a good substitute for corn starch if you prefer a more natural/less processed option.

TreasonousBastard  (1000+ posts)      Tue Nov-11-08 07:59 AM
Response to Original message
 
3. I don't buy that frozen are interchangeable in pies...

I use frozen berries in muffins with great success, but every time I let the berries thaw they get mushy and I can't even use them on cereal, so I would be hesitant to use them in pies where they are free to run.

I suspect that there's a lot of cellular damage in most frozen berries, but some brands might have techniques to minimize that-- the guys selling blueberries leave it up to you to figure it out.

MagickMuffin  (1000+ posts)        Tue Nov-11-08 12:34 PM
Response to Original message
 
4. I only use frozen fruits for pies, blueberry, peach, dark cherries and I always cook them on the stove with cornstarch, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

This has always worked for me.

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Tue Nov-11-08 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #4
 
5. then do you put them in a cooked pie shell? or uncooked?

And now the warped primitive, whose advice is the only advice one needs to heed, because of all the primitives, only the warped primitive and Grandma with the diverted intestine know anything about cooking and baking:

Warpy  (1000+ posts)        Tue Nov-11-08 01:14 PM
Response to Reply #5
 
6. I'd be tempted to cook the pie shell but not brown it. You'd have to use one of those aluminum crust protector thingies to prevent the fluted edge from overbrowning.

Precooking the filling on top of the stove seems to be the solution, whether or not you precook the bottom crust. It would allow you to control the runniness of the filling by adding more cornstarch as needed.

(I say cornstarch because arrowroot doesn't reheat well and if you're like me, you like to zap a piece of that pie for 30 seconds or so to rewarm it)

But even though the warped primitive already has given the best possible solution to runaway blueberries, another primitive has to butt in, having the final word with essentially useless information:

supernova  (1000+ posts)        Tue Nov-11-08 03:03 PM
Response to Original message
 
7. I scored a Pie cookbook at the recycling center yesterday

When I looked at your thread, the first page I opened it to today is a recipe for blueberry pie. They do call for frozen berries.

They use both 1/1/2 Tbsp cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of quick cooking tapioca

Here are the directions:

Thaw berries until most of he free ice has disappeared. Drain off juice, measure and add water to make 1/2 C liquid; stir into mixture of sugar, tapioca and cornstarch into saucepan. Heat rapidly until thickeningis complete. Boiling is not necessary. Set aside to cool.

Add berries and lemon juice. to cooled, thickened juice. Pour filling into pastry-lined pie pan.

edited to clean up formatting; damn, I was lousy yesterday

[Wineslob]

Actually the last post is correct. What Warpy is trying to explain is blind baking(pre-baked crust), but dosen't know what to call it. Adding cornstarch after the fact won't work so well.

[franksolich]

Actually the last post is correct. What Warpy is trying to explain is blind baking(pre-baked crust), but dosen't know what to call it. Adding cornstarch after the fact won't work so well.

I dunno; I find no fault with the warped primitive's suggestions, either in this case or any other case.  The warped primitive knows her excresence.

The warped primitive and Grandma with the diverted intestine are a treasure trove of practical everyday fundamental information--as long as it doesn't involve politics or their judgement of humanity.

[debk]

Frozen fruit has more juice to it than fresh fruit do to the cellular breakdown occuring in freezing, causing more juice.

Add sugar and put the juice from the frozen fruit in a saucepan, bring to a boil, add cornstarch and lemon juice and cook for about 5 minutes or so until thickened, then add in the fruit. If berries or peaches are used, they will break down too much if added at the beginning.

It can then be poured into a crust and either lattice the top crust or use a full crust with slits or cutouts and bake.

I use frozen raspberries for a chambord sauce on cheesecake....I put the berries in with sugar at the beginning and at the end of cooking.....all is liquified.

Joy of Cooking is a wonderful book for "how to"......