May 16, 2009

Recipe: Fresh Blueberry Pie

One of my favorite foods are fresh blueberries, although I love to eat them frozen in the summer time, but I also really enjoy fresh blueberries in PIE!

Joy of Cooking
Rombauer/Becker:

About Berry and Other Fruit Pies
If you dont find the fruit combination you are looking for in our fruit pie recipes, perhaps you would like to experiment with fillings for yourself. A 9-inch fruit or berry pie needs about 4 cups of fresh fruit or 3 cups of cooked fruit. Each fruit will require its own quota of sweetening, depending on acidity and your personal taste. Four cups of gooseberries, for example, need about 1 3/4 cups of sugar, while the same amount of blueberries may need no more than 1/2 cup - plus lemon juice to heighten the flavor.
As to thickening for pie fruit: technically, each batch would require a different amount of thickener, depending on the variety of fruit, degree of ripeness, etc. For practical purposes, an often suggested formula for 4 cups of fruit is:

1/4 cup all purpose flour

However, acid fruits should be thickened with tapioca, cornstarch or arrowroot starch because the acidity of the fruit may neutralize the thickening power of the flour. So for 4 cups of fruit, mix:

2 2/3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2/3 to 1 cup sugar

or mix:

2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot starch with:

1/4 cup water or fruit juice, until very smooth then blend with:

2/3 to 1 cup sugar

Whether you use tapioca or cornstarch, let the mixture stand for 15 minutes after blending it gently into the fresh fruit. Correct the sweetening, then proceed as directed in Berry Pies, below.

Some suggested proportions are:
1/2 apple and 1/2 pear
1/2 apple and 1/2 green tomato
1/2 rhubarb and 1/2 strawberry
1/3 gooseberry and 2/3 strawberry
1/2 cherry and 1/2 rhubarb
1/3 cranberry and 2/3 apple
1/2 mincemeat, 1/4 applesauce and 1/4 crushed pineapple
1/2 fresh strawberries and 1/2 bananas
2/3 raspberries and 1/3 currants
Fruit pies freeze well, but do not freeze those with a custard base.

Berry Pie with Fresh Fruit - A 9 -inch Double-Crust Pie

Please read About Berry Pies, above. Use:
Gooseberry, currant, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, huckleberry or loganberry

Line a pie pan with:
A pie dough

Prepare by picking over and hulling:
4 cups of fresh berries

Combine:
2/3 to 1 cup or more sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
(1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)

If the fruit is juicy, add:
(2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca)
Sprinkle these ingredients over the berries and stir gently until well blended. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450˚.
Turn the fruit into the pie shell. Dot with

1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Cover the pie with a well-pricked top or with a lattice. Bake the pie in a 450˚ oven 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350˚ and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

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