Pies and soufflés: these are two dishes that can try even the most experienced cook. Berry pies can be especially challenging, since the high water content of cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries often leads to a big, leaky mess once you cut into your beautiful pie.
However, the badasses at Cooks Illustrated have come up with a happy, natural solution to making a berry pie with a filling that is firm and slices nicely. The answer definitely isnt more flour—while it will thicken the filling, it can also leave behind a dry, dusty aftertaste and a rubbery texture.
In order for the starch in your pie to set, whether you use flour, cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot, you need to let the pie cool completely before cutting it. If you slice it too soon, the starch won’t gel and it will be runny.
The Solution: Grate an Apple (& Use Tapioca Flour)
Many apples are naturally high in pectin, which is a substance that creates the gel-like quality in jams and makes them spreadable, too. Cooks Illustrated peeled and grated one Granny Smith apple (using the large hole side of a box grater), wrung out the grated apple in a kitchen dish towel to make sure there wasnt too much moisture, and added the still-raw apple to the traditional cooked blueberry pie filling before it was added to the crust.
To ensure the perfect, firm blueberry filling, they also added two tablespoons of ground-up tapioca. Tapioca flour has a milder taste than wheat flour or cornstarch and is a little more forgiving than other types of starch-based thickeners. You might want to avoid using regular cornstarch as a thickener period; the folks over at Chowhound say that it tends not to do well at certain temperatures and loses its thickening abilities.
While Cooks Illustrated used quick-cooking tapioca and ground it themselves, try going to an Asian or Brazilian market if you happen to have one near by. Almost all of them will carry tapioca flour or starch (theyre basically the same thing), and you wont have to do any grinding yourself. The results will be picture-perfect.
Especially Good with Frozen Fruit
If youre cooking a berry pie out of season and have to use frozen fruit, using a grated apple and tapioca starch will come in handy, since thawed berries tend to be extra-watery.
I also think this trick would work with just about any kind of berry pie, although Id be careful about pairing different kinds of apples with specific berries. Strawberries, which are more delicate in flavor, might require a more delicate-tasting apple, like a Gala or Pink Lady. A robust, tart apple like the Pink Lady would also work with the strong flavors of blackberry, while you might want to use a Golden Delicious with a cherry pie so as not to overwhelm the taste of the berry itself.
Why is my pie filling runny?
FAQ
How do you keep fruit pies from being runny?
What is the best thickener for peach pie?
What to do if pie filling is too runny?
How do you firm up a fruit pie?
Why is my pie filling runny?
The second mistake is not giving your pie enough time in the oven to properly boil. When the pie filling bubbles, this is what activates the natural gelatin in fruits and thickeners. If your pie doesn’t reach the bubbling point, the thickener will likely not work, so the filling will stay runny.
Can you lose weight eating peaches?
Peaches by themselves won’t cause you to lose weight, so no, you can’t lose weight by eating peaches. However, peaches are a healthy addition to any diet, and I would recommend them to anyone, unless they’re allergic to them. Not to contradict my previous statement, but peaches could help you lose weight if you replace higher calorie sugary sweets with a peach. Instead of eating a cookie or piece of pie, if you replaced that with a peach, or any piece of fruit, that could help you lower your total caloric intake and lose some weight. Remember, weight loss is impacted by total calories consumed and total calories burned, so the only way to lose weight is to either eat fewer calories or burn more calories. It can be more complex than that, but those are the basics.
What if my pie is still runny?
But if you bake your pie and it’s STILL runny try letting it cool down (if you haven’t yet) and it will likely thicken as it cools, put it back in the oven again to activate the thickener or drain off some of the liquid off and then put it back in the oven.
What is a peach pie?
Peach pie is a summertime favorite, packed with sweet, fresh peaches and wrapped in a delicious, flaky crust. Get ready for a peach flavor explosion in every bite! Pin This Recipe For Later! Fresh peaches are one of my favorite summer fruits to eat and bake with.