Just the other day, I returned to my desk from a meeting to find several recipes and baking tips on my chair from Nana Sue, our office baker/den mother.
Being a novice, I'm open to all the tips and advice I can get.
Here are some highlights:
Tips for fruit pie filling:
- Use a variety of fruit. Some of the best pies use a mix, not just one fruit. Throwing an apple in with a peach pie gives a good variety of flavor and texture.
- Consider pectin. High-pectin fruits (apples, blackberries and quinces) thicken nicely on their own. Low-pectin fruits (blueberries, cherries, strawberries) need more thickener to avoid a runny pie. Combine high and low pectin fruits (ex. add an apple to a berry pie).
- Go easy on the sugar. If the fruit is sweet, limit the amount of sugar used, 1/2 cup or less is best.
- Add some spice. Enhance fruit flavors by adding nutmeg for berries, cinnamon for apples, cloves for peaches/apricots, ginger works in almost anything.
- Brighten it up. A little acidity brightens flavor. Add a quirt of lemon juice and zest or a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- Remember the butter. Dot the top of a fruit pie filling with butter to add richness, taste and texture.
Basic fruit pie recipe:
- 4-6 cups of chopped fruit
- 1-2 TB cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar (white or brown)
- lemon zest
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 to 2 tsp spices
- 1 TB unsalted butter
Share your best tips in the comments.
