![]() In fact, as you read through this post, you may find you disagree with some of my assessments. Great! If flour works for you, keep using it. Now, I can hear some of you saying, "But I always use flour to thicken my fruit pies. While it's probably the most ubiquitous ingredient in your kitchen, it doesn't produce the prettiest fruit filling. See how my lit flashlight is able to shine through the PFE fillings, while the cloudiness of the flour fillings dims the light? The bottom row, those same fillings thickened with Pie Filling Enhancer (a.k.a. The top row of photos shows blueberry and apple fillings thickened with flour. One thing I notice right off is the clarity of the filling juice. In my second round of tests, I use the information above to increase or reduce the amount of each thickener, in an attempt to produce a similar consistency in all the fillings. And at the end of the day, I'm able to examine over 2 dozen small mounds of thickened fruit, comparing and contrasting them for thickening ability, clarity, and flavor.Īnd here are the initial results. I add a few more tests along the way, and chuck a few obvious failures. Just two tins' worth provides all the data I need. Light dawns on Marblehead! Forty-five minutes in a 350☏ oven yields a good approximation of baked fruit pie filling: tender, bubbly fruit. What would be quicker and easier, yet still yield valid results? So, bake two dozen full-size pies? There has to be a more efficient way. You ask, why don't I take advantage of King Arthur's wonderful kitchen facility, with its multiple ovens, "instant" dishwashers, and every ingredient and tool one could possibly want?īecause I want to replicate, as closely as possible, the experience YOU have at home: limited counter space juggling batches of cooling cookies on and off a single cooling rack laboriously scraping burned pie filling off a baking sheet (a wonderful reason to use parchment, folks). ![]() I'm a member of the King Arthur test kitchen staff, but I bake at home, using my own kitchen and single (sometimes balky) oven. By my calculations, that would be 24 pies. Theoretically, the best way would be to bake a pie using each combination. What's the most efficient, most accurate way to gather data for analysis? Which is best? Let's put ’em to the test.įresh and frozen blueberries apples strawberries six thickeners. Pictured above are the six ingredients we use here in the King Arthur test kitchen to thicken fruit pies. Let's start with the thickeners themselves. You can come very, very close to guaranteeing good results – even if you can't QUITE get there. That said – there are certain things you can do to increase your chances of success considerably. Death and taxes are still life's only certainties.Īfter lots of experimenting with different fruits and thickeners, I've concluded there are just too many variables to guarantee perfectly thickened fruit pies EVERY time out. There's no surefire, works-every-time thickener for every fruit pie out there. How the heck do you ENSURE your fruit pie filling will be perfectly thickened every time – no lava flow, no slumping.
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