Procedures for Pie fillings
Fruit Pies
There are three types of fruit pies: cooked juice, cooked juice and fruit, and home-style. The first two types have precooked fillings that use cornstarch as a thickening agent. Home-style pies are not precooked and use flour as a thickening agent.
Cooked Juice
A cooked-juice filling used fresh, canned, or frozen fruits that are soft and will lose shape and structure if overcooked.
- Drain juice well from fruit. If fresh fruits are used and there is not enough juice, use water in the same amount.
- Reserve a small amount of juice to dissolve the cornstarch. Use approximately 3 to 4 ounces of starch per quart of liquid.
- Bring sugar and remaining juice to a rolling boil.
- While the mixture is boiling, vigorously whisk in the dissolved cornstarch.
- Bring the mixture to a second boil, allowing it to thicken, the mixture should begin to lose its cloudiness and turn translucent; when this occurs, remove it from the heat.
- Gently fold in the fruit. Do not over mix at this point, or the heat from the filling will overcook the fruit.
- Let the filling cool, covered and unrefrigerated.
- Fill an unbaked pie shell to the rim of the pie tin, not the rim of the pie or the filling will bubble over during baking.
- A top crust, either full or lattice is almost always used for fruit fillings. Seal the crust with an egg wash. For a full crust, vent holes should be cut into the dough to allow excess steam from the filling to escape.
- Freeze or refrigerate the pie for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the pie from the freezer, and egg wash the top crust before baking. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
- Bake at 425F until golden brown.
Cooked Juice and Fruit
A cooked juice and fruit pie filling is used for firmer fruits such as fresh apples or canned cherries. Because part of the fruit is cooked, the fruit must be able to withstand the heat of the cooking process. This procedure can also be used for filling in which the final state of the fruit is not important. The filling is made using the same procedure as a cooked-juice filling; the difference is that in a cooked juice and fruit filling, approximately two thirds of the fruit is cooked.
- Dissolve starch in a small portion of the cold liquid, either juice or water, from the recipe.
- Reserve about one-third of the fruit.
- Bring the remaining two-thirds of the fruit, the granulated sugar, and any liquids to a boil.
- When the mixture reaches a boil, vigorously stir in the dissolved corn starch mixture.
- Bring the mixture to a second boil, allowing it to thicken and turn translucent.
- As soon as it is thickened, remove from heat and gently fold in the remaining fruit. Allow the filling to cook, covered and unrefrigerated.
- Fill, chill, and bakes as in a cooked-juice pie.
Home-style Pies
Home-style pies usually use firm, fresh fruit, such as apples, peaches, and blackberries. Other types of fruit may be used, although fresh fruit produces the best results. The fruit is dredged in sugar, spices, and flour. The amount for the coating is not specified; feel, taste, sight, and experience determine the amount used. The general procedure for home-style pie is
- Peel, core, and prepare fruit.
- Cut large fruit into large slices. Leave small fruits whole.
- Dredge the fruit in sugar (the sugar will create a syrup that will allow the mixture to absorb the flour), then spices, and finally the flour.
- Fill, chill, and bakes as before.
Cream Pies
Cream-pie fillings use some of the same ingredients and the same basic procedure as that of pastry cream, although there can sometimes be minor variations. Cream fillings are thick, smooth, and thickened with cornstarch; gelatin is sometimes added to ensure that the pie cuts cleanly.
There are some innate problems with cream pies:
- Cream fillings can be inconsistent; they can become lumpy because of improper dissolution of the starch. The starch should always be mixed with a small portion of the sugar and then whisked together with a small amount of the liquid (usually milk) to make a slurry. This will ride the filling of lumps caused from starch.
- Undercooked cream fillings have a starchy taste; the starch must be cooked long enough to become translucent (1 to 3 minutes) to ensure that the filling will not retain a starchy taste and mouth feel.
- If not cooked properly, the eggs will curdle. The eggs should be whisked and then added to the slurry mixture so the eggs can be more readily absorbed y the starch, which helps protect them from overcooking, The egg mixture should be tempered by whisking a small stream of the hot liquid into them to avoid cooking the eggs.
- Overcooking and not properly whisking the filling while it is thickening will cause the filling to burn around the sides of the pan and cerate a scorched flavor that can sometimes penetrate the entire filling.
Prebaked pie shells should always be used for cream pies.
Prebaked pie shells should not be refrigerated because the humidity in the refrigerator will cause them to become soggy. When they are cold and a hot filling is added, condensation forms. Pie shells are best if filled when they are hot to help form a bond between the filling and the crust, and to five the pie a longer shelf life.
The filling should also be hot when put into the crust to bond the filling and the crust and to ensure maximum fluidity of the filling; if the filling is allowed to set, it will not pour easily into the shell and will create a lumpy, uneven appearance. As soon as the cream filling has been added to the pie shell, the pie should be covered with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the filling. The pies should be allowed to come to room temperature before refrigeration to prevent a crack or tear on the surface.
Chiffon Pies
Chiffon pies are light, airy pies as a result of the chiffon, which is folded into the filling at the end of the makeup procedure. They are most often fruit based, and use a cooked-fruit or cooked-fruit-and-juice method of procedure that is sometimes combines with the method of procedure for pastry cream. Other pies, such as pumpkin or cream pies, can be made with a chiffon added as well. Chiffon pies are usually thickened with a combination of cornstarch and gelatin. Chiffon pies are placed in a prebaked shell that has been allowed to cool.
The general procedure for making chiffon pies is:
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water. Powdered gelatin or gelatin sheets may be used. When using gelatin sheets, soak them in cold water. Set aside.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in a small portion of the cold liquid
- Place the sugar, flavorings, salt. Liquid, and two thirds of the fruit in a pan and bring to a boil.
- Add the dissolved cornstarch, and stir until the mixture has thickened and become translucent.
- Remove the filling from the heat, and add the bloomed gelatin.
- Fold in the remaining fruit. Set the filling aside, covered and unrefrigerated
- Whip egg whites and granulated sugar to a medium peak, and fold into the mixture. Some mixtures, such as strawberry chiffon, need a fairly cool filling to add the chiffon. Others, such as lemon chiffon, should be hot when the chiffon is added, or they will get lumpy.
- Place the mixture into a prebaked pie shell, let cool and set, and garnish as desired
Specialty pies
Specialty pies are usually made of ice-cream or cream-cheese mixtures; they usually have cookie or cracker crusts that have been sweetened with sugar and spices and have just enough melted butter added to them to allow them to stick together. There is no set method of procedure for specialty pies because there are so many different varieties.
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This is a great tutorial! An excellent resource for me during my next pie-making expedition.