Runny fruit pies =(

[ducks4you]

I make GREAT pies but it's hit and miss whether they jell right or are runny. I recently watched an episode of "America's Test Kitchen," and they made a pie using both corn starch and pectin. The cooks took some of the fruit after draining and mashed it, then took 1/2 cup of juice from the fruit and cooked it with pectin (sugar and salt).
Has anyboy else done this? I'm kinda tired of runny cherry pies. (They go fast, just run, and a sprinter.)

 

[Jared77]

Hello that's why you serve them with a heaping scoop of homemade vanilla. Believe me nobody will notice.

It's the "shock & awe" technique

Seriously though I got nothing. Sorry I'm not more help

 

[baymule]

Just get a bowl. Seriously, cherry pie is my absolute favorite and all I get is frozen pie from the store. Down here if it is home made cherry pie, the filling came out of a can. Fresh cherry pie? Runny? I wouldn't care one whit about that! A bowl, ice cream and a spoon would be all I'd need.......well, maybe the rest of the pie!

 

[Smart Red]

I am a CRUST man myself! If the crust is good, the rest of the pie is pure gravy . . . er, um, pure deliciousness. Luck for me, Gypsy is getting pretty good with the crust!

I like American's Test Kitchen for all the handy tricks they come up with. That cooking juice with pectin makes sense. The pectin will continue to set as the pie cooks. I have used arrowroot (or) cornstarch in much the same way -- cook it up separately with some juice, return it to the filling and bake.

 

[journey11]

Sometimes if I'm worried that it is too juicy and won't set, I cook the filling separately on the stove top so that I can add more thickener if needed. Then I put it in the pie and bake.

But they still taste good, runny or not. DH will eat them anyway.

 

[britesea]

Most of the time if I have a runny pie, it's because I was unwilling to let it cool long enough...

 

[so lucky]

I use flour rather than cornstarch for cherry pie. You do have to cook it a while. And, it makes the juice rather opaque, rather than clear, but that's fine with me.

 

[greengenes]

When you can fruit for pies, they suggest a product called clearjel.
I belive it is a type of corn starch. I have not found it around here yet, but all of the canning threads swear by it.

 

[britesea]

I found clearjel at our local Cash & Carry- a restaurant supply. I've also found it at our local extension office.
There's two kinds of clearjel- the type that requires cooking, which is best for canning, and an instant type which is perfect for making instant pudding mixes instead of the cooked type. The instant type is harder to find- I had to go online for it.

 

[greengenes]

Hey! Thanks!