Tuesday, 20 July 2010

• Recipe: The World's Best Blueberry Pie?

                                         
  
  Summer is in full swing and with blueberries in season I decided to make fresh blueberry pie from scratch. I trolled the internet for recipes, but the one that caught my eye was "How To Make The World's Best Blueberry Pie!" The website looked very homemade, and offers different versions of the recipe, including graham cracker vs regular pie crust, or lattice vs crumble topping. The site also had links to finding local farms, fruit picking tips, canning directions, and you can even write your input on changing the recipes offered. What sealed the deal for me were all the reader comments raving on how great this pie was, and how easy it was to make! So I decided to put this recipe to the test and see if it actually stood up to its name! 

   

   

  This recipe is copied from the website...

  Ingredients and Equipment
  

  • 3 to 4 cups of Blueberries - fresh or frozen (without syrup) (3 cups if you like a thin pie, 4 cups if you like it a little higher!)
  • 7 Tablespoons corn starch (for those of you in the British Isles, you know it as "corn flour").  You may also use an equivalent amount of flaked tapioca instead - the tapioca balls don't dissolve well.
  • 3 Tablespoons water (or grape juice)
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • One 9 inch pie crust (see this page for the world's easiest flour pie crust recipe and directions!) OR.. if you are like me, you'll DEFINITELY prefer agraham cracker pie crust (again, in England, this would be made from "Digestive" biscuits!) - if you haven't tried the graham cracker crust - I highly recommend it. 
  • Spices: 
    1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
    1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • One 9 inch deep-dish Pie Plate - (grocery stores sell both disposable pie pans and glass pans. Get the deep type!

  • Sweetener:
    • 2/3 cup granulated (ordinary table) Sugar 
      OR
    • 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup Splenda (Splenda works in pie recipes, but not by itself.  The pie turns out heavy and with much less flavor).

  And now, choose the topping you prefer:

  • Crumb topping (my preference, again):
    • 1/4 cup sugar (OR 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup Splenda)
    • 1/2 cup flour
    • 1/4 cup butter or margarine

  • Dough topping:
    See the pie crust recipe and double it to make extra to roll out as a topping to cover the pie.

  Step 1  - Make the pie crust

  Never made a crust, either?  Fear  not, they are really simple.  Click here for instructions about making a flour pie crust. It will open in a new window, so just close the new window to return here. I prefer blueberry pie in a graham cracker crust; click on the link for directions. .Now is also a good time to get the oven preheating to 375 F.

  Step 2- Wash the blueberries

  
  Just rinse them in a colander or sieve in cold water, no soap.

  Pick out and remove any bits of stems, leaves and soft or mushy berries. It is easiest to do this in a large bowl of water and gently run your hands through the berries as they float.  With your fingers slightly apart, you will easily feel any soft or mushy berries get caught in your fingers.

  Step 3 - Mix the dry filling ingredients.

  

  
  Combine the 2/3 cup sugar (or sugar/Splenda blend), 7 Tablespoons of corn starch in a bowl  and mix well!  Some people like 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and/or 1/4 teaspoon of allspice, mixed in, also. That's optional, but it is nice!

   

  Step 4  - Mix in the liquids

  
  Add the 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice, and 3 Tablespoons of water (or grape juice) and stir it up. If you use Splenda, it will be pretty gloppy, rather than drier crumbs, but it still works the same!

  Step 5 - Add the blueberries to the pie crust

  
  Add the blueberries to the pie crust.  Just pour them in!  There's lots of air space and it will cook down, so don't worry if they mound up about an inch (2.5 cm) above the edge of the plate.

  Step 6 - Pour the liquid mix into the pie

  
  Just pour the mixture of sugar, juice, etc. into the pie all over the blueberries. If it is a gloppy liquid, don’t worry, just pour it somewhat evenly over the top. But it doesn’t take perfection; it will smooth itself out in the oven. 
  
  Step 7 - Make and add your topping

  

  
  If you want the crumb topping, just mix

   - 1/4 cup sugar (OR 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup Splenda)

  - 1/2 cup flour

   - 1/4 cup butter or margarine

   together in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the pie.

  If you want to the dough topping instead, roll out a circular section of dough that you made in step 1, to 1/8 inch thick, then place it over the pie.  Seal it against the edges with the pie crust, and make decorative slits with a knife.

  Step 8 - Put the pie in the oven!

  
  Cook the pie at 375 F (or 190 Celsius) for 1 hour.

  Step 9 - Remove when the pie is golden and pie is bubbling

  Check to see if it is bubbling and crust is golden brown. If if not, check every 3 or 4 minutes until it is.

  Step 10 - Enjoy!

  Set the pie on a rack to cool and enjoy! Here is a slice of the finished pie! Serve warm with ice cream.  Refrigerate after it is cooled. It easily lasts a week in the fridge (that is, if there is no one there to eat it. Most of the time, people eat it all within a day!)

  Well the verdict is in... It was absolutely delicious! I used fresh blueberries (not frozen), and decided to try the graham cracker crust and the crumble topping. We ate it for breakfast and there was none left... It was not too sweet, but was sweet enough. Definitely recommended!.. as far as The World's Best Blueberry Pie title... it's definitely a contender, but I'll have to get back to you on that as I try other recipes.

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