Blueberry Pie

[Chris Hennes]

Blueberries are now in season in Oklahoma, for sale by the gallon at the farmer's markets. To me, this can mean only one thing: blueberry pie. Got a favorite recipe? Dorie? Cook's Illustrated? Someone else?

[Peter the eater]

I don't make blueberry pie simply because other people make them so much better than I ever could. I like a thin flaky golden crust and an equally thin layer of berries, preferably fresh wild blueberries.

[Holly Moore]

I'm real short on details, but I remember my mom placing very thin slices of lemon on top (I think on top) of her blueberry pie. I'm assuming she removed the rind. I don't know if she marinated or did anything else with the lemon slices.

[jsmeeker]

Blueberries are now in season in Oklahoma, for sale by the gallon at the farmer's markets. To me, this can mean only one thing: blueberry pie. Got a favorite recipe? Dorie? Cook's Illustrated? Someone else?

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Sounds like you have a lot of berries to make multiple pies. Try the CI recipe. I generally have pretty good luck with their desserts.

[Emily_R]

My husband and I like a very full pie, and a pie that -- when cool -- can actually be cut without falling into a big pile of juice... Over many years of pie making (my husband and I pick and freeze about 100 pounds of blueberries a year, andl used to make a pie nearly every Sunday in the winter) we've found that the basic filling proportions we like are: enough blueberries to thoroughly fill a large pie shell (5-6 cups?), 2/3 cup sugar, 2.5 Tbs flour, and 2.5 Tbs cornstarch. We find that using both flour and cornstarch works much better than more of just one or the other... Bake the pie on the bottom rack of the oven to make sure that the bottom cooks thoroughly...

[pastrygirl]

A pinch of nutmeg is nice with blueberries.

[mgaretz]

I have made the Cook's Illustrated blueberry pie recipe three times (well not their crust, use a different recipe for that) and it has been wonderful.

This is the one that uses the granny smith apple and tapicoa as thickeners. I used tapioca flour from the Asian market and it works fine.

[Chris Hennes]

I haven't seen the one that uses apples: do you happen to know the year? I've got one here from August 1995 that uses tapioca, but is otherwise pretty conventional. But I don't usually trust their older recipes, so if there's a more recent one I'd love to take a look at it. Rose Levy Beranbaum has a good-looking open-faced blueberry pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible that I might have to try, too. I probably have enough berries for 3-4 pies.

[Lindacakes]

Use fresh squeezed lemon juice in the pie.

I use flour, which works just fine -- I don't use cornstarch in my fruit pies.

Less is more, particularly with a blueberry pie.

[mgaretz]

I haven't seen the one that uses apples: do you happen to know the year? I've got one here from August 1995 that uses tapioca, but is otherwise pretty conventional. But I don't usually trust their older recipes, so if there's a more recent one I'd love to take a look at it. Rose Levy Beranbaum has a good-looking open-faced blueberry pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible that I might have to try, too. I probably have enough berries for 3-4 pies.

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It was July/August 2008. It's not open face and not closed either - uses a top crust with round holes cut in it to give the effect of lattice without the work. (When I make cherry pie I make it open top but sprinkle the top with shredded coconut. It gets nicely toasted and I really like the combo.)

The first time I made it, I left the egg wash off the top crust. The second time I used the wash and it was much nicer that way. They also call for butter on top of the filling. Third time I made the pie I forgot to put it on - couldn't tell any difference. They also tell you to use a box grater on the apple - I used the chopping blade on the food processor - came out fine. I am wondering if apple sauce would also work?

[Marmish]

I like Snowangel's recipe, which is in RecipeGullet. It uses both cooked and fresh blueberries.

[weinoo]

Rose Levy Beranbaum has a good-looking open-faced blueberry pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible that I might have to try, too. I probably have enough berries for 3-4 pies.

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That would be a tart, no?

[Chris Hennes]

No, it's definitely a pie: I think of a tart as having only a single layer of blueberries, this one is an entire pie shell filled with them, as in a regular pie. It just doesn't have a top crust. I think I'm going to make that one and the two Cook's Illustrated recipes I have, for comparison purposes (a gallon is a lot of damned blueberries).

[Magictofu]

I have an easy no-recipe pie recipe (confusing?). I simply mix enough berries for a pie with a bit of sugar and about one spoonful of corn starch. Roll my pie crust and place all the berries in the center. I then fold the sides on top of the berries, leaving a good size opening in the center and bake until it looks good. I works most of the time but I must admit that sometimes I add too much sugar.

[Toliver]

I like Snowangel's recipe, which is in RecipeGullet.  It uses both cooked and fresh blueberries.

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On the PBS series "Everyday Baking" (from Martha Stewart's company), the host made a very simple blueberry tart (click here) that looked quite good and also used a mixture of cooked blueberries and fresh. I was thinking you could use the same filling for a pie but with this recipe you don't bake the tart (the crust is blind baked and some of the filling is cooked on the stovetop so it'd be different than a pie).

[Chris Hennes]

I have an easy no-recipe pie recipe (confusing?). I  simply mix enough berries for a pie with a bit of sugar and about one spoonful of corn starch. Roll my pie crust and place all the berries in the center. I then fold the sides on top of the berries, leaving a good size opening in the center and bake until it looks good. I works most of the time but I must admit that sometimes I add too much sugar.

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My issue with this is that I feel that nearly all blueberry pie recipes I have tried to date have been poor. I do not like the texture or flavor that results from overapplication of cornstarch. So my plan here is to try three recipes and do a head-to-head comparison of the results. I'm very hopeful about the latest Cook's Illustrated recipe, with the shredded apple in it. The idea of getting some additional pectin in there is a good one, I find it has a much better mouthfeel than cornstarch or flour.

[snowangel]

Chris, try my recipe (actually, from an ancestor).

It will make a convert of any person who thinks a blueberry pie needs to be baked.

I can only hope that the berries you have are half as succulent as those we swat (bugs), sweat (it's always hot), and swear (the kids want to pick a cup, eat them, and go back to the cabin) over.

This pie works well with raspberries, too, but if using raspberries, it is helpful to cook the cooked ones in water first and strain our the seeds, or make sure and add dental floss to the table.

[CanadianBakin']

My mom always made her blueberry pie with a pre-baked crust and the berries weren't cooked but were mixed in some kind of glaze...it's been a long time but I remember we loved it. I'll have to see if she still has the recipe.

[snowangel]

My mom always made her blueberry pie with a pre-baked crust and the berries weren't cooked but were mixed in some kind of glaze...it's been a long time but I remember we loved it. I'll have to see if she still has the recipe.

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I have a feeling it just might be a recipe very similar (if not identical) to the recipe I just linked to in RecipeGullet. THere's something about the pop of the fresh berries, all glued together with a blueberry glaze that is, well, oh me, oh my, just beyond belief.

[CaliPoutine]

I like Snowangel's recipe, which is in RecipeGullet.  It uses both cooked and fresh blueberries.

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On the PBS series "Everyday Baking" (from Martha Stewart's company), the host made a very simple blueberry tart (click here) that looked quite good and also used a mixture of cooked blueberries and fresh. I was thinking you could use the same filling for a pie but with this recipe you don't bake the tart (the crust is blind baked and some of the filling is cooked on the stovetop so it'd be different than a pie).

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Here it is. I made it last year. It was great!!

[Catherine Iino]

I second, or third, the recommendation for the fresh berry blueberry pie. I based my version on an old Joy of Cooking recipe, which leaves three cups of berries raw and purees one cup of berries into the binder. Particularly excellent with wild blueberries, of course. I also make raspberry and black raspberry and mixed berry pies this way. They're the best.

[Chris Hennes]

Today I made three blueberry pies:

• (RLB) Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Pie and Pastry Bible, "Open-Faced Fresh Blueberry Pie" (pp.107--108)
  
• (SF) Susan Fahning's Grandmother's recipe
  
• (CI) Cook's Illustrated, July/August 2008, "Best Blueberry Pie"
  

All of these pies pre-cook some of the blueberries before mixing in the rest. The first two are unbaked pies, so a portion of the berries remain uncooked. Here's the breakdown:

Berries

RLB uses four cups of berries: one cup is cooked for 2-3 minutes and the other three cups left raw. Similarly, SF uses four cups, but cooks two of them briefly. CI uses six cups, three of which are cooked separately for 8 minutes to reduce, then combined with the other three cups and baked for an hour.

Thickener

RLB uses two tablespoons of cornstarch, SF uses three tablespoons of cornstarch, and CI uses two tablespoons of instant tapioca (ground) and one Granny Smith apple, shredded.

Sugar

RLB uses 1/2 cup sugar to 4 cups berries, SF uses 3/4 cup sugar to four cups berries, and CI uses 3/4 cup sugar to six cups berries.

Lemon

RLB uses one teaspoon lemon juice, SF uses two tablespoons lemon juice, and CI uses two teaspoons juice and two teaspoons zest.

Other

All pies were made using the same crust (the Cook's Illustrated Vodka Crust): RLB and SF are one-crust pies, and CI is a two-crust pie. Each recipe calls for a pinch of salt. RLB has no butter in it, SF stirs one tablespoon into the warm blueberries, and CI scatters two tablespoons underneath the top crust. RLB adds 1/2 cup water to the cooking berries, SF adds 1/4 cup, and CI doesn't add any. The CI recipe results in a fairly traditional blueberry pie, whereas the other two are "open-faced" pies, with no top crust, and completely uncooked berries. CI takes the longest, with an hour of baking and four hours of cooling, with RLB the fastest, requiring a two hour room-temp rest, and SF falling somewhere between the two, but requiring refrigeration to set up properly (as far as I can tell). All pies require about the same amount of labor to make, though CI is slightly easier because you don't have to blind-bake the crust first.

Here are the pies:

Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Pie and Pastry Bible, "Open-Faced Fresh Blueberry Pie"

Susan Fahning's Grandmother's recipe

Cook's Illustrated, July/August 2008, "Best Blueberry Pie"

Comments

In terms of flavor, all of the pies were good, but Beranbaum's was head-and-shoulders above the others: it was absolutely, perfectly delicious. It is a different style of pie than is traditional, consisting primarily of uncooked berries held together by a minimal cooked sauce—it really showcased the fresh blueberry flavor. It also had the best texture and appearance of the three: it held together very well without being at all gloppy, despite the cornstarch. It had minimal "flow" and the open top looks great, in my opinion. As you can see from the above photos, the Cook's Illustrated slice is a disaster. The amount of thickener called for simply did not do the trick. It was a very good-tasting pie for a traditional fully-cooked, two crust pie, but I can't recommend making it as written, it is too loose. This is odd considering that they specifically tried to focus on that issue, but the amount of tapioca called for was nowhere near enough. Susan's recipe was also tasty, but too sweet for me (alas, I don't have much of a sweet tooth). It also had more of a traditional blueberry pie flavor than Beranbaum's did, due to the increased amount of cooked berries, effectively striking the middle ground between the fully cooked Cook's Illustrated recipe and the almost uncooked Beranbaum recipe. I also think it would look better if the cooked and uncooked berries were stirred together, rather than being layered. It's hard to really analyze though, since I think using fresh wild blueberries probably gives it a very different flavor profile: with farmed berries I think the lemon juice was a little too assertive.

[choux]

I made the CI blueberry pie today, using frozen blueberries from Costco. It sliced perfectly, no oozing at all. I have half left and the empty half is perfectly clean. I wonder what the difference was? The pie is totally awesome, Dad and brother were swooning.

[Chris Hennes]

I wonder if the problem was the tapioca. The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of instant, but what I have is regular pearl. It says you can substitute pearl by using 5 teaspoons, which I did, but maybe that explains the difference between our results. Did you use instant?

[nakji]

I also wonder if the frozen blueberries from Costco weren't a smaller berry - I know a lot of frozen berries are the smaller ones that look more like wild berries. I expect they produce a drier filling than the big ones you've used.