I like my pies cold with real whipping cream.....esp. apple. Not crazy
about berry pies other than cherry. Love rhubarb pie but sweet!

Alex Rast wrote:
> at Tue, 27 Jul 2004 20:59:23 GMT in >,
> (zxcvbob) wrote :
>
>
>>Alex Rast wrote:
>>
>>>at Tue, 27 Jul 2004 03:46:10 GMT in <raneemdonot-9EC3CC.20461026072004
>, (Ranee Mueller)
>>>wrote :
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>In article >,
(Alex Rast) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>It's interesting, seeing the responses, that it would seem berry pies
>>>>>tend not to be peoples' favourites. Any reason for this people care
>>>>>to elaborate on (besides the old "de gustibus non est disputandum"
>>>>>argument?)
>>>>
>>>> I love the taste of fresh berries... but I tend
>>>>not to think about berry pies...
>>>
>>>Is there something specific about baked berry pies that turns you off
>>>them?...
>>>
>>
>>I've eaten some really awful berry pies that were like sweetened
>>wallpaper paste. The berries were only there to provide color and
>>seeds.
>
>
> I do think that one problem, and this may turn a lot of people off berry
> pies altogether, is that far too often, *commercial* berry pies are
> ghastly. Typically they have cardboardy Crisco crusts, and far too often,
> the filling is atrocious, generally far, far too much sugar for any sane
> individual, and many fillers, thickeners, etc. so that the filling ends up
> with a slimy, sticky texture a bit like seaweed and a sickly, cloying
> flavour. Of course you can see what the priorities are - save money no
> matter what - and this means using as few expensive berries as one can get
> by with.
>
> The other problem you often encounter, more common with homemade pies, is
> that people don't know how to manage the juice, leading to a filling that
> more or less flows out of the pie with loose berries everywhere. That's
> also somewhat unappealing.
>
>
>> But a well made blackberry pie is my favorite -- made with tart
>>juicy whole berries and only enough flour or tapioca to thicken the
>>juice so it doesn't all run out when you cut the pie. If no juice runs
>>out, you used too much flour or starch.
>
>
> The real trick with a blackberry pie is to use the right berries,
> specifically, the small, wild berries such as one finds in the Pacific NW,
> called "Pacific Blackberries". They're not the big "Himalayan" berries also
> ubiquitous to these parts - the Pacifics ripen earlier, on low-growing,
> matted bushes rather than big, caning bushes. These really are small, no
> bigger than a blueberry, with an intense, tart flavour, smaller seeds, and
> a considerably lower water content. That means the berries hold their shape
> in a pie and don't create an unmanageable juice mess. If you must add
> sugar, they'll take it better because they don't start out ultra-sweet when
> ripe. Unfortunately, most blackberry pies today are made with
> marionberries, which are far too large, soft, sweet, and watery to make a
> good pie. They basically dissolve into a slurry when baked.
>
>