Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> On Sat, 9 Sep 2006 14:48:58 -0700, kitamun >
> wrote:
>
>> I am baking a sweet potato pie right now. It contains more filling than
>> normal by about 50%. My normal baking time is one hour, but this "deep
>> dish" specimen is not properly set after one hour and the internal
>> temperature is 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
>>
>> My question to the group is what range of internal temperatures of a
>> sweet potato or pumpkin pie is correct?
>
> Internal temperature doesn't matter to a pie - it doesn't have a whole
> lot of germs in it...

It's an index of when things happen. When proteins denature,
when starches gelatinize, when potential egg-borne
salmonella is dead, etc...

But it isn't finally only about germs, it's about measuring
degree of doneness and thoroughness of culinary processes.
Commercial producers cook them to a uniform internal temp of
180F both to kill vegetative microcritters and to get a full
set of the eggs.

The tests below are folk techniques that happen when the
correct temperatures are reached. They work because the
internal temp is right.

> the best way to tell if it's cooked is to gently
> jiggle the oven rack and see if it moves... if it doesn't then stick a
> skewer in it and if the skewer comes out covered in goopy pie-stuff
> then it needs to cook some more!
>
> Deep-dish pies take a lot longer to bake than shallow ones because the
> heat has to penetrate through ALL the filling and set it all up
> nicely...

Several dimensional differences will materially affect
cooking times. Straight-sided pie or tart pans will take
longer than slope-sided pie plates. Deep-dish pies will take
longer, as you say, and it can be as much as twice the time
of a shallow plate. Different crusts will alter cooking time
- crumbs offer a bit of insulation compared to pie crust dough.

But "goopy pie-stuff..." <LOL> I just can't keep up when you
get all technical like that...

Pastorio