"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Paul M. Cook" > wrote
>
> > "Nancy Young" > wrote
>
> >> I noticed there was a thread about putting vinegar in pie crust.
> >>
> >> The latest Cook's Illustrated addresses that practice. In a
> >> nutshell:
> >>
> >> Apparently if you put enough water* into the dough to roll it
> >> out easily, it baked up tough, too much gluten was forming.
> >> They needed a way to tenderize the finished crust without
> >> reducing the amount of water.
> >>
> >> *8 tablespoons
> >>
> >> The article said the many recipes say that a teaspoon of
> >> vinegar or lemon juice (in other words, acid) can tenderize
> >> the dough, claiming the gluten formation is inhibited at lower
> >> pH values. However, their science editor says that isn't
> >> true until the pH drops below 5. Accomplishing that led to
> >> an incredibly sour crust.
> >>
> >> So what they needed was something that is not water but is
> >> still wet, to replace some of the water. Answer: Vodka.
> >> 4 tablespoons each water and vodka.
> >
> >
> > Vodka is acid?
>
> No! It's what they thought of to replace the acid people were using.

Well what do you think of my idea of peroxide? Sure would make a nice blond
crust.

> I only posted it because I think I saw people wondering why the
> vinegar.

And I thank you because it made me laugh. We're getting farther and farther
away from pie crust when we start putting vodka in the dough. Isn't that
just silly?

Paul