Well, I finally got around to making my cherry
pie using the cherries I picked at my friend's
farm several weeks ago.

At the time I wondered if the cherries were
really ripe as the all seeme too have one side
more or less shading to yellow or peach and were
not bright deep red all around. However she
assured me that they were ripe and that if we
waited the birds would eat them all. She herself
had been eating them right off the tree. They're
sour cherries! Yuck!

So, I cleaned them and froze them for later as I
was not up to making the pie that weekend.

Well, the good news is my crust turned out really
well. Lately I've been having crust trouble - it
doesn't always turn out as well as it should.

So, the crust was great. The bad news is that the
cherries taste "green". Just enough to spoil the
taste of the pie. I'm going to eat it anyway, it's
not actually inedible. I hate to waste anything.

Another good piece of news is that I may have solved
the problem of fruit pie fillings being runny. I put
the cherries and the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in
a bowl and mixed them all up. Then I microwaved the
whole thing for about 5 minutes. Then I cooled it before
putting it in the crust and baking. The filling is nice
and thick and doesn't run. Now, if it only tasted
better. :-(

Kate

Kate Connally wrote:

> Well, I finally got around to making my cherry
> pie using the cherries I picked at my friend's
> farm several weeks ago.
>
> At the time I wondered if the cherries were
> really ripe as the all seeme too have one side
> more or less shading to yellow or peach and were
> not bright deep red all around. However she
> assured me that they were ripe and that if we
> waited the birds would eat them all. She herself
> had been eating them right off the tree. They're
> sour cherries! Yuck!

Sweet cherry season has just started here, and sour cherries
won't be out for another few weeks. Sour cherries are solid
red when they are ripe.

There are more varieties of sweet cherries than sour. One of
those varieties is Queen Ann, and they are yellow and red
when ripe. Another variety sometimes has a two tone skin on
it, most reddish or burgundy colour. All others are solid
shades of red

I know there are some recipes for sweet cherry pies, but IMO
sour cherries are far superior.

> Another good piece of news is that I may have solved
> the problem of fruit pie fillings being runny. I put
> the cherries and the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in
> a bowl and mixed them all up. Then I microwaved the
> whole thing for about 5 minutes. Then I cooled it before
> putting it in the crust and baking. The filling is nice
> and thick and doesn't run. Now, if it only tasted
> better. :-(

When I make sour cherry pies I put the cherries and sugar in
a pot and bring it to a boil. I use Minute Tapioca for
thickener. A few minutes at a boil helps to thicken it a
little and it cooks the cherries that little bit extra that
they seem to need above and beyond baking time.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> Kate Connally wrote:
>
> > Well, I finally got around to making my cherry
> > pie using the cherries I picked at my friend's
> > farm several weeks ago.
> >
> > At the time I wondered if the cherries were
> > really ripe as the all seeme too have one side
> > more or less shading to yellow or peach and were
> > not bright deep red all around. However she
> > assured me that they were ripe and that if we
> > waited the birds would eat them all. She herself
> > had been eating them right off the tree. They're
> > sour cherries! Yuck!
>
> Sweet cherry season has just started here, and sour cherries
> won't be out for another few weeks. Sour cherries are solid
> red when they are ripe.

Yeah, I know that. I've made lots of cherry pies
and picked lots of sour cherries but that was many
years ago. I thought maybe this was a different
variety than I was used to and that the cherries
might not necessarily be solid red when ripe.

> There are more varieties of sweet cherries than sour. One of
> those varieties is Queen Ann, and they are yellow and red
> when ripe. Another variety sometimes has a two tone skin on
> it, most reddish or burgundy colour. All others are solid
> shades of red

Yes, we used to have a Queen Ann cherry tree when I was
a kid. I did not mistake Queen Anns for sour cherries.

> I know there are some recipes for sweet cherry pies, but IMO
> sour cherries are far superior.

Again, these were definitely sour cherries that were not
ripe enough.

> > Another good piece of news is that I may have solved
> > the problem of fruit pie fillings being runny. I put
> > the cherries and the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in
> > a bowl and mixed them all up. Then I microwaved the
> > whole thing for about 5 minutes. Then I cooled it before
> > putting it in the crust and baking. The filling is nice
> > and thick and doesn't run. Now, if it only tasted
> > better. :-(
>
> When I make sour cherry pies I put the cherries and sugar in
> a pot and bring it to a boil. I use Minute Tapioca for
> thickener. A few minutes at a boil helps to thicken it a
> little and it cooks the cherries that little bit extra that
> they seem to need above and beyond baking time.

I don't like cornstarch or tapioca as a thickener for
fruit pies. I prefer flour. I prefer the texture and
flour you get using flour as opposed to the gummy texture
and the flavor you get with the others. I use cornstarch
for lots of things but I don't like it for pies or for
gravy. Tapioca I only use for tapioca pudding, which I
love, but I don't want it in anything else.

Kate

On Wed 06 Jul 2005 08:11:39a, Kate Connally wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> I don't like cornstarch or tapioca as a thickener for
> fruit pies. I prefer flour. I prefer the texture and
> flour you get using flour as opposed to the gummy texture
> and the flavor you get with the others. I use cornstarch
> for lots of things but I don't like it for pies or for
> gravy. Tapioca I only use for tapioca pudding, which I
> love, but I don't want it in anything else.

I use half flour and half cornstarch in berry pies. I find the texture
agreeable.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974


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