Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Norcalbaker59, post: 33465, member: 2340"] I've come to realize that blueberries in pie are unpredictable. You do your best, then hope for the best, and what comes out of the oven is what comes out of the oven. Are you using INSTANT clearjel or clearjel. They are not the same. Clearjel is for canning. You cannot use INSTANT clearjel in canning because it cannot be heated twice. INSTANT clearjel is for pie fillings. It's designed to thicken without heat. INSTANT clearjel is the one used in pie filling. [LIST] [*]Use 2 1/2 teaspoons INSTANT clearjel for every cup of fruit. [*]Mix to just blend sugar, spices, INSTANT clearjel [*]Measure your FROZEN fruit in a dry weight volume cup, place in a large bowl [*]Pour the sugar thickener mix over the FROZEN berries, then just stir to coat. Be easy. [*]Let sit 15 minutes, but no more than 20 minutes since the you want the fruit to remain frozen [*]Stir. If there is liquid at the bottom, look to see how thick it is. This will give you and indication of whether you need to add more thickener. Frozen fruit is more difficult to assess at it may not give up much juice while it sits. Last batch of blueberry pies I made, it was actually a tap bit too much thickener. There was no juice in the bowl of frozen berries, so I had nothing to use as a gauge. [*]Pour filling into pie crust and bake. [/LIST] I like to keep my pie plate on the freezer while the berries rest. I think a frozen crust bakes better. Make sure you bake hot. I prefer to bake my pies at 400°. At minimum bake at 375°.375° I place my rack at the lowest setting I heat the metal cookie sheet while the oven preheats. The hot cookie sheet helps keep the crust from getting soggy I only use good heavy metal pie plates now. I find glass is too slow to heat and you can't put it on a preheated metal cookie sheet. Ceramic is beautiful, but by the time it heats, everything is going to be soggy--sides and bottom. [/QUOTE]

Verification