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Help me fix my cherry pie
Remember my monster watermelon dilemma last summer? History repeated itself last week, only this time with pounds upon pounds of sour cherries from Three Springs Fruit Farm.
Help me fix my cherry pie
Remember my monster watermelon dilemma last summer? History repeated itself last week, only this time with pounds upon pounds of sour cherries from Three Springs Fruit Farm. Thirty-five of them to be exact. After pitting a few pounds (about two hours of hard, sticky, finger-staining labor), I set out to make a sour cherry pie.
Now, me and baking don’t get along so well. Unlike cooking, in which you can often make it up as you go along (dash of this, dash of that), baking requires precise measurements and, even more elusive to yours truly, patience. But I love pie, so I thought I’d try to make one.
Let me clarify: By "make one," I don’t mean "make the crust." Time was tight, so I bought pre-made pie dough from the South Philly Ack-a-me. Not the kind that's already in the disposable pan; I’m not a savage.
I brought approximately six cups of pitted sour cherries to a boil with two cups of sugar, dashes of vanilla and almond extracts, five-spice powder, a one-tablespoon corn-starch slurry — that's fancy baker-speak for cornstarch thinned with water — and a pinch of salt. But the pitted cherries had released so much of their juice while chilling in the fridge earlier in the day that the mixture never thickened to a glossy filling. So I strained up most of the liquid — reserved for sour cherry syrup — added another cup of sugar and reinforced the spices. Within 5 minutes I had a stewy crimson compote, chunky and shiny and ready to being sufficiently cooled and loaded into a pie.
When I tasted the filling, it had the right balance of sweet and sour, neither sensation overwhelming the other. But after lining a Pyrex pie pan with a round of dough; filling it with the cooked cherries; draping vented dough on top; crimping the edges; egg-washing and sugaring the top; baking it at 400 for 50 minutes; and finally cooling, cutting and serving, the cherry insides swung back toward the sour side. The fam loved it (or pretended to convincingly), but I was bent that my perfectly calibrated filling double-crossed me when I wasn't looking.
Experienced bakers, cherry aficionados — por que? Did the dough absorb the sugar? Do sour cherries get sour-er the longer the cook? I’m perplexed over here. Leave your guidance in the comments. I want to try pie again soon, since I have enough sour cherries to experiment till fall.
probs not enough cornstarch since you dumped it out the liquids the first round and didn't add any in the 2nd round.— jenbichvy- I think I would keep it simple with the spices; a little cinnamon and a lot of sugar (about a cup or so). And try using 3 to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch w/o the water mixture....I've never really used cornstarch in pies though, only flour. So, maybe try flour instead? Adding a streusel/crumble on top might help add some extra sweetness to the pie as well. I feel like the almond and five-spice probably didn't give the mixture the sweetness that it needs to balance out everything. Good luck!!— nicolerossi62
- I usually don't boil the fruit but toss it in a 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch (not slurry) with the spices and sugar and let it sit till the mixture breaks down a little. My guess is you drained out most of the sugary goodness when you drained the liquid.— redsonya75
- What's weird is that the sugar content of the filling was fine BEFORE I put it into the pie. Sweet, sour, a good balance. I'm wondering what happened while it was in the oven to change the calibration.— AdamErace
- I see your point. I usually have problems with sugar taste level going down when making popsicles (always sweeter before freezing). Since you have so many cherries I'd say try one without cooking down the cherries. Just a guess since I have no grastro-scientific knowledge, but I still think draining is the issue. Sour cherries also have natural sweetness so if you cook it down and drain it you may not be able to replenish the cherries' sweetness.— redsonya75
- most fruit gets sour when it bakes (imagine apple pie w/o sugar - whereas apples are fine to eat). So I would just add even more. I second people above who say try it w/o boiling the fruit.— thebizz
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