Ways to thicken fruit pies

The peak season for fruit pies is beginning, and my original thought for this week’s column was to write about the nutritional benefits (and drawbacks) of different types of thickening agents, such as tapioca, cornstarch, flour and arrowroot.

As it turns out, there really isn’t much nutritional data available and some Web sites say that’s because, frankly, there isn’t a lot of nutrition to talk about (especially since, to be honest, you’re not going to use more than a couple tablespoons of these starches in a pie).  All of the starches are basically made from things found in nature and none of them will have much impact for better or for worse on your body.

So the choice of how to thicken your fruit pie filling is up to you.

Tapioca is a popular choice, but some people object to finding what look like little fish eyes under the crust. One solution is to grind the balls up into a powder first. In case you’re wondering, tapioca comes from the root of the cassava plant. The little orbs you buy at the store are not the way tapioca looks when found in nature; in other words, don’t worry about ruining the integrity of your tapioca by pulverizing it.

Be sure to use quick-cook tapioca, not  pearl tapioca. And if you don’t want to grind it up, try mixing it with two-thirds of the fruit — the two thirds that go in the bottom of the pan.  If the top layer of the pie is a tapioca-free zone, then you shouldn’t have any problems with balls of undissolved starch.

Arrowroot is highly recommended by pie bakers, especially because it is flavorless. Supposedly it’s good in custards as well as fruit pies, even though many Web sites warn that it turns slimy when mixed with dairy products.

It is a gluten-free starch that is supposed to be  very easy to digest. It can be used in baking and as breading on fried foods. Some cooks find it expensive, but at $4 or $5 for a 20-ounce bag, it didn’t seem excessive to me.
A Web site called culinarycafe.com said that “Arrowroot is indigenous to the West Indies, where native people, the Arawaks, used the powder. The Arawaks used the substance to draw out toxins from people wounded by poison arrows.†I might just get some to have on hand for my daughter, who wants to be a pirate and might need a poison-arrow antitoxin.

Cornstarch is made from, surprise, corn and is not the top choice of most chefs. It does thicken the filling but it apparently also dulls it, in appearance and taste.

Processed white flour is not a top choice either, although it can work fine. But it’s tricky to find the exact proportions; too little and the filling remains runny, too much and the filling turns gummy.

You can also taste it.

In the Cook’s Illustrated cookbook, “American Classics,†the team of scientific chef/tasters say that potato starch is the best bet for thickening a fruit pie, with Minute tapioca pulverized in a food processor as the second choice.

They recommend adjusting the amount of starch based on your preferences and the juiciness of the fruit. For a juicier pie, for example, they say to use three tablespoons of tapioca or potato starch for six cups of blueberries. For a firmer pie with little or no juice, use four tablespoons.
   Because we printed a recipe last week for blueberry pie, this week I’m using a recipe from Mark Bittman’s “How To Cook Everything†for stone-fruit pie (cherries, in this case). Of course, fresh cherries are abundant and affordable right now but I feel absolutely no guilt about using canned sour cherries with the pits already removed. (Be sure to buy just cherries, not cherry pie filling.)

                        Cherry pie

                     Adapted from

          “How To Cook Everythingâ€

Enough crust for a pie’s top and bottom (if you need a good crust recipe, e-mail me at cynthiah@lake- villejournal.com)

4-5 cups sour cherries, pitted (drain them in a colander for an hour before you begin, if they’re canned)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract,  or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (add a pinch of grated nutmeg or allspice, if you use the cinnamon)

2 tablespoons pulverized quick-cook tapioca

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 teaspoon milk

2 teaspoons sugar

Roll out the bottom crust of your pie and put it in the pie dish. Mix the sugar, almond extract or spices and tapioca and toss with the drained cherries. Pour the mixture into your crust and dot the top of the fruit with butter. Put the other crust on top; trim and make any decorative edge that you like.

Refrigerate your pie while the oven preheats to 450 degrees.

When the oven is ready, put your pie on a baking stone or cookie sheet and brush the top crust  lightly with milk and then sprinkle the sugar on top. Cut two or three 2-inch vents into the top so the steam can escape.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until the top is golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. Do not underbake this pie.