Blueberry pie is a tasty treat, and a home-baked pie with blueberries oozing out of the crust is a visual treat as well. Fresh blueberries have their own pectin that thickens the filling as it cooks in the pie crust, but the larger the berries, the more water they hold. For fresh cultivated blueberries, adding a thickener before cooking makes the pie hold together better. Fresh wild blueberries are smaller and may not need as much thickening power. The best thickeners do not add any flavor and retain the color and taste of the blueberries.
Step 1
Rinse the blueberries in a colander and let drain. Preheat the oven to the temperature in your favorite pie recipe.
Step 2
Place the blueberries into the mixing bowl. Add the thickener; toss gently with the spoon to evenly coat blueberries with starch. Add sugar and spices if included in your recipe.
Step 3
Pour the blueberry filling into the crust, and seal with a top crust if that is called for in your recipe. To prevent a double crust pie from splitting open and having the blueberry filling bubble over, the crust should have openings. Pie bakers can be creative and make a lattice top, cutouts in decorative shapes, or place a ceramic pie bird in the middle of the pie to allow steam to vent during baking.
Step 4
Bake the pie for about 35 minutes. If the crust is getting too dark around the edges of the pan, put a strip of aluminum foil over the edge. Let the pie cool before serving.
Tips and Warnings
- Freeze the pie in case of leftovers to keep the family on a calorie restrained diet, Refrigerating the pie will only dry it out. Freezing the pie will affect the filling least when using tapioca, arrowroot, or Instant Clear-Jel.
- Freezing a pie made with cornstarch or potato thickener will turn the color of the filling spongy and dull as the starch and fruit pectin interact.
Things You'll Need
- Three pints of fresh blueberries
- Colander
- Bowl
- 2 tbsp. thickener, most common are corn starch, arrowroot, tapioca, potato starch, and Instant Clear-Jel
- Sugar, spices according to taste
- Large spoon for stirring
- Pie crust in a pie pan
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