We have a family recipe for preparing berry pies. We use it for blackberries and huckleberries, but it should be suitable for any other berry so long as the sugar is adjusted for the berry’s sweetness.
Ingredients:
- 1 pint berries, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup sugar (scant, or to taste, depending on the sweetness of the berries)
- 2 Tbs corn (or other) starch
- 1 Tbs butter
- 1 pinch of salt
Fill a pint jar with the berries, then fill to cover with water. Add to sauce pot, along with another pint of water. Add all ingredients, making sure that the starch is mixed in well. Bring the filling to the brink of a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly after it has warmed.
As long as the filling gets hot enough to reach the gelatinization point of the starch (which depends on the type of starch you use, and probably the moisture content of the berries and the amount of sugar you’ve used), it should be ready. Bringing the mixture just about to the boiling point ensures that this temperature has been reached and that the temperature is fairly consistent throughout.
Pour the filling into your pie pan with bottom crust in place, add your top crust, and bake according to the directions for your crust, or at 400 degrees (F) for about 40 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven and let stand at least an hour to cool so the filling will thicken. For extra firmness, refrigerate.
This pie filling is a great way to stretch berries and get a lot of mileage from them.