Fruit Pie Thickeners - Quiltingboard Forums (2024)

FAQs

What is the best thickener for fruit pies? ›

Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed. We like tapioca in blueberry, cherry or peach pies.

Bake the pie fully.

If you don't leave the pie in the oven long enough your thickener doesn't get to the necessary temperature and time to thicken your filling. You want to see thick bubbling! The bubbling of the filling is activating the natural gelatin of your fruit as well as your thickeners.

Many people swear by quick-cooking tapioca as a pie thickener. This starch comes from the roots of the manioc or cassava plant and it's sold as pre-gelatinized pearls.

I used 1/4 cup corn starch when I made a fresh raspberry pie, 1 tablespoon when I made a peach pie and 2 tablespoons when I made pineapple custard. It really just depends on the type of fillings and thickness you are going for when using corn starch.

Cornstarch is faster-acting than flour and forms a smooth, relatively clear filling. Just be aware that too much cornstarch can create a slimy texture.

Experiment with different thickeners

If you usually use flour to thicken your apple pie and it's not doing the job, try something different: cornstarch, tapioca, and arrowroot are other established fruit pie thickeners. For more on specific thickeners and how to use them, see our Pie Filling Thickeners Guide.

For Compotes and Pie fillings—Substitute equal parts cornstarch for Instant Clearjel and cook all filling ingredients over the stove until you reach your desired thickness. Cornstarch requires heat to thicken, so it will take more time, but you should be able to reach similar results.

There are three different methods of making pie fillings: cooked juice, cooked fruit, and old-fashioned.

However, potato starch contains significantly fewer calories and carbohydrates than cornstarch, making it a good substitute for people looking to thicken foods without adding calories or carbs. Potato starch is also relatively flavorless, meaning that it will not overpower or alter other flavors in foods.

All-purpose flour is an easy substitute for cornstarch; in fact you may see recipes for thickening pie fillings or soups with either. You'll need 2 tablespoons of flour for every 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a recipe.

Which is better to thicken with flour or cornstarch? ›

Because cornstarch is pure starch, it has twice the thickening power of flour, which is only part starch. Thus, twice as much flour is needed to achieve the same thickening as cornstarch. To thicken sauces, cornstarch is combined with cold water first, which is called a slurry.

Cornstarch must be cooked to 95°C (203°F) before thickening begins. At that point, it usually thickens fairly quickly and the sauce turns from opaque to transparent. When cornstarch thins after it's thickened, it's usually due to continued stirring.

All-purpose flour is an easy substitute for cornstarch; in fact you may see recipes for thickening pie fillings or soups with either. You'll need 2 tablespoons of flour for every 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a recipe.

Often, blind-baking solves this problem. If you're making a single crust custard-filled pie, like a pumpkin pie, bake the pie dough first before adding filling to allow some of the moisture in the crust to evaporate. You can also totally blind-bake fruit pies.

Yes, regular (cook type) Clear Jel® is required for canning, not instant. The instant type of Clear Jel® does not require heat while regular does. Instant Clear Jel® is freezer stable, thus popular but not necessary when freezing pie filling.