Cherry Pie

I love (good) pies.  My fave pies are cherry, key lime, raspberry-custard, peach cream, pecan, carrot, apple-bourbon, and strawberry-rhubarb, or rhubarb custard.  I've made banana cream and it was good, but doesn't make my list, because it's not one I've ever craved.  Last night I made a cherry pie from cherries I froze last year.  I've never done that before, usually I make pies based on what's in season, because the best pies are made from fresh fruit, and butter not shortening or half and half.  Shortening ruins the flavour, and you can achieve ultra flakiness with cold butter, ice water, and not over blending.

Sweet black cherries are best for pie, and it's what I use when I use fresh cherries.  This time I defrosted sweet black and tart light coloured cherries (I'm not sure what type, because my mom gave me a container of them already frozen).  I learned a few things:  

• Fresh cherries make for a better pie.  

• Sweet dark cherries are better than the light tart ones, or even 50/50.

• If using frozen, separate the juice; I removed most of the juice once they defrosted, but I should've removed all of it.  I drank the juice, it was yummy.

• Because I kept some of the juice, I added extra tapioca to prevent sogginess, and I like it better with less of the stickiness.

When I make fruit or pecan pies, I stuff the pie with the fruit or pecans, I don't like much of the stuff that holds it together, I want all chunks of fruit or nuts.  This is one of the problems with most commercial pies, and also why they are so cheap, because they are half and more of filler.  I hate it when I order a pecan slice and it's only pecans on the top, and then corn syrup or molasses all the way down to the crust. My pecan pie is all pecans - and some rum - with just enough filler to make it stick together.

People think that paying $24-30 for a pie is a lot, but if I was to make these to sell - and I've thought about it - I would need to charge that much, to make any profit.  It costs me $15+ for ingredients per pie, pumpkin is an exception, because it's not expensive, though time consuming if using fresh, and pricier if using Rouge vif D'Etampes, or Cinderella pumpkin, which is my all time favourite, and not easy to come by.  I've never seen it in stores, I get mine in the fall at farmer's markets and then peel, cube it, and freeze it, so it's ready to use.

Back to this cherry pie.  You can see the two tones of cherries.  I mix in some sugar, less than with fresh cherries, because the juice tastes so sweet, I don't want to make the pie too sugary.  I add a bit of vanilla, but don't over do it, or you'll end up with a very fake tasting cherry pie, like the sort you'd get at your local grocery store.  I also add a pinch of salt and a bit of almond extract, it compliments the cherries without leaving an almond taste.

Always dab some butter on top before placing the top crust.

Make your crust from scratch and only use butter.  Store bought crusts can pass for savoury pies, like quiches, but they ruin a sweet pie.  Even a quiche tastes much better with a home made crust.  Be sure to cut vents in your top crust, unless you're making a lattice, then there's no need.  I used my fingers to crimp and wave the edges.  Pies aren't meant to be fussy; they are meant to taste amazing.

It's hard to tell, but this is a slice from last year, with all fresh, sweet, black cherries.

This is a slice from yesterday, with frozen 50/50 black to tart cherries.

Even though this frozen cherry pie wasn't as amazing as a fresh cherry pie, I've managed to eat half of it already  :)  Either fresh or frozen it's still better than that stuff in a can, labeled cherry pie filling.  Why would anyone waste calories on that?  Seriously.