There is nothing like that first bite of a fresh picked strawberry right out of the strawberry patch. The natural sweetness is incomparable to even the freshest strawberries from your grocery store.
Fresh picked strawberries from the patch at the farm.
That is exactly the reason that we decided to make a strawberry pie this week. Our strawberries are at the peak of ripeness and although we preserve the majority of them in jams, jellies, and in freezer packs for later use, we just couldn’t resist the temptation of this irresistible dessert.
The best part of using the strawberries fresh from the patch, is of course the ability to decrease the amount of sweetener required. Our homemade gel requires only a few tablespoons of sugar compared to most recipes which require 3/4 – 1 cup. This goes right along with our philosophy of “Less is More”!
Classic Strawberry Pie Recipe
Use a potato masher to chunk the strawberries.
Don’t worry about the ‘pink color’ – it will turn red once the gel thickens.
Pour the well coated strawberries into the cooled pie crust
Classic strawberry pie -no gel bags required.
Ingredients:
1 Pie Crust (see recipe: The Perfect Pie Crust)
2 lbs of strawberries (about 4 1/2 cups quartered)
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of corn starch
fresh whipped cream (optional)
Instructions:
1. Bake your pie crust until gold brown. Let cool
2. Wash, pat dry, hull and quarter the strawberries.
3. Place 1 cup of strawberries in a small sauce pan. Crush them with a potato masher until chunky. Don’t smash them completely, as you don’t want pure liquid.
4. Add 1/4 cup water to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
4. In a separate bowl, combine water and cornstarch. Stir until cornstarch is thoroughly dissolved. This is an extremely important step to allow the gel to set.
5. Add cornstarch mixture and sugar to the boiling strawberries mixture – reduce to medium heat and stir continuously until the sugar dissolves the mixture becomes thickened. Approximately 3 minutes.
6. Transfer the filling to a medium size mixing bowl and let cool to room temperature.
7. Once the filling has completely cooled, add the remaining strawberries to the mixture. Stir well to coat the strawberries with the gel mixture. Add to your pie crust.
8. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the gel to set.
9. Add whipped topping if desired.
Enjoy!
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Mary and Jim
[recipe difficulty=easy]
Classic Strawberry Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Pie Crust (see recipe: The Perfect Pie Crust)
2 lbs of strawberries (about 4 1/2 cups quartered)
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of corn starch
fresh whipped cream (optional)
Instructions:
1. Bake your pie crust until gold brown. Let cool
2. Wash, pat dry, hull and quarter the strawberries.
3. Place 1 cup of strawberries in a small sauce pan. Crush them with a potato masher until chunky. Don’t smash them completely, as you don’t want pure liquid.
4. Add 1/4 cup water to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
4. In a separate bowl, combine water and cornstarch. Stir until cornstarch is thoroughly dissolved. This is an extremely important step to allow the gel to set.
5. Add cornstarch mixture and sugar to the boiling strawberries mixture – reduce to medium heat and stir continuously until the sugar dissolves the mixture becomes thickened. Approximately 3 minutes.
6. Transfer the filling to a medium size mixing bowl and let cool to room temperature.
7. Once the filling has completely cooled, add the remaining strawberries to the mixture. Stir well to coat the strawberries with the gel mixture. Add to your pie crust.
8. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the gel to set.
9. Add whipped topping if desired.
recipe courtesy of owgarden.com
[/recipe]