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Fruit pies and clear jel

11 years ago

I really like fruit pies, and make a lot when our black raspberries are in. Today I used some frozen sour cherries to make a couple of pies. I used cornstarch and tapioca as a thickening agent, and the pies worked out very well. I had two pieces!

I've read a lot about clear jel and it's use as a thickening agent for fruit pies, so I ordered a pound tonight. As soon as I get it, I'll use the rest of the cherries to make another pie, and see how they compare. My question is, have you used it, and of so, what's the conversion rate? Do you use it tablespoon for tablespoon compared to tapioca and/or cornstarch?

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Comments (5)

KatieC
11 years ago
Did you order Instant Clear Jel, or the non-instant?

I use both - the non-instant for canned pie filling and as a sub for cornstarch, and the instant for a low sugar freezer jam or anything I want to thicken without cooking....glazes on fresh fruit pies, cake fillings.

Rule of thumb for the non-instant is 1:1, and the instant is one part cornstarch to 1 1/2 parts Clear Jel.
grainlady_ks
11 years ago
The link below addresses Clear Jel (regular and instant) for pies. And do be mindful that "regular" and "instant" Clear Jel work differently. If you are going to make home-canned pie filling (heat processed in canning jars), you need to use "regular" Clear Jel.

I use more "instant" Clear Jel than "regular" and would suggest the booklet - Merrilyn Lloyd's "Instant Delite". "Instant" Clear Jel is a home storage favorite (stores indefinitely) and I buy it in #10 cans. I use "instant" Clear Jel in many home-made convenience foods.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Everything Pies
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For seven quarts, 2 cups of CJ is about 10 times too much!! I think it may be a typo. I think a half cup, or 1/2 cup would suffice. Clear Jel has a bit more thickening power compared to regular corn starch. If it were me, I would mix the Clear Jel with a little water or juice as a slurry, and pour some into the simmering peaches and stir, let it thicken after a minute, and see if it needs more. Some like fillings that are loose and a bit watery, while others like it to stand up once cooled in a pie, so it doesn't run. Its your option as to how much, but 2 cups is way too much and you get rubber!! If the peaches are 'lost' in the thick paste sauce, they do shrink quite a lot and exude a lot of juice, so that explains why you have so much 'sauce' compared to solids. To help reduce this, strain out the liquid before cooking and simmer it with some dried peaches, to rehydrate them, then add that back to the fresh peaches. They don't require very much cooking so a quick boil and only a little stirring would help keep them in one piece. The sugar amount is to your taste. I can't have much sugar so I use Splenda. If I find the taste to be a bit bland, I may add some acid blend to bring up the tartness and then sweeten a bit more.
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John Tebbs
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for your answers. I purchased the regular clear jel since I was under the impression that the instant was generally for thickening things that are not cooked, such as strawberry pie. My useage will be almost exclusively cooked fruit pies, and I intend to use it to replace tapioca and/or cornstarch. I have no plans to can any pie filling.

Grainlady, your post and the link seem to suggest that the instant clear jel can be used in a cooked fruit pie, can you in fact use the instant for a cooked fruit pie?

Thanks, SR
grainlady_ks
11 years ago
You'll find some King Arthur pie recipes using "instant" Clear Jel at the link below. You might check their web site for more information and recipes.

In "Instant Delite", there are recipes using "instant" Clear Jel for:
Apple Pie
Caramel Pecan Pie
Cherry Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie
Dutch Apple Pie
Fresh Peach Pie
Large Strawberry or Raspberry Pie
Lemon Chiffon Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
Microwave Pecan Pie
No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
Peaches 'N' Cream Pie
Pineapple Pie
Processed Apple Pie Filling
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Rhubarb Cream Pie
Rhubarb Pie
Quick Raspberry Pie
Scrumptious Cherry Cheese Pie

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Pie recipes using
mustangs81
11 years ago
Thank you Grain Lady, I just ordered a pound of instant Clear Jel.

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