Thursday, November 26, 2015
By Beth Stefura
OSU Extension educator
As the gardens have been put to rest for the season, it is time to think of all the blessings of our fall harvest.
It’s also a time to utilize that fruit you’ve harvested through the season or to find local sources for fruit to make holiday pies.
Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate and is centered on a feast with family and friends.
Thanksgiving dinner features the turkey, yet at the end of the meal, it is the Thanksgiving pies that receive all the accolades.
Freezing pies saves time in meal preparation for any large family or community meal.
Be prepared this holiday season by preparing pies in advance to help reduce stress and enjoy the holiday with family and friends.
Freezing an unbaked fruit pie yields a better fresh fruit flavor than freezing a baked pie, yet the bottom crust tends to get soggy.
Try freezing the filling and crust separately to prevent the fruit juice from penetrating and softening the lower crust during freezing.
Freezing a pie in a pie pan takes lots of space, thus, it is more efficient to freeze the pre-measured fruit filling for one pie in a large freezer bag. Simply squeeze out the air and seal. Place the bag into the pie pan shaping it to fit the pan and freeze until solid. When the filling is frozen, remove it from the pan.
When you are ready to use the pie, unwrap and place the frozen filling in an unbaked pie shell, top and bake. Allow an extra 20-25 minutes to bake when using frozen filling.
Pie dough may be rolled into circles and frozen flat on lined cardboard. Or, you can freeze the unbaked dough in pie pans.
How to prepare and freeze pies
Prepare pie dough and pies. Pie shells may be frozen unbaked or baked.
Unbaked pie shells should be tightly wrapped and placed in freezer plastic bags. To bake the shell, do not thaw and place in oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Baked shells should be tightly wrapped and when ready to use, unwrap, let stand at room temperature.
Fruit pies, prepare and bake. To use, let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Heat at 350 degrees until warm, about 30 minutes.
Pumpkin pies, prepare pie shell and filling as usual. Add cold pumpkin pie filling to a chilled pie shell. Wrap tightly and place in plastic freezer bags. Bake without thawing at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees to finish baking.
For more details and recipes for using your own fruit, fresh fruit and other options, go to http://go.osu.edu/frozenpie.