Creating a recipe for a glazed fruit pie - what starch to use?

I am assembling a recipe for a glazed fruit pie, refrigerated and not cooked. The glaze will be made from a starch which will be boiled with water and sugar, poured over berries in a jelly roll pan and refrigerated to soft set. They'll then be placed into a cookie crumb crust and put back in the fridge to finish setting. It's all fairly simple.

However most of the recipes I have found call for cornstarch. The store-bought glaze mixes I've found include tapioca starch (along with citric acid, salt, and some natural flavors/coloring). I have both tapioca starch and cornstarch on hand, as well as potato starch. Is there a benefit of any one over the others? For instance, I have read that cornstarch can impart a significant cornstarch flavor. Also, cornstarch will often result in a cloudier appearance when set. The goal here is a completely transparent appearance so one could barely tell that there was anything beyond fruit present. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

fruit pie glaze

Best Answer

Use the tapioca starch, or, if you cannot find that, another tuber starch. It is more waxy than cornstarch, and therefore better suited for a glaze. It will give you a glossy, transparent appearance.

Cornstarch is a mealy starch, with high amylopectin content, and creates a soft, fluffy, somewhat cloudy mass, not as glossy or as transparent as waxy starches. By the way, it shouldn't have an off-taste if you cook it through.

I guess that most recipes haunting the Internet use cornstarch because it is so much more common in a home kitchen, and the home bakers found the result good enough for their purposes and/or were not aware that tapioca will give them a better end product. As you describe that you want a really good glaze, go for the tapioca.

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What is the uses of starch in preparing pie?

Food starches are added to thicken or stabilize products such as puddings, soups, sauces, pie fillings, salad dressings and many others. Modified versions of starch are also frequently used in foods that have a low pH or can not be heated.

Can I use cornstarch instead of clear gel?

Can you substitute tapioca, flour, or cornstarch for Clear Jel\xae? No, when canning pie filling, there is no substitute for Clear Jel\xae. Other thickeners like cornstarch clump when canning and may interfere with heat being able to reach throughout the jar.

Can you use potato starch to thicken pie filling?

Thickening properties: Potato starch has the greatest thickening power of all the common starches and thickens at moderate temperatures. You'll need larger amounts of potato starch, similar to regular flour.

How much cornstarch do I add to fruit pie filling?

ApplesThickenerFor 1 cup of fruitFor one 9" pie (8 cups of fruit)Instant ClearJel1/2 tsp1 tbsp + 1 tspCornstarch1/2 tsp1 tbsp + 1 tspQuick-cooking tapioca3/4 tsp2 tbspPie Filling Enhancer1 1/2 tsp Reduce sugar by 3/4 tsp1/4 cup Reduce sugar by 2 tbsp1 more row

How to make a simple Clear Fruit Glaze for Pies, Flans and Desserts

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