Fresh Strawberry Pie

Decades ago a restaurant in the town where we do our shopping served an amazing fresh strawberry pie that my husband Allan and I always stopped to enjoy. Then one day they switched to aspartame. Thereafter, we decided that if we wanted real strawberry pie we’d have to make our own. But first we had to grow the strawberries.

Growing Strawberries

Initially we planted a matted row in one of our raised beds. But the center was hard to reach for weeding and picking. So we then built a tiered bed, which is essentially a second raised bed in the middle of the first one.

The bottom bed is about 44 inches wide. The top one is 16 inches wide. To keep the top tier from sinking into the bottom soil, we drilled slots in the top of the bottom bed and fitted in rebars to hold up the top tier. We also built the top in sections, making it easier to handle.

Once our new strawberry bed was completed and filled with compost-soil mix, we transplanted our June bearing Sweet Charlie strawberries out of our first bed. Since we didn’t have enough to fill the entire new bed, we spread the plants far apart and let runners fill in the gaps.

This system worked out so well that we eventually built a second strawberry bed for Ozark Beauty everbearing strawberries. The June bearing plants (actually, they fruit in May) produce enough for lots of pies, jam, strawberry butter, and other things. The everbearing don’t produce as abundantly all at once, but they provide us with berries for a longer period of time.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

The first thing we do each spring when we have enough strawberries is make a fresh strawberry pie. For this pie you need 1 pint of strawberry pieces, plus about a quart of strawberry halves.

The pieces are cooked into a gel, which takes about 10 minutes. The gel holds the strawberry halves together in the pie shell.

You can buy a ready-made pie shell at the store, or you can use your favorite pie crust recipe. Mine is posted at the bottom of this page. I mix it in a food processor, which technically isn’t proper, but it’s fast and it works just fine. I also substitute 1 tablespoon of vodka for some of the water, which makes the crust flakier. If you prefer, you can use white vinegar or plain cold water instead of vodka.

Strawberry Pie Recipe

Stirring, bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring, at least one minute, or until the gel is clear and thick. Cool until barely warm. Note that this gel is bright red without the need for food coloring.

Going easy on the gel, spread a thin layer over the bottom of the cooled shell. Cover the bottom of the shell with berry halves, cut side down. Spread a little bit of gel over the berries, add another layer of berries, and spread the remaining gel over the top.

Refrigerate the pie at least 3 hours while the gel sets. Serve the pie with or without whipped cream.

This pie supposedly makes enough for 10 servings. At our house, it makes 8 servings. It’s that good!

Waffle Sauce

Not incidentally, the gel recipe also makes an awesomely delicious sauce for waffles or pancakes, or as yogurt topping. Just reduce the sugar to ¾ cup and cook as usual. This sauce keeps well in the fridge.

Pie Shell Recipe

Place dough between two sheets of wax paper and press flat. Use a rolling pin to roll from the center to the edges in all directions. To prevent cracking or a too-thin edge, don’t roll all the way to the edge.

Remove top paper, turn pastry over ungreased pie tin, and press out air to fit pan. Remove second paper. (If dough seems too sticky, refrigerate for a few minutes before removing the second paper.) Prick the dough all over with a fork to prevent air bubbles.

Bake the unfilled shell for 15 minutes at 375°F. Cool before filling.