At Last Blueberry Pie

We went to pick blueberries at a local U-Pick operation for the third time this summer.  That doesn't sound amazing except for the fact that our first picking was at the end of June.

The owner of the operation has been doing this for 37 years and said this is the earliest they've ever been able to open.

The berries are some of the best I've ever picked.  But the weather has been hot, for the most part, since they opened.   One of my favorite things to do with the berries had to wait for a day like - today.  We are 78F (25.5C) right now and I'm so thankful.

One of the plants from today.

One of my readers asked yesterday what I do with the berries.  We eat a lot of blueberry pie.  We make other recipes, too - here's a list from two years ago with links.  Since I'm a Weight Watchers lifetime member, I can't eat too many sweets.

What follows is one of my favorite ways of eating blueberries - blueberry pie, using a slightly changed recipe provided by the U Pick farmer.  It makes the best blueberry pie I've ever had, and I have blogged about it multiple times.   I'm finally going to be able to make it today.

There seem to be a lot of similar recipes online (in fact I found a recipe identical to what the farm provided in an online church cookbook) so I feel OK in posting this farm's recipe for all to enjoy.

Crust

1 refrigerated piecrust (because I'm lazy), baked in a 9 inch glass pie pan. 

No pictures this year, because I am already late in posting.

Filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries (divide into 2 parts, 2 cups each)  Apparently you can use frozen but I haven't done it myself, so I don't know if it will work with frozen.  It might work with the berries you cook (you'll see why as you read on).

2/3 cup sugar.  This all depends on the sweetness of the berries.  I've found early berries run a little sweeter than later ones.

2 1/2 tbsp potato starch or 3 tbsp cornstarch.  My spouse, the family cook, prefers potato starch, which we buy at Passover time.

A pinch of salt

1 tbsp lime juice (because that's what we have - the original called for lemon juice)

1/4 cup cold water

1 tbsp butter

Method

Combine sugar, cornstarch or potato starch, water, salt until well blended.  Add 2 cups blueberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the blueberry mixture thickens. If you use potato starch, please keep in mind that it will thicken very quickly.  You need to pay careful attention.

Then, add the butter and lemon or lime juice.  Let cool.

When cooled, place the reserved 2 cups of blueberries into the pie crust.  Then, top with the cooked mixture. 

Then, try to resist eating the entire pie at one serving.

It's Double Plus Good.