If I had to choose just one berry it would be the raspberry, the most elegant berry of all. Raspberries have been cherished since before the Middle Ages where they had both medicinal and symbolic value. The ruby red raspberry was a tonic to support women’s reproductive health, a food source and a pigment for art. Native Americans used raspberries to ease labor pains, nausea and other ailments.
The wild raspberry originated in Eastern Asia and spread across Europe; the seeds being carried by birds and animals. In the early 20th century, Luther Burbank, the prominent horticulturist, extensively hybridized raspberries and blackberries to produce the fruit varieties we enjoy now.
The season for raspberries is too short, but for a very brief summer window, the raspberries and wild blueberries in Maine are both perfectly ripe at the same time.
According to the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission, the pine tree state produces 100% of the United States wild blueberries. Like the raspberry, wild blueberries were an important component of Native American culture and food supply, with a history dating back over 10,000 years ago. They are one of only three native fruits of the continent and are indigenous to regions shaped by glacial retreat, such as the “barrens” of Maine and other northern forests . Unlike cultivated highbush blueberries, wild blueberries are not planted but spread naturally through underground rhizomes, creating genetically diverse patches.
It was the Native Americans that taught the early settlers how to tend to the wild blueberry plants, and the fruit became a mainstay in early homesteading diets. During the American Civil War, sardine canning factories in New England switched to wild blueberries, providing Union soldiers with a shelf-stable source of fruit. In 1924 Clarence Birdseye developed the IQF (individually quick frozen) freezing process for peas, which was later adapted to wild blueberries.
The recipe for Raspberry Wild Blueberry Glace′ Pie is from my archives and was a very popular pie I used to make for church bean suppers. A prebaked pie shell is spread with a thin cream cheese or soft cheese, then filled with perfectly ripe fruit. A French glace′, or glaze, is prepared from cooking mashed fruit, sugar and cornstarch, allowing it to cool, and then topping the fruit. The result is a sensuous, velvety, sinful combination of flavors and textures on the palate.
The key to preparing this pie is in the fruit. Save the beautiful fresh fruit for the filling of the pie and use the not-so-pretty fruit for the glace′. Although frozen fruit may be tasty, this is a pie where fresh really shines. Top the pie with a spot of whipped cream, and enjoy that glorious, fleeting moment of fresh, perfectly ripe, Maine raspberries and wild blueberries.
Raspberry Wild Blueberry Glacé Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch baked pie shell See how to blind bake a pie shell below
- 6 cups fresh fruit combination of wild blueberries and raspberries, about 3 pints
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- 8 ounces cream cheese or fresh Maine soft cheese at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1-tablespoon Gran Marnier liqueur or liqueur of your choice.
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients and tools. If needed, blind bake your pie shell.* Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.
- Add 1 heaping cup of fruit to a small saucepan, reserving the prettiest fruit for the filling of the pie.
- Mash the fruit and then add the sugar mixture and ½ cup water to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens and boils for about 1 minute. The color will become shiny and glossy. Taste the mixture to be sure you can’t taste the cornstarch, and if needed, cook a bit longer.
- Transfer the fruit glace′ to a bowl and refrigerate until the fruit has cooled to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese or soft Maine cheese until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract or liqueur.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the baked pie shell.
- Arrange the remaining fruit over the top of the cream cheese mixture.
- Pour the cooked berry mixture over the top.
- Chill the pie for several hours until set. If desired, top the pie with whipped cream.
Nutrition
Blind Bake a Pie Shell
Equipment
- 9-inch pie plate
- pie weights
- 2 sheets parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 dough for a 9-inch pie
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the pie dough to fit the pie shell and prick the bottom all over with a fork to release air bubbles.
- Crumple up 2 sheets of parchment paper and fit them carefully over the pie dough. Add the pie weights and bake the shell until the edges just start to brown, about 15 – 18 minutes.
- Remove the shell from the oven. Reduce the oven to 375 degrees. Carefully remove the parchment paper and pie weights.
- To prepare an egg wash, break the egg into a small bowl and beat with a splash of water.
- Brush the partially baked pie shell with the egg wash and return the shell to the oven.
- Bake until the pie shell is golden brown, about 15 – 20 more minutes.