To avoid spending the entire day in the kitchen and missing out on the company of friends and family while preparing a huge feast like Thanksgiving dinner, it is vital to prepare some ingredients in advance. Pies for Thanksgiving may be made in advance, but how far? And should they be kept in the freezer or refrigerator or left out at room temperature?
To protect you from foodborne illnesses and maintain the flavor of your home-baked pies, we talked to food safety experts and a professional baker about the best storage techniques. What you need to know is as follows.
How to Store Homemade Pie?
Many types of pies, such as fruit pies, pumpkin pies, and pecan pies, can be effectively frozen, but more delicate mousse and custard pies won’t be fair well. Meringue won’t either.
To prevent freezer burn while freezing pie, we suggest wrapping it tightly in a layer of plastic followed by a layer of foil. It ought to continue for a few months.
The best thing to do is store your pies in the refrigerator if you want to keep them tasty for a long time. Even though not all pies need to be chilled, it is the greatest way to keep them fresh.
Pie keeps best when it is first wrapped in plastic wrap and then covered with foil. Even better if you can also place the pie in an airtight container.
The pie will not dry out because of the plastic wrap and foil, but the airtight container will keep it even fresher and prevent it from absorbing any flavors or smells from the refrigerator.
1. Pies with Fruit
Fruit pies can be kept at room temperature on the counter for a day or two if they are wrapped with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Fruit pies can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Fruit pies keep nicely in the freezer for up to four months. The pie should be frozen uncovered first, then wrapped in foil and kept in the freezer for good storage.
Thaw it out on the counter for about 30 minutes, then reheat it for another 30 minutes at 375°F to defrost.
2. Pies with Eggs
Pies with eggs in the filling, such as pumpkin, and pecan pies, should be kept in the refrigerator and covered with plastic wrap. They can be warmed up before serving. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Pies like these can be frozen and kept for up to two months, but the texture of the crust frequently becomes soggy, and the eggs in the interior frequently separate.
Custard and cream pies are kept in the refrigerator.
The egg is frequently a component of custard and cream pies, so they must be kept chilled at all times until they are ready to be served.
Pies with whipped cream on top in particular should not be frozen; they should only be eaten fresh. After being kept in the refrigerator for 3–4 days, make sure to eat these pies.
3. Overnight Pie Crust Baking
Pie crusts, both baked and unbaked, can be frozen.
Baked pie crusts can be frozen for up to four months.
Pie crusts that have not been baked can be frozen for two months. Before freezing, make sure to wrap the pie crusts tightly to keep out air.
The baked pie crust should thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before being reheated for 5 minutes at 350°F. Pie crusts that haven’t been baked yet can be baked right in the oven after being taken out of the freezer.
How can Store-Bought Pumpkin Pie be Improved?
It’s acceptable if you bought pumpkin pie this year rather than making it from scratch. The most important thing is how you apply it on the big day. Give your pumpkin pie a fast, classy boost that ups the wow factor by going beyond the traditional whipped cream.
The addition of super-fluffy, sweet meringue gives your store-bought pie extra charm.
Give your pumpkin the creme brûlée treatment by topping it with a crisp, burned sugar crust. When the sugar is melted and browned, sprinkle 1/3 to 1/2 cup refined white sugar over the pie, caramelize it with a chef’s torch, or broil it for a few minutes.
A simple addition that makes your pie wonderfully luscious is the caramel sauce. The sauce, whether homemade or purchased, should be heated before being drizzled over the pie just before serving. This is so unusual because of the contrast between the warm sauce and the cooled or room-temperature pie.
Because adding streusel to the top is typically a smart idea. It gives the pumpkin pie we love a wonderful, spicy crunch. The streusel should be prepared, baked on a baking sheet, and then sprinkled over the pie.
The Greek yogurt of your choice makes a delicious pie topping. Choose full-fat yogurt and enjoy the tang it lends to the pie’s sweetness for the most opulent experience.
Can Cooked Apples be Used to Make Apple Pie?
Cooking apples like Granny Smiths and Bramley apples can be used in savory dishes and sauces as well as sweet desserts like apple pies, strudels, and cakes.
The Bramley’s Seedling and Ribston Pippin are two of the greatest cooking apples for pies. The compact, tart Ribston Pippin apple keeps its shape after baking. They aren’t as well known in the UK for their pies as Bramley’s Seedling, though. The Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples are combined to create Cox’s, Orange Pippin. It is the ideal fruit for pies because of its crisp texture and sweet flavor.
How to Make Pies Healthier?
Narrower Fillings
You can also update the pie filling. Use extra-lean or lean cuts of beef when creating a meat pie, and add lots of vegetables. Add canned lentils or beans to your meat to extend its shelf life. Pulses can be used in place of some of the meat in a dish to increase protein and fiber while reducing the amount of saturated fat.
Before adding sugar to a fruit pie, taste the fruit first. Generally speaking, you need less the riper it is. To sweeten the filling without using as much sugar, dried fruit might be added. The natural sweetness is added by ground cinnamon; it goes well with apples, bananas, blackberries, peaches, and pears in particular.
Logical Sides
Pies have a lot of calories, so watch how much you eat because you might ingest a lot of calories in only a few mouthfuls. A lesser serving can be made to last longer by including veggies on the side and eating it as part of a meal. It is not a good idea to eat a pie or pasty as a snack because they are high in calories and you may still eat a regular meal later.
Choose low-fat custard made from low-fat milk (or low-fat no-added-sugar instant custard) or low-fat yogurt instead of ice cream or cream when eating sweet pies (low-fat Greek yogurt or skyr are the creamiest options).
Is Pecan Pie Unhealthy?
Since it’s difficult to top the classics, pecan pie has been a staple of Thanksgiving dinners for decades. A slice, however, can have almost 500 calories, 27 grams of fat, and 31 grams of sugar. That is a quarter of your daily caloric intake and nearly half of your daily fat consumption based on a 2,000-calorie diet in just one slice! Even the most ardent pie aficionados may be turned off by the high-calorie count, but the true threat lies in the amount of sugar and fat present.
Less than 10% of your total calorie consumption should, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), come from sugar. Even better for your health is to reduce that percentage to 5%! A slice of pecan pie has 31 grams of sugar, which is a lot of sugar. The WHO also suggests that healthy adults limit their daily fat intake to 65 grams. After supper, choose pumpkin pie as your sweet treat instead. Pumpkin pie is a far better option with only 300 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 21 grams of sugar. However, pumpkin pie still has a lot of fat and sugar, so moderation is important.
Which Pie is Healthiest?
Depending on the pie you cook, the nutrition can vary, but here is a comparison between our Deep-Dish Apple Pie and our Holiday Pumpkin Pie:
Apple Pie: Our Deep-Dish Apple Pie includes the following nutritional information per serving:
- calories in 345
- 10 g fat, 4 g sat.
- 5 g fiber and 62 g carbs
- 33 g of carbohydrates, 4 g of protein
- 17 g of extra sugar
- 213 mg potassium and 147 mg sodium.
Pumpkin Pie: Our holiday pumpkin pie offers the following nutritional information per serving:
- calories in 292
- 3g sat fat, 9g fat
- Fiber 3 g
- carbs in 42 g
- Protein 7 g
- 28 g of sugar
- added sugars in 22 g
- 482 mg potassium and 174 mg sodium.
The pumpkin pie has fewer calories and saturated fat, but more protein and calcium. However, the apple pie wins out in terms of sodium, total sugar, and added sugar. So what should a fan of pies do? In any case, choose the pumpkin if you’re watching your calories because it usually always contains fewer because of the one crust. Alternatively, you could go wild and eat a piece of each pie.
In conclusion, feel free to bake or eat your favorite pie, but don’t overdo it. A holiday is just one day out of the year and won’t significantly alter your normal eating habits.
Reference: America and Apple Pie: How Do We Change the American Health Care System?
The staple of American cuisine and dessert on holidays, particularly in the summer, is apple pie. We treasure the custom of spending time with family and friends, watching fireworks, eating delicious food, and enjoying apple pie, but recently I was reminded that this holiday also emphasizes the necessity for APPLying Prevention and Implementation Evidence in our healthcare system. I have had the exceptional chance to observe the pie of the U.S. healthcare system, which is cracked, broken, and unfinished, as a leader of cardiovascular healthcare systems at Duke University and Inova Health System. Our health system is unprepared to handle the demands of our aging population and the rising cost of illness as we anticipate the epidemic of chronic illnesses and cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and coronary artery disease.
Conclusion
The key to preserving a homemade pie is to know how to store it. Unbaked pies can stay on the counter for two days before refrigeration is necessary. Pies can also be frozen. If you are unable to consume your pie right away, you can freeze it for up to six months. Then, simply reheat it in the oven for thirty to forty minutes.
Most pies will keep in a refrigerator for two to three days, but if the pies are made from fruits, they can stay out on the counter for two days or more. Pies containing dairy or eggs should be refrigerated. Fruit pies can sit out on the counter for up to two days, so the key is keeping them covered.
