Nope, tarts and pies are different things here. A pie is made with a flaky, rolled pastry crust and typically baked in a round dish with sloped sides and a lip to support a fluted edge. It can have bottom crust only, top and bottom crust, or bottom crust with a lattice or other decorative crust on top. They are generally served straight from the pan in which they are baked. Fruit in pie is usually cooked (though there are a few exceptions).
Tarts, on the other hand, are typically made with pâte sucrée or another similar dough that can be pressed into the pan (although depending on the dough it can sometimes be rolled as well), and baked in a tart pan with straight, vertical sides and a removable bottom, so that the tart can be lifted out of the pan for cutting and serving. Typically you will see fresh fruit rather than cooked fruit in a tart (although again, there are exceptions).
I was surprised at what the GBBO contestants created when their brief was to make an American style dessert pie. I don’t recall which season it was, only that they used short crusts that were patted into straight-sided pans. To us, that’s a tart, not a pie. If memory serves, nobody used a top crust either, and while that’s not absolutely essential, the American “Ur-pie” is a double-crust apple pie, although there are those who’d claim cherry, blueberry, or peach, depending on region.
re lard, I’ll just add that I save the excess fat from roast pork shoulders or when making rillettes or carnetas. I freeze these individually and just scoop out quantities I need for pastry crusts.
I was taught to make deliciously flaky crust by my grandmother…she used lard if available, Crisco if not.
But it takes some planning and extra time to allow for the dough to rest, so I most often ise Pillsbury (and only Pillsbury) readymade…they actually use lard, so its a.really good crust, and makes it possible to make chicken pot pie or chicken and leek pie foe a weeknight supper.
@shrinkrap - both of those items look interesting. I wonder if you could brush the pattie wrappers with annotto seeds that have been crushed and liquified for the yellow color or ground turmeric if it was mixed with some liquid…
Thanks! And maybe. I have made achiote/annatto oil and brushed it on before rolling out the wrappers, and after. It’s messy, and brushing before making the “pies” complicates the whole pastry texture issue. I do end up rolling out the wrappers a bit; I think that is in the instructions. I’m thinking the traditional yellow color is mostly cosmetic, but maybe not.
I made patties once and they turned out great; can’t remember the recipe now, but it was straightforward and pretty easy. I’ll look to see what the ingredients are that make them yellow. I’m thinking it may have been curry powder, but will have to confirm.
That episode infuriated me, especially listening to the Brits go on and on (INCORRECTLY) about what American pie is. Not ONE contestant made anything an American would call pie!
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
34
I can’t recall it - but it would have infuriated me, too (***** see below).
This is a “British” bake off. What the fuck are they doing trying to bake anything American?
By the by, Google tells me the “American pie” was a showstopper challenge. So, they obviously had many weeks to plan what they were going to do. Presumably none of them Googled “American pie” to at least get a starting point to develop their showstopper.
(***** although it wouldnt have infuriated me as much as hearing about Americans making “shepherds pie” using beef)
When I posted it last year I wrote “Jamaican Beef Patties in empanada wrappers…after daubing with oil/tumeric/“Jamaican curry powder” mixture, per Serious Eats Jamaican Beef patty-”
LOL! I fully admit I have ignorantly referred to beef versions of the dish by that name in the past, but have since learned to call them cottage pie. It just takes a google search to learn something new, which apparently was too much work for both the supposed “experts” (who clearly hadn’t a clue what pie is in America) or the contestants in this case. They make dessert specialties from all over the world on the show, and 99% of the time they are well-researched, “authentic” examples of what that dessert is supposed to be - why on earth did they drop the ball so much on American pie?
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
40
Well, as I said, I don’t recall seeing that episode so have no idea what they actually made. But, reading your explanation, and that of Lambchop’s, upthread, there seems to be quite a bit of flexibility as to what “pie” actually is. None of which seem particularly different from a British pie. They will, obviously, all have an understanding of what a British pie is, so I struggle to understand what on earth they all may have made (other than they consistently seem to have not made an American pie, whatever that might actually be).
I’ve read an online American review of the episode and it looks like only one contestant made an identifiable American pie. In fact, “key lime pie” is the only identifiable American pie I can think of. Others seem to have gone down the route of using American ingredients - blueberries, peanuts, pumpkin, etc - to make their pie. By the by, that article makes no suggestion that these are not “American pies” but, hey, just because you’re American doesnt mean you know anything about American pies.
