Amish Blueberry Pie Recipe

Amish Recipe for Blueberry Pie

Amish blueberry pie is a traditional dessert that has been handed down through generations. It is made with a flaky pastry crust filled with a sweet and luscious blueberry filling. The filling is made with fresh or frozen blueberries, sugar, clear jel as a thickener, and lemon juice to enhance the blueberry flavor.

It's baked until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. This mouthwatering pie is perfect when served warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

In addition, chilled blueberry pie on its own is also a treat. And this amazing berry pie seems to be a hit with everyone. I mean, seriously, who doesn't like blueberries?

And the sweetness of blueberries in pie form is truly a delight for the taste buds.

Blueberry Pie Filling From Frozen Blueberries

This easy blueberry pie recipe can be made using fresh or frozen blueberries. And since this pie filling gets cooked before adding it to the crust, frozen berries work equally as well as fresh.

It doesn't take long to cook the filling, and all you need is a few simple ingredients. One ingredient, however, that is used in this pie may not be as common with many home cooks, namely "clear jel".

Clear Jel or Cornstarch?

Many pie-filling recipes use cornstarch or flour as a thickening agent, and those typically work fine.

However, when looking at Amish recipes, you'll notice that most fruit pie filling is thickened with clear jel. And it is always the recommended thickener to use in canning.

What is the Difference?

Clear Jel and cornstarch are both used as thickeners in cooking and baking, but they have some differences in terms of their properties and usage.

ClearJel is a modified cornstarch and a favorite among commercial bakers for use in their fruit pie fillings. Unlike regular cornstarch, ClearJel can withstand acidic ingredients and high temperatures without causing pie fillings to become runny or separate during storage. This makes it the ideal ingredient for achieving the perfect consistency and texture in fruit pies.

Cornstarch, on the other hand, is a fine powder made from the starchy endosperm of corn kernels. It is a versatile thickener that can be used in a wide variety of recipes, including soups, gravies, sauces, and baked goods. Cornstarch thickens at a higher temperature than Clear Jel and can break down if exposed to acidic ingredients or prolonged cooking times.

And if you have ever used cornstarch or flour as thickeners, you know that it thickens as it chills. However, clear jel does not change its consistency very much whether it's hot or cold. So when you use clear jel to thicken fruit filling, you can tell how thick your filling will be when cutting into your pie. Whether it's warm or cold, it stays pretty much the same.

And last but not least, cornstarch or flour will yield a cloudy filling. While using clear jel gives you a lovely clear filling so the berries can shine through.

Where Can I Find Clear Jel?

I recommend using clear jel for pie filling. However, I know that you can't walk into Walmart and buy clear jel. It's not to be found in many stores. So unless you have an Amish or Mennonite bulk food store close by, you will probably have to buy it online. Therefore, I am leaving a link here where you can purchase clear jel.

Just make sure you buy the regular or cook-type clear jel (not instant).

But if you're wanting to make an Amish blueberry pie today, and you don't have any clear jel, you can substitute it with cornstarch. Although, I haven't made it with cornstarch. So I'm not 100% sure how much cornstarch it takes to replace clear jel. Some articles will tell you to use one-for-one, and others will tell you to use less cornstarch.

Before baking, brush the crust with an egg wash (a mixture of egg and milk), to give it a glossy and golden finish.

I hope you enjoy Amish blueberry pie.

Obviously, you could use this blueberry pie filling as a topping for other desserts as well. Just make it a bit thinner by using less clear jel.

This recipe could also be used for other kinds of berry pies such as blackberry, mulberry, raspberry, etc. So if you've been fortunate enough to harvest wild blackberries, you can use this recipe to make Amish blackberry pie.

More Amish Pie Recipes

Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping

Chocolate Shoofly Pie

Vanilla Crumb Pie

Raisin Cream Pie

Traditional Apple Pie