Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe | Self Proclaimed Foodie (2024)

FAQs

Why is my strawberry rhubarb pie runny? ›

The reason rhubarb pie gets so runny is that rhubarb is 95% liquid, which puts it near the top of watery fruits and vegetables alongside things like melon and cabbage.

Because there's a lot of moisture in rhubarb, it's common to get a soggy lower crust. A blast of higher heat when you first start baking helps prevent that.

Rhubarb, when mixed with strawberries, gives you that sourness to balance the sweetness and the complexity.

If it's warm or hot, it'll cook the berries, causing them to leak moisture, causing your pie to be runny, weepy, or not set up. This also happens if you let the pie sit too long in the refrigerator, which is why it's best eaten the day it's assembled.

Thankfully the science of baking has an easy trick up its sleeve to deal with this, and all it involves is tossing your rhubarb with some sugar. Mixing your fresh fruit with sugar and letting it sit is called maceration, and it helps draw excess liquid out of your rhubarb before it cooks out and leaves your pie soggy.

Sprinkle dried breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal, on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven.

Getting a brown, flaky/crispy bottom crust on your pie is all about quick and effective heat transfer. That's why aluminum or aluminum/steel pans — rather than glass or stoneware — are your best choice for baking pie. Metal, especially aluminum, transfers heat quickly and efficiently from oven to pie crust.

Place cut (and blanched, if desired) rhubarb on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flash-freeze until firm (about two to three hours).

My crust isn't flaky! ~~~ For soggy crust, you can lightly brush the bottom crust with beaten egg white before pouring in your filling. This forms a seal over the crust to prevent it from getting soggy.

Rhubarb is high in calcium oxalate. While the substance is mainly in the leaves, it's also found in the stalks. Too much calcium oxalate in your diet may lead to hyperoxaluria, which is the buildup of oxalate crystals in different organs.

When not to use rhubarb? ›

If you already have kidney disease, avoid rhubarb. Kidney stones: Rhubarb contains a chemical that the body can convert into kidney stones. If you have ever had kidney stones, don't take rhubarb.

To thicken strawberry pie filling, you'll need to cook it on the stove and use a starch such as cornstarch (or a cornstarch substitute like tapioca starch or flour).

Crust dust is a 1:1 mixture of flour and granulated sugar. When baking a pie, especially a fruit pie, a couple of teaspoons of crust dust sprinkled into the bottom of the crust will help prevent the crust from becoming saturated with juicy filling as it bakes.

Why Is My Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Soggy? It's pretty common for a fruit crisp to be a little runny when you first take it out of the oven because it's hot. You'll notice as it cools, the added cornstarch will thicken up the filling nicely.

If you don't bake your pie at a high enough temp your thickener doesn't get to the necessary temperature for a long enough time to thicken your filling. Also, that high temp is needed to get your pie crust light & flaky.

Rhubarb pie fillings are often soft and runny. The rhubarb contains so much water, you either have to add too much thickener or coax the rhubarb to release its liquid before thickening it.