French Rhubarb Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep a rhubarb pie from being runny? ›

Just take the liquid you strained out and simmer it over medium-low heat with a thickener like cornstarch until it's less runny. Then add the thickened juice back to your rhubarb and cornstarch mixture before cooking your recipe like normal.

Venting is key for a perfect rhubarb filling.

Rhubarb has a surprising amount of moisture, and sugar draws it out. Make sure you've got plenty of vent holes — either make them with a circle cutter as I did, or top the pie with a lattice. Venting allows moisture to leave the pie as steam, and prevents sogginess.

Discard leaves and woody ends. Wash rhubarb with cool tap water, but do not soak.

Add some water (at least a cup) and the rhubarb to a saucepan. Add some sugar (about a cup) Cook on medium low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is boiled down to a thick syrup. Let the mix cool, or refrigerate, and then move along with your recipe.

Add 1 cup of granulated sugar to the fruit, along with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch or tapioca starch. Tapioca starch is best for fruit pies, because it sets clear.

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.

All-purpose flour is an easy solution, as you're sure to have it in your pantry. Since it's lower in starch, you'll use more of it than you would higher-starch thickeners. Quick-cooking tapioca makes filling bright and clear, but also gives it a stippled and somewhat sticky texture.

Brush the Bottom with Corn Syrup or Egg White

Adding a layer of corn syrup or a slightly beaten egg white before pouring in the filling will form a seal between the pie dough and the filling and will help make the crust crisp and flaky.

Rhubarb shows off it's stripes

This article recommends poaching the rhubarb in a sugar syrup first and you can add flavors like vanilla, cardamom, star anise or even lemon to add a unique twist and a recipe for Vanilla-poached rhubarb pound cake.

How do you make rhubarb taste better? ›

Sweeten It: Rhubarb's natural tartness can be balanced with sugar or other sweeteners. You can make rhubarb compote, pie, or jam by simmering chopped rhubarb with sugar until it becomes tender and sweet. Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.

Rhubarb prefers a pH below 7.0 (neutral to acidic — adding peat moss, compost, coffee grounds and Espoma Holly-Tone organic fertilizer can help acidify soil).

Easy Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Treat the rhubarb stalks like celery, wash and chop the ends off (the leaves are toxic!), cut slices that roughly 1/4 inch thick (this ensures a quicker cooking time), place the chopped rhubarb slices in a large bowl, add the sugar and jello. Mix, and then spoon into a prepared pie crust.

Limp rhubarb can be perked up by standing the stems upright in chilled water for about an hour. A word of warning: rhubarb leaves are poisonous due to their relatively high oxalic acid content and must be discarded. The shredded leaves, mixed with water, were once used as an insecticide to spray over plants and bushes.

Let the pie cool completely — preferably overnight

As the pie cools, its filling will solidify. It takes time for pie to cool thoroughly and its filling to thicken completely, so control your appetite and let it rest for several hours.

The best way to thicken runny apple pie filling before baking it is to add some cornstarch, tapioca starch, or flour to your mix. To fix a runny pie that's already been baked, simply let it cool to see if it will congeal naturally. If not, you can stick it back in the oven for a bit longer.

When thickening a fruit pie filling, there are several options to consider. Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency.