I made a cherry pie today for Bettie’s son-in-law’s birthday. He really likes cherry pie and I had been wanting to try thickening a pie with Ultra Gel so that worked out well.
I have been doing some experimenting with Ultra Gel. I have used Clear Gel in the past and found out it isn’t always Gluten Free. Ultra Gel however is and I like the way it thickens gravies etc, and you can stir it in hot liquids or cold without making a slurry.
The pie thickened well, and the birthday boy was happy with his pie. I used the recipe that is in a small cookbook for Ultra Gel. If you are a cherry pie lover you might want to give this a try. Very easy to make, I used frozen sour cherries (no pits to remove).
Ultra Gel Cherry Pie
Yield: one 9” double crust pie
3 ½ cup fresh or thawed pitted sour cherries
1 cup sugar
1 ⅓ cup water or juice or combination of both
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon bottled lemon juice
¼ t. Almond extract (opt.)
6 drops red food coloring (opt.) My cherries were red enough without coloring
½ cup Ultra Gel
2 unbaked 9 inch pie crusts (one each for top and bottom crusts)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Rinse and pit fresh cherries or thaw and drain frozen cherries saving the cherry juice to use in the pie (pie cherries are usually sour cherries) Combine sugar, water or juice and lemon juice. Stir in flavoring and coloring if desired. Gradually add Ultra Gel, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Fold in cherries and turn into unbaked pie crust. Cover with top crust and seal edges well. Prick and decorate as desired. Bake at 400°F. For about 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F and bake 30 to 40 minutes more until crust is golden brown.
Yield: one 9” double crust pie
3 ½ cup fresh or thawed pitted sour cherries
1 cup sugar
1 ⅓ cup water or juice or combination of both
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon bottled lemon juice
¼ t. Almond extract (opt.)
6 drops red food coloring (opt.) My cherries were red enough without coloring
½ cup Ultra Gel
2 unbaked 9 inch pie crusts (one each for top and bottom crusts)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Rinse and pit fresh cherries or thaw and drain frozen cherries saving the cherry juice to use in the pie (pie cherries are usually sour cherries) Combine sugar, water or juice and lemon juice. Stir in flavoring and coloring if desired. Gradually add Ultra Gel, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Fold in cherries and turn into unbaked pie crust. Cover with top crust and seal edges well. Prick and decorate as desired. Bake at 400°F. For about 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F and bake 30 to 40 minutes more until crust is golden brown.
I'll have to look at the label on that Ultra Gel. Looking all the time for lower carb ingredients.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't checked the label for carb count, I check for gluten. The ingredient list shows total carbs at 1%, 4g for 1 tablespoon of Ultra Gel
DeleteLooks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteNever used Ultra Gel; always used Tapioca as a thickening agent for pies, etc.
Ultra Gel does work well in juicy type pies, but not as well in the berry or apple type. Not enough juice I guess.
DeleteI use it for the no gluten or else I use cornstarch. I bought mine from Amazon.
use the apple pie recipe from the ultra gel cookbook. You add apple juice and it makes the best apple pie I've ever had.
DeleteThanks, I'll give it a try, I am Celiac so need no flour thickening pies. No crust either, sadly.
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