Pie Club Week 1: Pineapple

I have decided to dedicate this blog, (which I have hardly used) to documenting the 52 different pies I am going to make in the next 52 weeks! I am making these pies to help develop my menu for a business that I will be opening, and to perfect the recipes I will use. I created a pie club, where my friends and family can becomes members and choose 1 or 1 of each pie from the 4-5 I make each month to enjoy and give me feedback on. I am super excited about this pie club!!!

Week 1: Pineapple Pie
I tried 3 different recipes for pineapple pie, and there was one clear winner. I made a lattice pie, which included canned pineapple, sugar and cornstarch.

The second pie was a double crust with fresh pineapple, eggs, sugar, flour and lemon.

And the third, was a pineapple meringue pie which included canned, crushed pineapple, sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla and butter.

I was really hoping the pie that I used fresh pineapple and lemon in would be the best, but it turned out that simplicity won. The first pie, which was the most simple and had the fewest ingredients, was by far the best; and very delicious. 

The double crust pie with the fresh pineapple had a perfume aftertaste, which was not pleasant, and with flour as the only thickener it did not set up the way I wanted it to. I could have used cornstarch in the pie as well, but I wanted to experiment with other thickeners. 

The meringue was also good, but not as good as lemon meringue, so why bother? :)

Overall, I found pineapple pie to be a very delicious option. It smelled heavenly during baking and as it cooled.  Pineapple pie is beautiful when baked, and I received amazing, positive feedback about it, including "This pie is better than golfing!". The flavor was not overly sour or sweet, but a very nice in between and I love that is used simple ingredients. The density of the filling was perfect with the flakiness of the crust, and was balanced even more with some fresh whipped cream. this pie reminds me of pineapple upside down cake, but even a little  better due to the flaky crust! A wonderful, non-traditional, fruit pie that I will definitely bake again.