Blueberry Pie

A bare-bones formula of the kind written for cooks who already knew how to build a pie. The ratios are sound; the missing pieces are oven heat, time and any instruction to vent the lid.

• The perforated tinA deep pie plate pierced with small holes; the perforations are generally taken to help the bottom crust bake through rather than steam. A standard 9-inch metal or glass plate works.
• Brush the base firstWater or egg white painted over the raw bottom crust and allowed to dry briefly forms a partial barrier against the berry juice; egg white is usually reckoned the more effective of the two, though the recipe treats them as alternatives.
• Chopped pasteA rough puff-type pastry where the butter is cut into the flour in visible flakes rather than rubbed smooth; the book offers it as an alternative to Plain Paste. Any all-butter pie dough will serve.
• Floured berriesThe flour clinging to the wet fruit is the only thickener given. The recipe does not say how much; something like two tablespoons to three cups of berries is a reasonable reading.
• The vinegarHalf a teaspoon in three cups of fruit is a seasoning, not a leavening. It sharpens the flat sweetness of cooked blueberries much as lemon juice does, and lemon juice can stand in at the same quantity.
• Oven and timeUnstated, as was usual. Blueberry pie wants a hot start and a moderate finish: 425F for the first 15 minutes to set the bottom, then 350F for another 35 to 45 minutes, until juice bubbles thickly through the vents.
• Cut the lidThe original says only "cover with crust." Slash or prick the top before baking, or the filling will lift the lid and split the seal.
• Yield and coolingThe recipe gives a ratio rather than a yield; three cups of berries is on the scant side for a deep tin, so scale up for a larger plate. Cool two to three hours before cutting; the flour-thickened juice does not set until the pie is near room temperature.