To make cherry pie and berry pie (c. 15th - 16th century) ★★★

7:28 AM 1400s , 1500s , 15th century , 16th century , 3 stars , dairy-free , dessert , fruit , Gent KANTL 15 , late middle ages , netherlands , pastry , pie 5 Comments

Well, to be honest the crust sucked. This was probably because the recipe was pretty vague and also because silly Mr.Man put the pie in the fridge and I had used coconut oil, which gets pretty hard in cool temperatures. So yes, I was going to use canola oil, since I assumed that's what the recipe called for. I don't know anything else called "rape oil", and the first known use of the word dates back to the 14th century, interestingly enough from the Latin word for turnip (rapa or rapum). But, after I mixed the egg into the flour I discovered that I didn't have any canola oil, so I decided to use coconut instead. I mean, the crust is definitely edible, but its not the best ever. It wasn't flaky at all and basically just snapped into pieces like a cookie or something.

The filling, on the other hand, was delicious! The cinnamon and sugar paired perfectly with the cherries, and somehow I got the perfect balance of flavours. The only issue was that the filling was ridiculously runny. Probably close to a cup of liquid spurted out when I cut the pie. A little cornstarch would easily fix the problem. Oh, and having some cherries un-pitted was a huge pain, both in eating and in cutting. Don't do it. Lastly, as you can see, the top doesn't really come out very colored. It was a bit brighter when it first came out of the oven, but I think my paltry attempt at coloring combined with heat just didn't make for a bright red pie.

So overall Mr. Man and I gave this recipe three stars for average, but I think if you adapted the recipe a bit it could be 4 stars. Changes that would need to be made are: 1) use your favourite pastry recipe; 2) add some sort of thickener to the filling; and 3) pit all the cherries.

Modernized Recipe:

(Adapted from Gent KANTL 15)

FLOUR

CANOLA OIL

2 EGG WHITES

BERRIES (strawberries, cherries, lingonberries, or red currants), plus extras for coloring the top

CINNAMON

SUGAR

1. In a mixing bowl, mix 2 eggs whites with about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour. Add enough oil to get a workable dough. Blend it together in a food processor, with a pastry blender, or with your hands (my preferred method). Knead into a ball and divide into two disks. Roll out both disks. Place the first one in a pie pan.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the cherries with cinnamon and sugar to taste (I used about a tablespoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar). Mix together well and pour into the prepared bottom crust.
3. Place the second crust on top, crimp down the edges, and make slices or holes in the top to let out steam. To color the top of the pie, I tried to rub a cut cherry on the pastry, but it didn't make much juice, so I would suggest pureeing or mashing some berries, straining them, and brushing the juice on with a pastry brush. Or even mix some juice with an egg white or butter and then brush it on.
4. Bake the pie in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes.