The way to Fight Soggy Pie Crusts With Epsom Salt

Absolutely the worst factor about baking a pie upfront is figuring out it will go soggy in an hermetic container. Whether or not it is just some hours en path to Grandma’s home or in a single day earlier than the vacations, there’s simply no means across the moisture of the filling slowly migrating towards the crust. However that does not imply we will not throw a wrench within the works.

Way back, a buddy of mine taught me that magnesium sulfate, higher often known as Epsom salt, may be dried out within the oven to create a secure however highly effective desiccant. How highly effective? Nicely, a number of cups can shrivel up a pint of contemporary raspberries in a matter of days, or flip a handful of sage right into a pile of crispy chips in a single day.

It is spectacular, to make sure, however the logistics of floor space and circulation make it somewhat ineffective for drying any important amount of meals. However for these of us much less enthusiastic about dehydration than in merely combating humidity, it is a surprisingly useful instrument. Even higher, it is low cost and straightforward to make at residence. All you want is a quart of food-grade Epsom salt (no lavender or eucalyptus scents right here).

Simply pour it into an enormous brownie pan or rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment, and pop the entire thing right into a 400°F (200°C) oven, giving it a stir each quarter-hour or so, till the crystals are bone-dry, about 75 minutes complete. However wait, you say. Is not Epsom salt bone-dry to start with? Sure and no. Epsom salt is the hydrous type of magnesium sulfate, that means it truly incorporates water inside its crystals.

Because it’s warmed above 200°F, its shiny and semitranslucent crystals turn out to be damp as that water is launched, then more and more opaque as they effloresce right into a chalky white powder—anhydrous magnesium sulfate.

That complete course of can hypothetically be completed on the range, however the nature of direct warmth means the Epsom salt would require fixed consideration. Within the oven, it wants solely a fast stir every now and then to maintain clumping to a minimal.

As soon as it is bone-dry, switch the rocky items to an hermetic container, like a roomy pie service, and shut the lid tight. You may nestle a cooled pie in its plate straight on high, or cowl the anhydrous magnesium sulfate with a sheet of cheesecloth earlier than putting small pastries on it—suppose croissants, turnovers, or perhaps a freeform peach pie. Whereas the anhydrous magnesium sulfate is not dangerous to ingest, a cheesecloth barrier prevents it from getting onto whichever meals you are drying out. Regardless of the case, make sure the container is completely sealed, or else your DIY desiccant shall be contending with ambient humidity as properly.

I do not imply to recommend this technique retains any pie or pastry as flaky and crisp because the second it got here out of the oven, however in side-by-side comparisons of cherry pies saved in containers with and with out this desiccant, it made a exceptional distinction within the texture of the crust. It is the right trick for maintaining a make-ahead pie as contemporary as potential for picnics and potlucks, but it surely’s additionally helpful for a lot extra. A thick layer of anhydrous magnesium sulfate within the backside of an hermetic container may also go a great distance towards sustaining the crispness of candies akin to toffee and peanut brittle in summer time months, and it does a bang-up job of drying small portions of contemporary flowers and herbs (for these of us inclined to make use of colourful violets and mint as garnishes).

The most effective half is that anhydrous magnesium sulfate has no expiration date, so, whereas you’ll need to bake it once more from time to time to drive out the moisture it absorbs, it may be saved for repeated use.

August 2016