By Kevin Williams
Many Amish cooks have a "secret weapon" at their disposal when preparing fruit pies: Clear Jel. This modified cornstarch serves as a super thickener for fruit pies, so you don't cut a fruit pie and get rivers of runny slurry running onto your plate. Clear Jel thickens the liquid part of the pie so you get a nice, clean cut.
This is a great when fact sheet from the University of Wisconsin about Clear Gel and when you can use it, along with some great jam recipes. Clear Jel is also used in jams. Clear Jel can be very tough to find in chain grocery stores, but most Amish bulk food stores carry it and I have found some online stores that carry it.
Ice cream thickened with Clear Jel
There are two types of Clear Jel, the "instant" kind doesn't require heating for the thickener to activate, Gloria uses it as a mix-in thickener for ice cream, for instance. Here is her ice cream recipe.
Click here to buy Instant Clear Gel from Amazon.
I remember first hearing about Clear Jel in the early 90s when The Amish Cook mentioned it one of her columns. Wow, those were very, very different days. I remember that if a product was mentioned in the column readers would be at their local grocers looking for it and if they didn't have it, the grocers would call me and tell me to give them a heads up if something was going to run in the column so they could stock it. Yes, the column was popular back then but what this really shows is how much influence newspapers had back then. Would the same thing happen today? No way. The Amish Cook column is better than ever but newspaper readership has declined so, so much.
Anyway, back to Clear Gel...it was ranked the top pie thickener by Cooks Illustrated. Part of what makes it such an attractive thickener is its ease of use. You don’t have to over cook the fruit with it as you do with cornstarch in some pies. You just have to whisk the fruit or berries with the Clear Jel and sugar mix or sprinkle this mixture over the fruit. Cover the fruit or berries and you are ready to bake. Clear Jel can also be used as a thickening substitute when a recipe calls for flour as a thickener. Always mix the Clear Jel with a little sugar from the recipe to avoid clumping.
I've had Amish-made fruit pies made with Clear Jel and there is a distinctive firmness to the fruit filling, so next time you need to thicken something, ditch the cornstarch and try Clear Jel!
Nan
My thought in reading the decline of the newsletter is that the very act of cooking has declined. I still love to cook and enjoy seeing a few ingredients and some effort turn into a delicious dish or dessert. That seems to be lost on most young people. I have married sons whose wives consider if they sling together a blue box of mac and cheese together that they have cooked. My grandchildren have no clue about good country cooking. My granddaughter wanted me to buy some fudge at a store at a hugely exaggerated price. When i told her we could make a pan full for that price she looked at me as though I was a wizard. She honestly did not know candy could be made at home. It is sad. Even out local school cafeterias where the "lunch ladies " made homemade food on a daily basis have changed. For a very high price they now serve chicken nuggets, pizza, french fries and whatever else requires a quick reheat. Fast food is now the norm and chain restaurants advertising a special at $10.99 and up for a meal. I could make an entire meal for that. I realize many wives now work outside the home but with modern appliances and labor saving food perep machines I think there is still no reason not to cook. Guess I am just a cranky old woman but by gosh I can cook.
Kevin
Welcome, Nan...I liked your post, thank you for leaving it and if you can cook, I can deal with the cranky, I'll come over for supper anytime!:)
Jim
Hi Keven,
To me, "Clear Gel" has it's place, but not in a pie. Gram always used a couple of tablespoons of flour sprinkled over the fruit or berries. Yes, the pie was still a bit runny, unlike a store bought one. And to me, that was the difference between a "Homemade" and "Store Bought." And, the proof is in the pudding by the taste of each. 😀
Kevin
Interesting, thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jim...flour is a good thickener