A raspberry pie is a dessert that is made from a pie crust and raspberries. These fruits are available in the summer and early fall, so raspberry pies are usually only made during these seasons. This type of pie is always sweet because of the natural sweetness of the raspberries and the sugar added to it.
The main ingredients in a raspberry pie are raspberries. These plants can be found around the world, though it is believed that they were brought to the Americas by early human settlers or animals that migrated from Asia. These berries are sweet and slightly tart. They break apart easily because each raspberry is composed of many small pieces of fruit known as drupelets. When cooked with sugar, as they are for a raspberry pie, raspberries lose most of their tartness.
In order to make a raspberry pie, the cook needs to first make a pie crust. There are many recipes for pie crust that can be used, but most of them include flour, salt, water, and a fat, such as butter or shortening. In some recipes, sugar may also be added to the crust because it is being used for a dessert pie. The crust may be precooked to make it crispier or left raw and cooked along with the raspberries.
Depending on the recipe used, a raspberry pie may be covered with a layer of crust or left open. Technically, a pie with no crust on top is a tart, but many people use the term pie to apply to any large dessert baked in a crust. Latticed tops are also commonly seen on raspberry pies.
The filling of a raspberry pie consists mostly of raspberries and sugar. Lemon juice may also be added to make the pie tarter. The filling will be quite runny when it has cooked, so many people add thickeners, such as cornstarch or eggs, to help a raspberry pie keep its shape when it is cut. Other fruits, such as strawberries, blackberries, apricots, or apples may also be chopped up and mixed with the raspberries to make mixed-fruit raspberry pies.
A raspberry pie needs to bake for between 30 and 40 minutes. Once the pie has cooked, it can be taken out of the oven and allowed to rest, during which time the filling becomes firmer, allowing the pie to be sliced and served on plates. A raspberry pie is usually eaten as a dessert, though they can also be eaten for breakfast.