Today is National Pie Day.  A sublime pie crust separates truly great pies from average pies.  It must be flakey, not soggy – stand up to the filling but not be tough or chewy.  People spend years mastering the technique to create the perfect pie crust.

My favorite story of this comes from my ex-wife.  When her grandmother was in her final days my then wife would spend time at her home to keep her company and they had a chance to share family stories.  Her grandmother was famous for her perfect pie crusts, a feat that was unmatched in her family, despite many attempts to duplicate her recipe.  My wife asked her what the secret was, expecting to hear exactly how cold the water must be or a trick for incorporating the butter.  She had repeatedly tried to duplicate her grandmother’s pie crust recipe without success.  Her grandmother waved her closer and in a conspiratorial whisper said “Oh, darling, I’ve been using Pillsbury Ready-Crust since it came out and no one has ever been able to tell the difference.”

A lesson learned, often the most important ingredient in any recipe is reputation.

As always you can find more at http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes

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