Starches for Fillings

Appears in
Professional Baking
Professional Baking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2008

  • About
Many kinds of pie filling, especially fruit fillings and cream fillings, depend on starch for their thickness. Some egg-thickened fillings, such as pumpkin, also sometimes contain starch. The starch acts as a stabilizer and may also reduce the cost by allowing for a lower egg content.
  • Cornstarch is used for cream pies because it sets up into a firm gel that holds its shape when sliced. It may also be used for fruit pies.
  • Waxy maize or modified starches are best for fruit pies because they are clear when set and make a soft paste rather than a firm gel. Waxy maize should be used for pies that are to be frozen, as this starch is not broken down by freezing.
  • Flour, tapioca, potato starch, rice starch, and other starches are used less frequently for fillings. Flour has less thickening power than other starches and makes fruit fillings cloudy.
  • Instant or pregelatinized starch needs no cooking because it has already been cooked. When used with certain fruit fillings, it eliminates the need to cook the filling before making up the pie. It loses this advantage, however, if the filling is made of raw fruit that must be cooked anyway. In the case of soft fillings such as pumpkin, instant starch can be used to eliminate a problem that often occurs with cornstarch: Cornstarch tends to settle out before gelatinizing. This creates a dense, starchy layer on the bottom and improperly thickened filling on top. Instant starches differ in thickening power, so follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.