Mom's Berry Pie

If using elderberries, or berries that are not quite ripe, you may want to use a little more sugar to the berries and brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Elderberries have quite a few seeds in them, as do raspberries and blackberries.

1 quart fresh berries: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, elderberries, or other similar berry
1 cup sugar, or to taste [I used 3/4 cup and it was sweet enough with a tart taste from the raspberries]
3 T. uncooked quick tapioca, such as Minute Tapioca
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Dough for a Two-Crust Pie

Mom's instructions: Fill an unbaked pie crust with fresh berries. Sprinkle with sugar, a couple of tablespoons of uncooked quick tapioca, and a few tsp. of lemon juice. [Some recipes dot the berries with a little butter.] Cover with a top crust (lattice tops look nice). May brush with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar - good especially if berries are a bit tart. [I've seen recipes that brush the crust with cream instead.] Bake on the bottom rack of the oven (ensures the bottom crust bakes) at 400° F. for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350° F. and bake another 45 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the crust is lightly browned.

Best served warm. Good with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Note: some people like to add a little cinnamon for flavor - use 1/8 tsp.

Cooks Illustrated's Test Kitchen found when making their Blueberry Pie that "Pie filling thickened without enough tapioca won't firm up. But too much tapioca leads to gumminess." What they did to get around this is use 2 Tbsp. tapioca and 1 grated Granny Smith apple for its pectin properties. "The pie thickened with tapioca plus an apple had a naturally gelled texture that was just right. The apple bits seemed to melt into the berry filling during baking, boosting fruity flavor but leaving no textural sign of their presence." They also use 1/4 cup vodka (plus water) when making their pie crust saying that it is essential to the texture of the crust.