By John Fladd
Grape-Nuts and Raisin Pie, from the 1932 General Foods Cookbook
¾ cup (100 g) Grape-Nuts cereal
¾ cup (128 g) golden raisins, chopped
¾ cup (160 g) brown sugar
2¼ cup (510 g) hot water
¼ cup (57 g) apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons butter
Dough for a two-crust pie (see below)
Combine the Grape-Nuts, raisins, brown sugar, water, vinegar and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. As you do this, the mixture will seem far too soupy and thin to ever be a self-respecting pie filling.
The thing is, the raisins and Grape-Nuts, deep in their hearts, feel a little self-conscious. The raisins remember their grapey background and realize intellectually that they could take back all the liquid they gave up in their youth, but they feel hesitant to relax completely and suck up all this fluid. The Grape-Nuts are ever so dry and know that they too have the theoretical ability to suck up all this fluid but are bashful about it at first.
So here is what you as the Pie Facilitator will do: Take the soupy, syrupy mixture off the heat and set it somewhere to cool completely. This might take an hour or more. Because it will take a while to cool, the Grape-Nuts and the raisins will have time to relax in this syrupy hot tub and really hydrate deeply.
After the mixture has cooled for an hour or so, preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare the pie crust.
There is of course absolutely nothing wrong with using a store-bought pre-made crust. If, on the other hand, you feel up to making it, an all-butter crust will add to the flavor of the finished pie. Perfecting your own personal crust-making technique can be a long and spiritual endeavor that deserves its own discussion, but here’s one tip that has helped me greatly: freeze the butter, then grate it into the flour, to help bump up the crust’s flakiness.
At this point your pie filling might be cool. If so, pour it into the bottom pie crust, then weave the strips of dough into a lattice top. This is way easier than it looks. If you don’t know how to do it, look it up online. It’s one of those tricks that everyone wants to show off as soon as they’ve learned it, so there are a million how-to videos that will show you what to do.
Bake the pie at 425°F for 10 to 12 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake it for another 35 minutes or so, then remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely before serving it.
You’d think that without an egg or some other binder the filling would be too loose, hydration hot tub or no, but it sets up really well. The flavor is gently fruity; the shot of vinegar has rounded out the dried fruit sweetness and given it the very subtlest tang. The interesting thing here, though, is the apparent absence of the Grape-Nuts. It seems that upon giving itself up to relaxation and hydration, the cereal has become one with the pie. Has the Grape-Nuts spread its essence, or more specifically its protein filaments, throughout the filling, pulling it together texturally? It’s a good bet.
Regardless, the Grape-Nuts, formerly the gravel of the cereal world, has, against all odds, achieved a Buddhist ideal, releasing its identity to become with the Universe. Or in this case a pie filling., then strain the syrup. This will last for a week or two in your refrigerator.
Featured Image: Grape-Nuts and Raisin Pie. Photo by John Fladd.
