Cookbook talk:Pie Crust

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I'm not sure I agree with the characterizations of pastry crusts as "old style" or as "bland" or "somewhat greasy," though this could be the case for specific crusts. The crust I usually make is not greasy, and a greasy crust is a sign of poor worksmanship (usually due to combining fat into the flour). Bland has multiple meanings ("pleasant" for example), but it's generally used as a pejorative; I usually like my crusts. =) Kellen 22:28, 18 May 2005 (UTC)

Bland can be good or bad, depending on what you want. A crumb crust made from chocolate cookie crumbs is very much not bland, and completely unsuitable for a chicken pot pie. (well, maybe a pregnant woman would crave such a thing, probably with green olives on top) When you consider how flavorful many of the crumb crusts are, the normal pastry crusts are definitely bland. You could add some herbs and spices to change that of course, but people don't normally do that. AlbertCahalan 22:44, 18 May 2005 (UTC)

I think "somewhat greasy" is accurate. A really greasy pie crust is defective of course. If you rub the bottom of a normal pie, you can feel the grease. A good pastry pie crust does a fairly decent job of hiding this, but the crumb crusts are usually a bit better. AlbertCahalan 22:44, 18 May 2005 (UTC)

Since all the really old pie crust recipes are pastry, I'm fairly certain that "old style" is also accurate. Let me know if you find a crumb crust recipe that is over a century old. Probably I can find pastry crust recipes that go back several centuries. AlbertCahalan 22:44, 18 May 2005 (UTC)

Fair enough. Kellen 22:46, 18 May 2005 (UTC)

I will also dispute the description of a pastry crust as "bland, flakey, and somewhat greasy". It is impossible to read this as a positive statement, particularly when followed immediately by fulsome praise for crumb crusts.

I will also dispute the claim that "many pies" are made with crumb crusts, because I have consumed very, very many pies in my life, and I have never encountered a crumb crust once outside American cookbooks.

It may be the case that "in the USA, many sweet pies" are made with crumb crusts. But this page, as it stands, is far too negative about traditional crusts, and far too biased in favour of sweet pies. It is totally non-representative of pie crusts in my experience. 81.86.133.45 22:07, 27 March 2006 (UTC)