Jabuticaba Pie

One of the joys of moving from a temperate to a tropical climate is suddenly being introduced to a whole range of fruits you've never heard of.  This seems almost anachronistic to me, with globalization making bananas and strawberries available to your average supermarket year-round.  But it is indeed the case, in part because of fruits like Jabuticaba, also known as Brazilian grape.  These berry-like fruits are native to South America, and grow directly on the trunk of the tree, which is crazy to see and makes them relatively easy (in my opinion) to harvest.  The fruit has very sweet flesh, although the skin and seeds are quite tart, and they're supposed to be loaded with antioxidants.  Why aren't they extremely popular outside the tropics?  Shelf life.  Once the fruit is ripe, you have about a 3-day window to enjoy them before they spoil.  This is usually prevented by making jelly or embraced by making wine/liquor.  I don't have a fermentation set-up, and I didn't feel like trying to round up canning supplies, so I just made a pie, hoping everyone would eat pie before the 3-day window was up.  Everyone likes pie, right?

The key to a good pie, in my mind, is the crust.  And that's the tricky part.  I had read tips, watched professionals, and tried different recipes, but couldn't quite get it.  Then I went to a 4th of July party with my roommate and had the most delicious pie (outside of Stauffer's if you're ever in Lincoln, NE).  Turned out this fantastic pie was homemade by my roommate's Aunt, who every year considers not entering her pie in the county fair so that someone else will win.  And she gave me the easiest, most consistently awesome pie crust recipe.  I've been baking pies ever since.


Aunt Marilyn's Pie Crust Recipe:
2 C flour
1 C crisco 
1 tsp salt (don't forget this.  That's pretty much the only way to ruin this recipe)
1/2 C cold water

Yeah, that's it.  Mix the flour, salt, and crisco until crumbly (see photo, left).  Add about half the water and mix well.  Add more water as needed until you have something resembling a pie dough.  Dump onto a floured surface (I always a silicone mat, because 1-- the texture of the mat makes it easy to spread a thin, even layer of flour, and 2-- it makes picking up the rolled crust WAY easier) and knead just until you reach the desired consistency.  Divide in half and roll out into crusts, then put 1 crust in a pie pan.

Some additional tips:  1) Don't over-mix or over-knead.  Other sources that I have encountered talk at great length about the importance of not perfectly blending everything.  Those weird semi-incorporated blobs of crisco are going to give you a flakey texture. 2) To roll the crust evenly, roll from the center out, in a different direction each time.

To make the Jabuticaba Filling:
2 C Jabuticaba, halved
3 Tbsp flour
1 C sugar

Those measurements are approximations.  The sugar does a few wonderful things-- it makes the pie sweet (the batch of jabuticaba I had was rather tart), it mixes with the juices of the jabuticaba--creating the gooey, yummy,

gel-like filling around the fruit, and it inhibits bacterial growth when present in high concentrations by altering osmotic balance.
      Basically, all that wonderful sugar is going to pull water out of just about everything around it.  You can actually see this happen-- cut up some strawberries, sprinkle them with sugar, and come back later. The sugar will have dissolved in strawberry juice.  (It can be more noticeable with salt and apples, but strawberries and sugar tastes better.)  But water won't just get pulled out of fruit; it'll also get pulled out of bacteria, making their lives a whole lot harder, and making your food last longer.
     Back to the recipe! Combine the ingredients, pour them into your pie crust, and either top with the second pie crust (be sure to poke some holes in it) or with a crumble.

Quick Crumble Topping:
2 Tbsp Flour
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Butter
Combine in a small bowl until they take on a sand-like texture.  Sprinkle over the pie.

Cover the edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.  Bake ~30 minutes in a 375 degree (Fahrenheit) oven.  Remove the foil, and cook about 10 minutes longer.  The edges should be lightly browned and the filling set.