How long will a pie last, and how do you refresh a pie are two questions I am asked weekly. So take a deep breath and read on for some of the longest run on sentences I’ve ever written!
How Long Will a Pie Last?
How long will a pie last? Well, that question is pretty open ended and depends on how many pie eaters there are in your house. At mine, it’s just me, so you would think that a pie should last me a few days at least. And, it would if I didn’t give so many away! Really, I am the first person who will offer a piece of pie or an entire pie to someone who asks or who sounds like they need a little nourishment or an emotional pick me up. Pie does nourish us in different ways.
But to get back to the question, a custard pie should be stored in the fridge, and a fruit pie is safe for a day or so on the counter covered with a cloth but if you live in a hot climate, you will want to pop it in the fridge as well.
How to Refresh a Pie?
(Here’s where you take the deep breath!)
But if you have a piece or two left, or maybe even an entire pie except for the one little piece you sampled at midnight when you couldn’t sleep, and Aunt Frances and Cousin Bill who just happen to be in town suddenly called to say, “we’ll just stop by for a minute…now don’t you go to any trouble to clean or bake for us…”…and before you get off the phone you are looking around at the piles of books and papers on your table, and the clean clothes to fold on your couch, (the true signs of someone who lives alone) and panic is nipping at your toes as well as your nose…well, here’s the solution.
Refresh the Pie! Read on for detailed instructions.
Turn on the oven to 325F and pop the pie in right away, grab the piles of clean clothes and throw them onto your bed where they will join the other clothes that are there because today really was the day you were going to reorganize your closet and dresser drawers until you decided to go to yoga, and afterwards the library was so close by that it seemed a good idea to stop in for a just few more books (you really can’t have too many, you know), and then you bumped into a friend and decided to catch up over a latté and then…well, the day just got away from you…so after you toss the clothes and hope that they make the bed and not the floor you shut the door tight and then run back to the table to consolidate the books and papers and throw a pretty scarf over them, then into the kitchen to turn on the kettle and get out the family china which hopefully is not chipped, and forks and clean napkins (oh please let there be enough clean ones!)…you splash some water on your face and run a brush through your hair for a few strokes…and then you hear the knock at the door, take a deep breath before inviting them in to sit a spell and have a piece (“oh, we really shouldn’t but since you have some all ready made…”) and a cup of tea…the pie will be refreshed and Frances and Bill won’t have any idea of what that 15 minute blitz clean consisted.
The short answer for how to refresh a pie? 15-20 minutes in an oven preheated to 325F…but, I bet you liked the longer answer better. 😉