As Easy as Cherry Pie

One of summer’s many pleasures is fresh cherries. On July 3, 1938, Times Food Editor Lona Gilbert offered readers a wonderful, extremely simple cherry pie recipe to try at home.

“Whether sour or sweet,” Gilbert wrote, “cherries fill a colorful, flavorful part of summer menu planning.” Her recipe appeared on the Women’s Pages alongside articles about women’s fashions (“Summer Charm and Comfort”) and summer “formulas” that even Lana Turner had discovered (“Sunburn Lotion Inexpensive”).

“Outstanding among the cherry-growing sections,” Gilbert wrote, “is California.”

According to H.M. Butterfield’s “History of Deciduous Fruits in California,” also published in July, 1938, cherries may have grown in California before it became a state in 1850. By the 1850s, the California cherry industry was booming, thanks to large cherry growers like John Lewelling of San Lorenzo, who reported 25 varieties and more than 7,000 trees in 1858. His nursery, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay, proved ideal for the production of sweet cherries like the popular Bing variety.

For Gilbert’s pie, Bing cherries or another sweet variety are recommended.

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FRESH CHERRY PIE

FILLING

4 cups sweet cherries, pitted

3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

1 cup sugar

CRUST

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

ASSEMBLY

1 tablespoon butter

Water

FILLING

Combine cherries, tapioca and sugar. Set aside.

CRUST

Sift together flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle water 1 tablespoon at a time over dough and lightly work in with fork. When dough is moist and holds together, stop adding water and form into ball, then divide in half. Do not handle dough more than necessary.

ASSEMBLY

Roll out 1/2 of dough on lightly floured surface and line 9-inch pie plate. Spoon Filling into shell and dot with butter. Moisten edges of dough in pie plate with water. Roll out remaining dough and fit over top, sealing edges. Cut 4 slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 425 degrees until crust is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

8 servings. Each serving:

473 calories; 310 mg sodium; 4 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.40 gram fiber.

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Flour sack tea towel from Bristol Kitchens, South Pasadena.