Grapefruit Pie - Two Common Recipes Using the Famous Texas Red or Pink Varieties

To our pleasure, my wife and I have sampled grapefruit pie several times in Texas. Because of their slight tartness, they can seem like other tart pies to a degree. However, their consistency and flavor are unique, depending on the ingredients used and how they are made.
1. Common or sparkling pie.
Ingredients

• ¾-Cup sugar
• 1-to-1½-Tbs cornstarch
• 1-Cup of juice from the fruits used
• One 3-oz box/pkg of raspberry or similar flavored redish gelatin/jello
• 2-3 Large red/pink fruit, halved with the meats spooned-out into a strainer bowl w/o seeds
• One 9" pre-baked Graham-cracker shell in disposable pan
• Small container of whipped cream

Directions

• In a medium saucepan under medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and juice
• Stir until clear and thick; that happens just as it starts to bubble
• Remove from the heat
• Add the raspberry gelatin; stir to dissolve it in
• Let the mixture cool to room temperature
• Add the pith-free grapefruit sections/pieces; blend them in by stirring slowly
• Let settle; remove any remaining floating small seeds
• With the aid of a spatula, pour the filling into the shell, and allow it to spread evenly
• Cover and chill in refrigerator for about 2-hours
• Serve it topped with dollops of whipped cream

Options (these are not needed to make a good pie)

• Add 2-tbs of Karo syrup or 1-tbs butter to the initial heated combination
• Add 1-tbs or big squirt of lemon or lime juice to it
• Top the shell with a thin softened layer of cream cheese before adding the filling to it
• To fill the shell to its brim, or to make straight grapefruit jello without a shell, enlarge the recipe to 1-cup sugar and 1-1/2-cups of juice

In preparing the juice, squeeze the emptied half-rinds into a measuring cup via a strainer together with that from the pure meats. Let the pure meats drain well. Use a clean wide-nose tweezers to remove any small seeds if necessary.
This technique eliminates all the pith and extra membrane from the whole fruit. The idea here is make a relatively soft pudding-like filling that remains firm when serving.
2. Rio Grande Valley or Texas pie (among other names).
Ingredients

• 32 Regular marshmallows, quartered
• ½-Cup of grapefruit juice (from the fruits used)
• 1-Cup of heavy or whipping cream
• 2½ Cups of fresh grapefruit sections, pith/membrane-free, cut from 3 large fruits
• ¼-Cup of flaked or shredded coconut
• One 9" pre-baked Graham-cracker crust in disposable pan

Directions

• Over medium to low heat, melt the marshmallows in ¼-cup of hot juice
• Cool the mixture to ambient or room temperature
• Add the other ¼-cup of juice to the grapefruit sections in their container
• Whip the cream separately
• Fold and blend the melted/cooled marshmallows, fruit sections/juice, and whipped cream together
• Pour the filling into the shell and allow to spread evenly
• Chill in refrigerator for 3-hours or so
• Sprinkle coconut on top just before serving

Options

• Add 1-tsp of almond extract to the sections/juice portion
• Instead of using coconut, top the servings with dollops of whipped cream and slivered almonds

Some cooks think the marshmallows combined with shredded coconut or almonds reduces the pie's tartness. We have eaten both pies above. Both were tasty and mild even with chunks of grapefruit in them. Yet because we watch our fat/sugar intakes, we like the first recipe plain and simple. Well, maybe with small dollops of whipped cream on top. To learn more grapefruit recipes, see this website.

Grapefruit Recipes - http://www.grapefruitrecipes.com/
Author contact: j__l__d@sbcglobal.net