So, folks sometimes wonder about those aluminum pie tins. You know, the shiny ones, the ones that feel like they’d bend if you just looked at ’em too hard. The big question is, can you actually bake a decent pie in one of those? Well, let me tell you, yes, you absolutely can. I’ve been down that road myself more than once.
There have been times, usually when I’m caught in a whirlwind or, let’s be honest, all my trusty glass or ceramic pans are piled up waiting to be washed – no shame in that, life happens – that I’ve reached for one of those disposable aluminum jobs. They aren’t exactly lookers, and you definitely have to treat them with a bit of care. They just don’t have that heft, that solid feel, you know? But when it comes down to it, will it bake your pie? You bet it will.
I vividly recall this one Thanksgiving. My kitchen was pure chaos, absolute mayhem. I’d somehow promised to make three different kinds of pies, don’t ask me why. My favorite, super-reliable ceramic pie dish? Vanished. Probably loaned it out to someone who developed a sudden case of amnesia about returning it – we’ve all been there, right? Anyway, all I could find was this stack of thin, gleaming aluminum pans I’d picked up for some long-forgotten bake sale and then totally forgot existed.
To be perfectly frank, I was a bit on edge about it. My pie crust is sort of my signature thing, my pride and joy, and I was having nightmares of it turning into a soggy, undercooked disaster or, worse, a burnt offering on the bottom. But, what else was I gonna do? The pies had to be made. So, I just rolled up my sleeves and got to it. I handled the dough a bit more gently than usual, making sure not to poke a hole through the flimsy pan, got the fillings in, and then, with a bit of a prayer, into the hot oven they went.
And you know what happened? Those pies, they turned out perfectly alright! I mean, seriously, they were good. Was the bottom crust as magnificently golden and crisp as it gets in my heavy-duty pan? Okay, maybe not quite to that level of perfection that I tend to obsess over. But it was definitely cooked all the way through, no raw bits, and importantly, not a hint of burn. The main thing I noticed, the real difference, was that I had to keep a much sharper eye on them while they were baking. The edges, especially, seemed to get dark a lot quicker than I was used to. So, I had to be on standby with pieces of foil to shield them, probably a good bit earlier in the baking process than I normally would. The overall baking time itself felt pretty much the same, but that browning speed, yeah, that was something you really have to watch with these thinner pans.
So, my big lesson from that whole Thanksgiving saga, and from other times I’ve used them since, is that these aluminum pie tins are totally up to the job. They’re not going to kick your beloved glass or ceramic pans to the curb for your everyday, special-occasion baking, especially if you’re a stickler for certain results like me. But for those times when you’re taking a pie over to a friend’s place, or you’re in a real pinch, or you just flat-out don’t want to face the scrubbing of a heavy pan afterwards, they are a surprisingly solid choice. You just have to go into it knowing, you know? Understand that the material, being thinner and different, will affect how things cook, particularly the bottom. A little bit of adjustment in your technique, a little extra vigilance, and you’ll pull a mighty fine pie out of that oven. No need to hit the panic button if an aluminum tin is all you’ve got to work with.
