Making Pie Filling

• While the type of fruit may vary, most homemade pie fillings contain a few basic ingredients. Fruit, sugar, flour or cornstarch, salt, lemon and spices are the basic ingredients in most pie fillings. The flour or cornstarch in the pie filling works as a stabilizing agent, giving consistency and thickness to the filling. When flour is used in a pie filling recipe, the result is a cloudy appearance and texture. When cornstarch is used in the same recipe, a less opaque and clearer filling will result.
  
  While flour and cornstarch can almost always be used interchangeably in a fruit pie filling recipe, the appearance will not be the same. In order to achieve a cloudy pie filling, regular flour must be used.
  
  Although cloudy pie fillings cannot be achieved with the addition of cornstarch, there are many cornstarch substitutes that will work to make a clear filling. Instant flour, tapioca, sweet rice flour and potato starch can all be used in pie fillings with similar results.