How to save and store leftover sliced pie as individual slices in your freezer.
Posted by The Pie Guy
The best frozen pumpkin pie is the one you make. Total time: 10 mins.
Why bother with store bought frozen pies when you can do it yourself the natural way.
Yes, you can freeze your leftover Pumpkin Pie.
How to thaw and reheat your slice of Pumpkin Pie.
Can I save my leftover pumpkin pie?
The short answer is YES, but you must know the right way which we will show you here.
You baked a whole pie and could not finish it. No problem. Let’s save it for seven days. How? by freezing the individual slices of pie.
So you baked too much pie. You could not finish a whole pie. Do not waste it, save the leftovers as individual slices in your freezer.
However, there is a right way and a wrong way to freeze a slice of pie.
Even though Pumpkin pie is referred here however these instructions apply also to any custard baked pie.
Don’t stuff yourself with pie, save it for a week.
You do not need to feel you must eat the whole pie. You can save some for later. I do it all the time. It is a great way for portion control.
I bake pie all the time. Some I give away and some I keep for myself. I never want to eat a whole pie in a couple of days.
Freeze the individual pie slices
So why not slice the pie up and freeze the individual slices.
I like to cut the pie up into eight slices.
Portion control over how much pie you eat
It is a great way to control the amount of pie you eat. It is portion control.
Just take out what you want, for me it is a slice without wasting the remaining slices.
There is another way to save a pie.
You could bake mini pies and freeze them. This is the best way, but it is not as easy.
Mini pies take more time and work to make. They also require more pie crust, which could be bad if you are trying to watch your weight.
But why talk about mini pies when we have a large pie to save.
You can store the pie slices for a week
I find that you can store a slice of pie for up to seven days in the freezer without lost of flavor. Anything after that the slice of pie is still very good but the crust lost some of its buttery flavor and flakiness.
A slice of pumpkin pie can be stored up to two weeks in the freezer but anything after two weeks the pie exponentially starts to degrade in taste and texture.
If you plan to freeze many slices of pie, I recommend you put a fresh box of baking soda in the freezer to help remove any funny smells or flavors that might build up over time.
Can I freeze my leftover pumpkin pie?
Some say NO because freezing the pie will ruin it and make it taste funny. The results of the pumpkin pie will be a watery filling after thawing and a soggy crust.
Actually, the problem happened before the pie hit the freeze. When custard is overcooked the eggs and milk start to curdle, which breaks down the custard. This creates pockets of water in your custard.
The freezer destroys pies – maybe not.
When the pie hits the freezer, the pockets of water start to freeze causing the custard to separate more. During the time the water turns cold and freezes, some of the extra moisture moves into the pie crust.
So when the pie thaws the water stays in the crust making it soggy. Since your custard now has less water in it, it starts to sag and dip in the middle and break up the filling. Now you have a pie pan that is just a soggy bowl of eggs and milk. Yuck!
If you must save a custard pie for more than three days then it is got to go in the freezer, no ands or buts about it. This is the best way I know to preserve any custard based pies in the freezer
Follow these steps to save leftover pie
Step 1 – Cool down the pumpkin pie after it is fully baked
The leftover pie must be completely cool before wrapping, better if it is slightly chilled. If this is not done the steam will get trapped below your wrapper.
This extra moisture will move into your crust and destroy its texture and taste.
Step 2 – Cover the pumpkin pie slices with plastic wrap
Wrap the pie slices completely with plastic wrap (saran wrap). If gaps appear, put another layer over to cover it.
Try to leave no air gaps. Push and rub the plastic as close you can to the pie wrapping tightly without breaking up the pie.
Step 3 – Cover it again with foil
Now wrap the whole package with aluminium foil. The purpose of the foil is to prevent funky smells and odors in the freezer entering your pie.
Be sure to label what is in it. If you plan to save pie slices from different days, also include the date on the package..
Step 4 – Place pie slices in freezer
Caution!
Never put a pie in a freezer
where fish has been,
unless you want fishy pumpkin pie.
Now you are ready to place the pie in the freezer. Put it on a flat surface in the freezer until it is frozen solid at which point you can put it any where in the freezer.
Now, how do you thaw out your frozen pumpkin pie?
There is a right way to thaw out your slice of pie. The process is almost the exact opposite of what you did to freeze.
Step A – Remove all wrappers
Remove the foil. Remove the plastic wrap but place it loosely over the slice of pie. Throw away the foil.
Never reuse the foil.. Try not to contaminate the pie with the foil that might have touched raw meat while your pie was in the freezer.
Step B – Put the pie in the refrigerator
Place the slice of pie in the refrigerator on a flat surface. The pie must set in the refrigerator for at least 4 to 8 hours.
Why thaw in the refrigerator first?
If you take the pie directly out of the freezer and place it at room temperature the slice of pie will turn out bad.
It is like this. A glass of ice water will start to sweat when the surrounding air is much warmer than the glass. Water is condensing on the surface of the cold glass. Place the same glass of ice water in the refrigerator and water no longer condenses on the surface of the glass.
A frozen slice of pie is no different than a glass of ice water. Water will condensed on your frozen pie when sitting at room temperature. You do not see the water because the pie crust is absorbing it. This is not good. You do not want a wet and soggy crust.
So thaw your pumpkin pie in the refrigerator first.
Step C – Heating or warm up your pie
If you want to heat your slice of pie up or if it still is a little too cold to eat after the thawing process in the refrigerator, you can use the microwave oven.
Plastic on top – only
Take the plastic wrap and bunch it on top of the pie only. Be sure to keep the sides and crust edges exposed and not covered with the plastic.
This will keep your filling hydrated while the crust is allow to dry out. This way the pie crust will regain its crispiness and slight crunch.
Remember microwave ovens do not heat things evenly. A spot on the pie filling could be steaming while the pie crust is still chilled.
Do not heat it in the oven all in one shot. Put the pie in the oven for 30 seconds then let it rest for 2 minutes. Repeat the process until you reached your desired temperature for the pie. (For most ovens repeat this four times)
Do Not
refreeze a slice of pie
that was once frozen.
This process will limit the damage the oven could do to your slice of homemade pumpkin or custard pie.
That is all folks! Now enjoy the fruits of your labor.
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