Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

The Perfect Pie

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

The Good Daughters

A Novel

by Joyce Maynard
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • First Published:
  • Sep 1, 2010, 288 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2011, 304 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

The Perfect Pie

This article relates to The Good Daughters

Print Review

Joyce Maynard always seems to incorporate fresh produce and cooking into her stories, with a special affinity for baking. A scene in The Good Daughters includes freshly baked biscuits from scratch and ripened strawberries, while the preparation of a peach pie in Labor Day provides one of the most poignant moments in the book.

Having taught the art of pie making to scores of people over the years, here are some of Maynard's tips for creating the perfect pie:

  • Use a combination of lard (or Crisco) and butter in equal amounts.
  • Use ice water - as little as you can get away with - the less water, the flakier the crust.
  • Instead of cornstarch, use Minute Tapioca to soak up extra juices. Scatter a little on the bottom crust before putting in the filling - no more soggy crust.
  • When cutting up fruit for the filling, cut in various sizes - this allows some pieces to be firmer than others, making for a more interesting texture.
  • Add just a little sugar to sweeten the fruit, not too much.
  • Brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
  • Pierce with a fork in three places to let the steam out.




Filed under Cultural Curiosities

This "beyond the book article" relates to The Good Daughters. It originally ran in September 2010 and has been updated for the September 2011 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access become a member today.
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    Prophet Song
    by Paul Lynch
    Paul Lynch's 2023 Booker Prize–winning Prophet Song is a speedboat of a novel that hurtles...
  • Book Jacket: The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    by Lynda Cohen Loigman
    Lynda Cohen Loigman's delightful novel The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern opens in 1987. The titular ...
  • Book Jacket: Small Rain
    Small Rain
    by Garth Greenwell
    At the beginning of Garth Greenwell's novel Small Rain, the protagonist, an unnamed poet in his ...
  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
The Story Collector
by Evie Woods
From the international bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop!
Book Jacket
The Rose Arbor
by Rhys Bowen
An investigation into a girl's disappearance uncovers a mystery dating back to World War II in a haunting novel of suspense.
Who Said...

Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.