Grabbed a 1950s cookbook for 50 cents at a church sale. It changed my pie crust game completely.

I used to struggle with dry, crumbly pie dough for years. Then I spotted an old Betty Crocker picture cookbook from 1956 at St. Mark's basement sale last month. Inside was a trick about using ice water with a splash of vinegar and letting the dough rest exactly 30 minutes in the fridge. Tried it on Sunday and the texture was flaky and tender, not tough at all. Has anyone else found weird old kitchen tips in thrift store books that actually worked better than modern recipes?

2 comments

2 Comments

gonzalez.vera12d ago

Vinegar in the pie crust? That caught me off guard. Everyone always says just ice water and keep it cold, never heard of adding vinegar before. Guess those old ladies knew some tricks we forgot along the way. Might have to dig through my mom's old cookbooks now and see what else is hiding in there.

colemiller12d agoTop Commenter

Yeah so my buddy tried that vinegar trick last Thanksgiving and swore it made the flakiest crust he'd ever made... said his grandma would've been proud. Worth a shot @gonzalez.vera, worst case you waste a few tablespoons of vinegar.