BlackBerry pie/galette very wet after cooking/weeping tons despite using twice the amount of thickener?

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BAPyessir6

Senior Cook
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
313
Location
Prior Lake
I have a blackberry galette I'm trying to nail in, and this is my current recipe. I'm trying to perfect the filling first before I use the crust recipe that I have. Right now I'm struggling.

I do a 12 in storebought pie crust

Filling is:

2 cup blackberries, Driscoll brand, the blackberries themselves are quarter size.
6 tbsp sugar
2.5 tbsp cornstarch
Lime zest

Combine all, put into crust, fold over, then bake 425 25 minutes. Then take out and let rest at least 4 hours or more (though I usually let them rest 8 so they can "gel" better).

When I mix the berries with the starch/sugar, the berries never weep or give off any juice. They just sit on top of a good mound of sugar/cornstarch. I dunno if I'm using lame fresh blackberries, as I don't know what breed of berries I'm using as it doesn't say on the packaging (they're Dreiscoll Aldi).

So I throw it into the galette, a big mound of berries on top of a hearty mound of sugar/cornstarch, and cook it and it's fine, but it never gels up. I'm struggling, as I have a cherry galette and a blueberry galette that both turn out fine. What am I doing wrong?

Most recipes I see online use 1 tbsp cornstarch to like 3 or more cups blackberries. I tried this and it was super liquidy (the liquid never gelled) after I cooked it. So I increased it to 2.5 tbsp, and it still never gels. The blackberries I use are each like quarter size. They're big ones.

If anyone has any help, it would be great! I'm frustrated!

Comparing the lighter colored blackberry galette with the blueberry one, the blueberry gelled way more evenly and better overall. I also included a picture of the blackberries themselves.

I don't know if the brand of blackberries I'm using aren't meant for baking, but all 3 blackberry galette attempts have turned out very very watery when I cut into them, even though I let them cool at LEAST 8 hours before cutting into them, so they aren't at all warm and ?should? have set fully or somewhat?

(3 pictures of 3 blackberry galettes I tried, 1 of blueberry, and the blackberries I try to use).
 

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Personally I think your berries are just too big. They are made up of a lot of water! May I suggest - and have no idea if this is viable... first, reserve a few whole berries, cook down rest of them (with the sugar) until a lot of the moisture is driven off. Mix in your cornstarch and make your galette with the thicken berries, top it with your reserved berries? Bake?
 
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