Grandma's pie crust lesson from 20 years ago

First time I tried making her apple pie. I was 16 in her tiny kitchen in Ohio. She watched me dump everything in a bowl and mix like crazy. She just laughed. Pulled me aside and showed me how to cut butter into flour with my fingertips. Told me not to overwork it or it gets tough. I didn't get it then. But now every time I make a crust I hear her voice. Has anyone else had an older relative show them something that took years to really understand?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleym3713d ago

Wait, you were SIXTEEN and she just watched you dump everything in a bowl? That's actually kind of hilarious and terrifying at the same time. My grandma would have grabbed my hand before I even touched the flour. Sounds like she knew you'd figure it out eventually though.

oliver_baker4912d ago

Wait hang on @finleym37 am I reading that wrong though? I think I might have mixed up the ages a bit. Actually the point I was trying to make is that at sixteen you're basically still a kid even if you think you're grown, and yeah she just sat there with a cup of coffee watching me make a mess. But like you said, she probably knew I'd learn more from the failure than from her stopping me. That's the thing with grandmas who raised like six kids themselves - they've seen it all and they know when to step in and when to let you crash and burn a little. Honestly the whole thing ended up being a funny story we'd laugh about later, so I guess her strategy worked out in the end.

kevinw9412d ago

Grandma pulled the same thing on me with a flat tire once. She just handed me the spare and pointed at the jack, didn't say a word. I messed up the whole process twice before I figured out how to get the lug nuts off. By the end I was covered in grease but I never forgot how to change a tire after that. Sometimes the best lesson is just letting someone learn the hard way.