The Kitchen Tool That Gives You The Perfect Slice Of Pie Every Time

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Picture the scene — you've prepped a flaky pie crust, mixed up a perfect pumpkin filling, and baked it to perfection, but when it comes to serving, your slices leave something to be desired. When you've cut into it, the slices are uneven, craggy, and downright sloppy. Instead of feeling disheartened, pick yourself up and make sure your next pie looks bakery-worthy by investing in a useful kitchen tool known as a pie scorer. This nifty utensil is designed to help you slice perfectly ratioed segments of pie every time and is worth the investment if you bake regularly.

A pie scorer is a round handheld tool that looks a bit like a bicycle wheel. There's a small circle in the center, which several spokes radiate from, and some also have a larger hooped edge. Each spoke either has teeth or straight edges that are sharp enough to leave an impression on a pie crust or topping. To use it, simply lower it down onto your pie, taking care to make sure it's dead set in the middle, and press down gently. Remove it and you should see that the spokes have left indentations on the surface, creating a guide for your knife to finish cutting absolutely even slices. A pie scorer doesn't usually go all the way down into the base of your pie, so you need to finish the job by slicing through along the marker lines.

A pie scorer works on everything from that classic pumpkin pie to a basic peach pie that's topped with a single layer of pastry to fancier tarts that feature latticework, cutouts, or cute little stars. Just make sure to position it correctly to guarantee that every slice is matching. You can purchase pie scorers that segment pies and tarts into different sized portions. For example this Winware aluminum pie marker creates 10 portions and this Winco pie cutter makes 6 slices – the latter has straight-edged blades rather than teeth and is better for portioning pies with a soft surface, such as pumpkin, lemon meringue, or mud pie.

While it isn't hugely problematic if your slices of pie are a bit uneven, it does make for a prettier presentation at dinner parties when every portion is identical. It also means you can avoid the hassle of kids arguing over who gets the bigger slice.

Pie scorers can also be used to divide cakes, from a New York style cheesecake to a fresh cream cake. As long as you place them down neatly into the tender surface and lift them off without readjusting them, you should be left with clear markings to guide your knife.