Pie Gate

Not to be confused with any similarly-named political or real estate scandals, the Pie Gate is a neat little kitchen gadget that is a great item to have on hand if pies and tarts are on your favorite desserts list. It simpy unfolds and can be inserted into a pie plate where it will sit right up against the side of the pie. From here, it keeps the filling from oozing out into the plate after the pie has been cut and keeps it fresh by acting as a barrier between the pie and the air.

This isn’t to say that it should only be used with runny or undercooked pies. Apples and other fruits tend to shift around a bit after the pie is sliced and often slide slightly out the cut edges of the pie, leaving those end slices with a dearth of apples if, like me, you tend to pick at any apple slices that shift out into the plate. I also recently used the pie gate with my lemon curd tart (pictured above), as the filling softens when the pie is outside of the fridge. The gate kept it in place and kept the filling tender after it was stored overnight in the fridge.