Never used butter, only shortening. I always use tapioca for the thickening agens. First I sugar the fruit for any pie, and let sit till juices flow. I drain the juices into a small saucepan and add tapioca (about 3 tablespoons per pie), and cook till thickened. I return this to the fruit. At this point, I either bake the pie, or freeze the fruit for later use. Thickening the juices before baking prevent all of the bubbling over and loss of juices, especially something super juicy, like rhubarb. Anyway, I never have had a gap between the crust and the fruit.

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