Lemon meringue pie

"Lemon Meringue" redirects here. For the song by Poe, see Lemon Meringue (song).

Unsliced Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue pie is a type of baked pie, usually served for dessert, made with a pastry base usually shortcrust or shortbread pastry, lemon curd filling and a fluffy meringue topping. Lemon meringue pie is typically prepared with a bottom pie crust, but with no upper crust. The meringue is directly on top of the lemon filling. The meringue can be beaten into either soft or stiff peaks, and is baked at the same time as the lemon curd. The temperature the pie is baked at and the method sugar is added determines the texture and durability of the meringue. When the foamy mass is glossy and holds distinct peaks, the bubbles in the egg white proteins are still flexible enough to swell when heating air expands in them as the meringue bakes.

According to the food historians, lemon flavored custards, puddings and pies have been enjoyed since Medieval times. While Renaissance European cooks used whisked egg-whites in several dishes, it was not until the 17th century that they perfected meringue. 18th century English cookbooks list lemon cakes as a recipe variation for Orange Cakes (Mrs. Raffald, The Experienced English Housekeeper [1769]).^[1] By the 19th century, lemon cakes were standard fare in American cookbooks, Lemon-meringue pie, made with lemon curd and topped with meringue, has been a favorite American dessert since. Lemon meringue pie, as we know it today, is a 19th century product. The earliest recorded recipe was created by Alexander Frehse in the mid-nineteenth century made with typical farmyard accessible ingredients such as lemons and eggs.^[2]

References

1. ^ Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 182)
2. ^ Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 183)

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