K’s Kitchen: Forever meringue challenged
By Kathryn Reed
I am so meringue challenged it’s scary.
I tried channeling my mother, but instead I just heard laughter of my three older sisters. Not good when one is in the middle of baking.
When mom was in Tahoe for a few weeks last summer one of the things I wanted to do was make a lemon meringue pie with her. This is because I can never get the meringue to seal on the crust. It always pulls away.
Mom has been my baking teacher since I was a little girl standing on a chair pouring ingredients into the mixer.
So, last summer we went about making the pie. I watched intently as she put large dollops of meringue near the edge of the pie. I listened to her advice. I was sure I had it.
Wrong.
I just made a pie on my own this week because I was given lemons from a friend in the Bay Area. (It’s so hard to pay grocery store prices for lemons after you grow up with a lemon tree out back.)
The pie tastes good. It’s just not pretty. And apparently it is not something I’m going to make for others. Of course that means more pie for us, so it’s the not the worst thing in the world.
I make my pie crust from scratch. A store bought one will suffice.
Lemon Meringue Pie
1 9-inch baked pie shell
1½ C sugar
1/3 C cornstarch
1½ C water
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
3 T butter
4 T lemon juice
1 1/3 T grated lemon rind
Mix sugar, cornstarch and water in saucepan. Stir until mixture is thick and boils.
Add egg yolks. Mix for about 1 minute
Remove from heat. Add butter, lemon juice, rind. Stir until butter is melted.
Pour into baked pie shell. Top with meringue. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until peaks are brown.
Serve once it cools.
Meringue
3 egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
6 T sugar
Beat all ingredients together until stiff.
Just for the record, I use more juice than most, and I use half limes and half lemons, and add zest from two…we like a TART filling. A perfect meringue and pie means no weeping and the meringue does not separate at the crust edge. When whipping the egg whites, start with the whites at room temperature. Start whipping slowly, then increase the speed to very high. At almost the end of the whipping, add, SLOWLY, while whipping, up to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch per each egg white you used. At least a teaspoon. The first time you do this, add 1 tsp per eggwhite to the whipping, and consider using half the whites, and then adding 2 more teaspoons per white….whipping a bit…do half the pie one way, half the other, and compare sheen and texture when finished baking. Adjust to what YOU like. Whipping in the cornstarch takes only a few seconds. Using a spatula, put the whites on the still very hot pie (do not let it cool off much), and spread it generously onto the edge crust, making sure of a full contact. I use 350-375° for finishing the meringue, depending on the oven…watching constantly….when it is just golden, take it out of the oven. The meringue should be dry to the touch.