Today is National Lemon Meringue Pie Day. My favorite pie, yummy.
Lemon meringue pie is a baked pie, usually served for dessert, made with a short crust or shortbread pastry, lemon curd filling and a fluffy meringue topping. Lemon meringue pie is prepared with a bottom pie crust, with the meringue directly on top of the lemon filling. No upper crust is used.
The lemon custard is usually prepared with egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and starch. The meringue includes well beaten egg whites and sugar, is cooked on top of the pie filling. As the meringue bakes, air bubbles trapped inside the protein of the egg whites will expand and swell.
The meringue can be beaten into either soft or stiff peaks. The temperature the pie is baked at and the method sugar is added determines the texture and durability of the meringue.
Lemon flavored custards, puddings and pies have been enjoyed since medieval times, but meringue was perfected in the 17th century. Lemon meringue pie, as it is known today, is a 19th century product. The earliest recorded recipe was attributed to Alexander Frehse, a Swiss baker from the canton of Romandie.
Click on the photo below for what I think is the best Lemon Meringue Pie recipe ever.
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