Q: For Valentine's Day, I am making my boyfriend's favorite dessert, lemon meringue pie. I have his family's recipe, and the last time I made it, I followed the recipe exactly. It looked great and tasted great, but there was one problem: The golden meringue pulled away from the edges of the pan, and underneath the meringue was very watery. Can you please send me another recipe and tell me how to prevent this mistake? Is there a way to fix the recipe I have?
- Lynn H.
A: You sound like such a great girlfriend. I'm so touched. Every time I look at your letter I can barely read it because of all the weeping . . .
No, it's not me weeping - all that sobbing is coming from your meringue. Weeping is the culinary term for what is going wrong with your meringue.
Grab a hankie: We're going to keep you and that pie from ever watering up again.
First, to cheer you up, a little fun history about meringue. My old Larousse cookbook says that a Swiss pastry chef named Gasparini created the stuff in 1720.
However, as far back as the 1500s, there are references to cooked, whipped egg whites. The recipe just wasn't written down until the 1700s.
It was a big hit in the palaces of France. Queen Marie Antoinette became such a fan of the stuff, she would make it herself.
Lynn, it may be comforting to know that you have lots of company when it comes to weeping . . . Sorry, I'll restate that:
Weeping is a very common problem when it comes to meringue pies. Here are some easy solutions:
1. Make sure your filling is very hot when you pour it into the pie shell. Top it immediately with the meringue. The meringue will start cooking as soon as it touches the hot filling. This heat, in addition to the oven heat, will help prevent weeping.
2. Make sure you spread your meringue to the edge of the crust, completely sealing the pie. This will insulate the filling while baking.
3. Make certain your egg whites are beaten to their full capacity or maximum volume. To help ensure this, use room-temperature egg whites. Start beating slowly, then increase speed when they get frothy.
4. This one is key: Try adding some cornstarch to your meringue. It produces a more tender meringue and one that is more stabilized, which reduces shrinkage (a condition that promotes weeping).
For four egg whites, use 1 tablespoon cornstarch stirred into 1/3 cup water. The cornstarch mixture is added at the end of the beating process.
