America's great layered pie: lemon curd crowned with billowing meringue in a buttery pastry shell
Origin: United States
From the journey of Lemon.
Lemon meringue pie is one of the most iconic American desserts: a three-part construction of short pastry, thick lemon curd filling, and billowing Italian or Swiss meringue, baked until the meringue is golden and set. It is a dish that synthesises three distinct culinary traditions: the European short-crust pastry shell, the English lemon curd tradition, and the American innovation of crowning a fruit filling with a meringue topping, which appears in American cookbooks from the mid-19th century. The first printed recipes for lemon meringue pie appear in American cookbooks of the 1860s and 1870s. Elizabeth Coane Goodfellow, a Philadelphia cooking teacher, is sometimes credited with an early version in the 1800s, though the attribution is contested. What is clear is that by the late 19th century, lemon meringue pie had become one of the signature baked goods of American home cooking, appearing in cookbooks from every region and at every county fair and church supper. The pie's success in America reflects the combination of affordable sugar (the meringue requires a significant quantity), cheap eggs from domestic poultry, and the American culinary tradition of celebratory baking for gatherings and events. The pie is theatrical: the peaked, golden meringue is a visual statement. It is also technically demanding: the lemon filling must be thick enough not to be liquid when sliced, the pastry must be pre-baked dry enough not to become soggy, and the meringue must be cooked to a food-safe temperature without weeping (the process by which moisture collects between the meringue and the filling). Lemon meringue pie remains one of the most ordered pies in American diners and bakeries. The Californian version, made with Meyer lemons, is considered particularly fine, the Meyer's gentler acidity and floral fragrance producing a curd of unusual delicacy beneath the meringue. The best lemon meringue pies balance the tartness of the lemon curd against the sweetness of the meringue; the lemon must cut through the sugar, or the pie is simply sweet rather than complex.
Lemon meringue pie is best eaten on the day it is made: the meringue absorbs moisture overnight and loses its texture. For a more stable meringue less prone to weeping, use Swiss meringue (whisk egg whites and sugar together over a bain-marie until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 70°C, then whisk to stiff peaks) or Italian meringue (pour a hot sugar syrup at 121°C into whisking egg whites). Both are more stable than French meringue (raw egg white with sugar whisked cold) and hold their texture longer.
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