Standard Lemon Pie Filling

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon rind, grated
1 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 egg yolks, well-beaten
1 cup water
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Meringue:

3 egg whites, beaten
3 tablespoons sugar


Preparation:

  • In a medium size bowl mix egg yolks with sugar, grated lemon rind, flour, cornstarch, melted butter and lemon juice.
  • Gradualy add water to the mixture and transfer to another dish over boiling water or in double boiler.
  • Cook until it thickens (it should look on the spoon like cold honey), remove from the fire, and when cooled, pour it into a medium size deep pie-dish, lined with pastry and bake for about thirty-five to forty minutes.
  • Beat 3 egg whites with 3 tablespoons of sugar until stiff.
  • After the pie is baked, spread prepared meringue over the top of the baked pie, reduce heat and return to the oven to set and brown slightly (it should be very light brown).


Real Cooking
Did You Know?
The exact origin of the lemon has remained a mystery, though it is widely presumed that lemons first grew in India, northern Burma, and China. In South and South East Asia, it was known for its antiseptic properties and it was used as an antidote for various poisons.
Lemon was later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around AD 700. The lemon was first recorded in literature in a tenth century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens. It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between AD 1000 and AD 1150. Lemons entered Europe (near southern Italy) no later than the first century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome. However, they were not widely cultivated. The first real lemon cultivation in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the fifteenth century. It was later introduced to the Americas in 1493 when Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola along his voyages. Spanish conquest throughout the New World helped spread lemon seeds. It was mainly used as ornament and medicine. In 1700s and late 1800s, lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California when lemons began to be used in cooking and flavoring.