Origins of Lemon Meringue Pie

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When life gives you lemons, why make lemonade when you can make lemon meringue pie? Here’s hoping life also gives you sugar, short crust pastry and eggs. Lemon meringue pie is a kiwi favourite that has been passed down through generations through great grandparents with their own secret recipes and ingredients. Which is where my Grandma got her famous lemon meringue pie recipe from that she has been making every Sunday since before I was born.

I decided to research this particular item of lemon meringue pie because of my family tradition that every Sunday we would sit down for a roast at Grandma’s and then finish it off with a large helping of lemon meringue pie. Which is why researching the origin of lemon meringue pie intrigues me, as I would like to learn more about this family favourite.

I purchased my lemon meringue pie from Café Eden, which is located in Tauranga. Unlike traditional lemon meringue pie, which is usually the standard 9 inch size, the item I purchased was the size of a small tart. The case for the filling was made out of a short crust pastry and was then filled with a lemon curd. On top were a swirl of meringue, a slice of orange and a delicate sprinkle of icing sugar. I spoke to the chef at Café Eden and asked her about the mini lemon meringue pie and she said: "We used to make our own lemon meringue pies with real lemons and our own, made on premises, sweet pastry; but because of time constraints we now order the mini lemon meringue pies from Barkers" (Café Eden Chef, 2014).

Unfortunately the quality of the product lacked because it was pre-made but the lemon curd had a tasteful balance of sweet and tartness and was not too overpowering. The pre-made meringue on top was not very smooth on the...

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... was very low on the scale of quality but then again, nothing can beat Grandmas recipe.

Works Cited

Browneyedbaker.com. (2014). Lemon Meringue Pie Bar Recipe | Brown Eyed Baker. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2014/01/13/lemon-meringue-pie-bar-recipe/ [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].

Cafe Eden Chef (2014). Lemon Meringue Pie. [radio] Cafe Eden, Tauranga, Saturday 15th March, 2014.

Coborn's Blog. (2014). Lemon Meringue Pie Day. [online] Retrieved from: http://cobornsblog.com/2011/08/15/lemon-meringue-pie-die/ [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].

Diamond, B. (2014). Lemon Pie « Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion. [online] Retrieved from: http://ebenezermaxwellmansion.org/lemon-pie/ [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].

Pie, L. (2014). Lemon Chess Pie recipe on Food52.com. [online] Retrieved from: http://food52.com/recipes/24908-lemon-chess-pie [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].

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