On Fri, 10 Jun 2005, it was written:

> "CheCooks" > wrote in
> :
>
> > I made a lemon meringue pie for the first time last night. This
> > morning, as I pulled it out of the fridge, there was a liquid around
> > the edges and the meringue seemed to have pulled away from the edges
> > of the pie. Any idea what caused this? I cut a piece for my husband
> > anyway, and other than the clear liquid (it had a solid layer of lemon
> > and the meringue seemed just right) seeping out of it, he said it had
> > great flavor. He also said he has seen this in a few other lemon
> > meringues. We tipped the pie plate up just a tad and I spooned the
> > liquid out. Any help would be great as this has really frustrated me.
> > Thanks!!
> >
> > Che
>


Hey Che,

The liquid and the shrinking are from the meringue "melting". The liquid
is sugar. If you leave the pie in the frige for a couple of days the
meringue will continue to "melt" away until it is just a dab in the
center. [and how would I know this???? sheesh! been there, done that; got
the naked pie memories to prove it! <g>]

Why? I'm not really sure. I think it may be too much sugar in the egg
whites or it could be adding the sugar a tad too soon.

I've made lots of pies, but this "condition" is one I have only
experienced in the past few years. Like everything else anymore, I don't
do it often enough to keep in practice. There's an art to this cooking
stuff!

What I noticed the last few times I have had this happen is that my egg
whites are not as stiff as I had expected them to be at the time I put
them on the pie. They peaked, but they were kind of creamy. They just
didn't "feel" right. I did add the cream of tartar.

Do you remember if your whites were at room temp? I didn't pay attention
to that, but mine might have been a bit too cold.

Next time I'm going to pay more attention.

Elaine, too