History Lemon Meringue Pie

[YoreLocal]

I've heard that my great-and-so-on Grandpa's favorite meal was lemon meringue pie served with pork and beans, whiskey, and rum. The pie in particular he was infamous for eating nearly every day. Despite having terrible health post-war, he lived to 80, which he (maybe apocryphally) credited to "always eating your desert and drinking plenty of whiskey." I believe the following pictures hint at some authenticity to this story. It's said he learned this from his (Irish) mother, Nancy A. Lanthorn.

Sgt. G. W. Lewis, D 24th-18th Ohio, war and post-war pictures:

 

[Jim in Wisconsin]

I love lemon meringue pie. Rum is good but doesn't seem like it would be so good with the pie. Adding in pork and beans and whiskey? Yikes!

 

[Northstep]

The combination does not appeal to me. But, I wonder how lemon meringue was made back then. Maybe it wasn't the overly sweet pie of today. I bet his wife got tired of whipping that meringue every day.

 

[Fairfield]

The combination does not appeal to me. But, I wonder how lemon meringue was made back then. Maybe it wasn't the overly sweet pie of today.

I'm with you on this: the combination sounds very unpleasant. Perhaps in the ACW era, the taste of lemon dominated and would cut the taste of pork

 

[Rhea Cole]

I would love to share my grandmother's lemon meringue pie recipe. She was an authentic turn of the 20th Century Tennessee Country cook.

My mom, who was a meticulous baker… lovely flaky pie crusts. She would have loved to have Granmother's recipe.

"All she did was mix-mix-stir-stir-pour-pour."Failing an heirloom family recipe, here are links to some traditional recipes:

Lemon Pie - Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion

Lemon pie is often considered a Southern confection, conjuring up images of plantation parties with lovely slices of the sky-high pie served on fancy china. Others may think of it…

ebenezermaxwellmansion.org

RECIPE: OLD FASHIONED SOUTHERN LEMON MERINGUE PIE — Martie Duncan

My mom was an amazing pie maker- I've said it a million times. She made a pie or cobbler almost every single day and when I'd come home to Birmingham from my travels, I always knew I could always count on there being a Lemon Meringue Pie waiting for me. It is one

www.martieduncan.com

'The Best Lemon Meringue Pie' is creamy, has lots of fresh fruit and also plenty of butter

Lemon meringue pie is most likely English. After the Civil War, it was called ‘’lemon custard pie’’ by Mary Epps Porter.

www.southernkitchen.com

 

[donna]

My Granny made a good lemon meringue pie. I got to look up history of that pie.

 

[Fairfield]

My Granny made a good lemon meringue pie. I got to look up history of that pie.

I checked several websites and all agreed with this one: https://10best.usatoday.com/interests/food-culture/the-all-american-history-of-lemon-meringue-pie/ That is, that is comes from Philadelphia and that it was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln. It was also a favorite of my grandfather who had a real sweet tooth!

 

[donna]

Fairfield is right, this pie came from Philadelphia. It was the invention of Elizabeth Goodfellow. She ran a bakery and had one of America's first cooking schools. A famous student of hers was Eliza Leslie who recorded many of Mrs. Goodfellow's recipes in her cookbooks. We have many of Leslie's recipes posted on this forum.

 

[KianGaf]

Lemon meringue pie is my favourite dessert. I just love the contrast of the tangy lemon against the sweet meringue.

 

[WestCoastSB]

"always eating your desert and drinking plenty of whiskey."

Make that man the surgeon general! Love it.