Orange Meringue

This is a Betty Crocker recipe I borrowed from my mom's old-school cook book.  (See "Literature" post).  If you want the whole recipe, you can find it in her book.

Why orange and not lemon?

Now, pie is all about the classics, but after much scientific observation (of my friends enjoying it) and analysis (of me eating it), we have decided that orange is funner than lemon because it is sweeter and not as tart.  Plus, orange zest is always a welcome treat!

The torturous part...

Is beating the g****mn egg whites into submission!  "Firm peaks" indeed.  At least Betty provided color pictures.  My other pie book divides the stages of whipped egg whites in four different categories!

It took me between 35 and 40 minutes on medium and high to get the egg whites to the right consistency.  So if you have that man you're trying to please, get him to the do the heavy lifting.

In the meantime, you can start on the filling.  I recommend mixing up the lemon juice, zest and butter ahead of starting to heat the flour/OJ mixture, because once the flour/OJ gets to boiling, there's no time to waste.  This is why it pays to read (and comprehend!) the recipe ahead of time.

Shrinkage...

Another problem I had when using the aluminum disposable pie pan (for giving away to your friends) is that the pre-baked crust shrank like crazy.  That is why in the pictures it is virtually crust-free.  However, in my glass pie pan, it didn't shrink hardly at all.  So, poke a lot of holes in those pastries with aluminum pans, conform the pastry to the pan before baking, and leave at least a half inch beyond the edge of the pan.  Some people also claim that you can put the aluminum pan inside of a glass one for better baking.  I'll let you know how that goes next time.

The final product...

Was beautiful coming out of the oven, but as it cooled of course the meringue condensed and shrank.  It didn't' look bad, but it wasn't the colossus you see in pictures.  And after driving it three hours to Portland, the meringue separated in some places.  However, it didn't get watery and it still looked and tasted great when we cut into it.

The moral of the story...

If you have 2+ hours to spare and want to work on your upper arm strength, go for a citrus meringue!