....make an orange meringue pie! Having purchased a big bag of oranges the same day as the lemons, and having noticed a recipe in my old cookbook, I decided to try making an orange meringue pie today. I had never made one before, but I didn't think it would be drastically different from lemon meringue. This time I remembered to take pictures of the process.
This pie crust ranks among the worst five pastries I have ever made: It would not roll out properly, it tore, it stuck to the table, it had to be patched. Still, it didn't look too bad once it was out of the oven.
The eggs separated nicely. They are fresh farm eggs from a neighbor, so the yellows are firm and dark.
My trusty old grater still works just fine for grating citrus. I don't usually grate oranges, but it works just like grating lemons.
Two oranges provided the tablespoon of grated peel needed for the recipe, plus a little left over.
I have had this plastic juicing device for many years, and it still works fine. Three oranges were needed for the one cup of juice required in the recipe.
Sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, orange juice, and water were cooked until thick, then boiled and stirred for one minute.
Next, I added the "butter" (Earth Balance spread), some lemon juice, and the orange peel, and stirred it all together until smooth.
As directed, I added the sugar one tablespoon at a time and beat until glossy, stiff peaks formed.
I dolloped the meringue on with a large spoon. There seems to be more meringue than when I made the lemon meringue pie. Maybe the eggs were larger.
I regret to report the filling was a little runny. The flavor was marvelous, though. I read up on meringue pies online, and looked at some other recipes, and next time I think I'll use less sugar and more cornstarch. When I was first married, I made several lemon meringue pies until one turned out the way it ought to. Now I'll have to do it again with orange meringue pies, and we'll have to eat all the imperfect pies along the way. What a pity!! (Ha ha ha!)