Merengue important tips

If you do not have a torch.

How to avoid a weeping meringue and help the whites create the peaks

• Egg whites will refuse to whip up properly if they are in contact with any fat. So, make sure your bowl and beaters are TOTALLY clean for the easiest whip. No oil or water residue.
• Also, make sure you beat just egg whites. It shouldn’t have even a drop of egg yolks into the egg whites when you separated them.
• Eggs are easier to separate when cold.
• Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature before starting the meringue. Room temperature egg whites whip faster and into a greater volume than cold egg whites. So, separate the eggs first, then let the egg whites sit for a while before making the meringue. Bake the pie crust and prepare the lime filling. By the time you are ready to start the meringue, the egg whites will be at room temperature.
• Make sure you add the sugar AFTER soft peaks are formed. If added before that, the egg whites could stretch too much, which prevents a stiff peak altogether.
• Make sure you spread the meringue topping, so it touches the pie crust. This seals the lime filling underneath and allows the crust to grip onto the meringue, so the two do not separate.
• If you are using pasteurized eggs, chances are your meringue is not shaping up to what you want. So a meringue of unpasteurized egg whites is better in texture (even if not the best for your health, as it poses a risk for food-borne illness, although small). Because pasteurized eggs go through a heating process that kills potentially harmful bacteria, the white becomes more "stable" in its form, preventing the stiff peaks from coming to life when whipping the whites to make a meringue.
• To help the whites loosen up and create the peaks, you can optionally add ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar to the sugar. This will stabilize your meringue. Try adding another ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar if it still doesn't yield good peaks.
• If you do not have the cream of tartar, add a teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice once the egg whites get foamy, approximately one minute after you have started to whip the whites.
• Don’t walk away from the bowl of egg whites as they whip. Meringue can beat into stiff peaks quite quickly.
• And, finally, don’t make lime meringue pie on a humid day.

Zest the limes

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Variations

• You can include walnuts or macadamia nuts, or toasty almonds in the crust. The nuts will give a great consistency to the base and flavour and crunch, creating the perfect sweet-salty base for the creamy lime filling.
• You can also use a store-bought graham cracker crust if you’re looking to save some time! However, once you master a homemade crust, you’ll never buy a bland, thin store-bought pie crust again!
• You can use limes or regular lemons and Meyer lemons. All versions are great. Lemons tend to be sweeter, while limes have a more bitter flavour. The Meyer lemons are sweeter than regular lemons, and the pie will have a less tart, subtle lemon flavour. My favourite is using tart lime. I highly recommend using fresh citrus juice over bottled juice for a brighter, better flavour.
• Garnish - While delicious on its own, try garnishing your lime pie! You can serve it along with fresh mint leaves, lime zest, twist or slices of fresh limes, fresh raspberries or a sprinkle of nuts, especially if using it in the crust. Or you can leave the pie plain with none of these garnishes.

Make ahead

Freezing

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