If you don’t have a baking rack, set the pie on a heat-resistant pot holder while it cools to protect your countertops from scorching.
Avoid putting any plastic wrap or foil over the pie if you’re refrigerating it for less than 6 hours. Covering the pie with a wrap can crush the meringue, causing it to release moisture and get runny, which is called “weeping. ”
If it’s a humid day, you may notice that the meringue produces water immediately after you remove it from the refrigerator. This is normal, and you can still cut and serve the pie.
If the pie has been sitting out for longer than 2 hours, it’s best to throw away the remaining pieces to prevent foodborne illness.
The toothpicks help to hold the plastic wrap up and away from the meringue. If the plastic is too close to the meringue, the combination of eggs and water will begin to weep and release water, making the meringue look runny. If you have a particularly large pie, you may need to use 4 or 5 toothpicks distributed throughout the pie.
If one of the toothpicks tears or punctures the cling wrap, throw the piece away and get another one to use.
If you need to take the pie out of the refrigerator at any point, be careful not to pull or poke the plastic wrap, as this can cause the toothpicks to break through the plastic.
Most meringues tend to break down in the freezer, resulting in a pie with a crunchy, icy texture. You can, however, prepare and store the lemon filling and crust in the freezer for a few months. Then, when you’re ready to serve the pie, remove the premade filling and crust from the freezer and bake the rest of the pie as normal.
The heat from the filling will begin to cook the meringue, making it less likely to shrink or weep
It may be easier to use a toothpick or a fork to spread the delicate meringue around the edges. Just be careful not to stick the toothpick all the way into the pie before it’s baked, which can cause the lemon filling and meringue to mix.
On a pie, a cooked meringue will have a slight brown tint but still be soft and fluffy. [12] X Research source If you begin to see small drops of water on the meringue when you take it out of the oven, stop baking the pie immediately.
