11/27 - Banana Cream Meringue Pie

problem: meringue started to "weep" after an 30min of cooling at room temp, then 30min cooling in the fridge

steps i took:

• banana cream pie made 6 hours before...was cool in the fridge before i added the meringue to the top
• 1/2 sugar that recipe called for (jamie oliver's book)
  
• baked at 400 degrees for about 5 min til browned on tips (j.o. book)
• when it started to weep, i decided to recook it...took it out of fridge and cooked at 375 for 10 min, then 300 for about 30 min, then 325 til total was about 1 hour...sides with egg whites stopped dripping so i took it out of heat...brown all around and hollow sound when tapped and med / rare center when tested with skewer.

tips i found from tiptionary:

• blend 1 tsp cornstarch with the sugar before beating it with egg whites
  
• add 1/2 tsp baking power to sugar before adding to egg whites for high rise meringue
• adding sugar to egg whites before soft peaks will elongate amount of time it takes to flush and possibly decrease the height
• acid helps stabilize the egg whites by solidifying it...
• most books call for cream of tartar as the stabilizing agent...but can substitute with lemon juice or vinegar (1/8 tsp per egg white)
  

from website:

http://www.stambaughfamily.com/lemonmeringuepie.html

• Weeping - When water seeps between the filling and the meringue, the pie is weeping. This is caused by spreading the meringue over a cool filling, which prevents the meringue from baking completely. Solution: Make sure the filling is hot, even boiling, before pouring it into the pie shell. Immediately spread the meringue over the filling. The hot filling will begin to cook the meringue from the bottom, ensuring even cooking throughout.

http://www.ochef.com/904.htm

• An option many people take is to add a teaspoon of cornstarch to the sugar before beating it into the meringue. The cornstarch absorbs extra moisture, and has the added bonus of keeping the whites from becoming overbeaten. Shirley Corriher, author of Cookwise (Canada, UK), uses a slightly different method. She blends a tablespoon of cornstarch with 1/3 cup of water, heats it until it forms a thick gel, and then adds it to the meringue a tablespoon at a time after all the sugar has been added. She says this keeps the meringue from shrinking, lowers the chance that beads will form on the surface, and makes a meringue that is tender and easy to cut smoothly.

next time:

• make pie crust and blind bake it...then add hot custard on top of pie crust, and immediately put the meringue on top and bake for 10-15 min on 375 degrees.
  
• if need to make a cold filling, then add corn starch to the sugar before adding to egg white mixture
• mix on egg whites first til soft peaks, then add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time til shiny
• don't make custard too thick...better thinner