 |
| Elizabeth Floyd -- her engagement photo |
This week we’re honoring our mothers, and the food they made that we
remember fondly.
My mother did not really care for desserts or anything sweet (she
spent most of her adult life battling what she considered a weight problem,
probably because she had been a slightly pudgy child). But she did not deprive
her family of desserts, thank goodness.
What I remember most happily is the pies she made, all of which can be
found in The Boston Cooking-School Cook
Book, AKA Fannie Farmer. She used the 1947 edition, which makes sense
because she and my father married in 1948. I still have it (and use it!), its
pages market with annotations from three generations of cooks.
 |
| My mother's pie pan |
 |
| My mother's double boiler |
By the way, it was only when I began to assemble what I needed to make
this recipe that I realized I still had (and use) my mother’s Pyrex pie pan and
double boiler, so this is kind of a double tribute. I hope I’ve made her proud.
Lemon Chiffon Pie
 |
| May I remind you that I am pie crust challenged? At least it's homemade. |
Single pie crust (of your choice), baked
2 tsp gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 tsp grated lemon rind
4 egg whites* (about 1/3 cup)
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water.
Beat the egg yolks, add 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and lemon juice and rind.
Cook the mixture over simmering water in a double boiler, stirring
until thick.
Add the gelatin mixture and stir until it dissolves. Cool.
Beat the egg whites and the remaining sugar (1/2 cup) until stiff.
When the mixture is beginning to set, fold in the egg whites.
Pour into a baked pie shell and chill. (You can mixed in 1/2 to 1 cup
of whipped cream, or top it with the whipped cream instead.)
 |
| Raw egg whites |
*Some people are concerned about
salmonella contamination in raw eggs (cooking kills salmonella). If you are not
completely confident in the source of your eggs, you can use pasteurized egg
whites, available in the refrigerator section of your market. The pasteurized
ones are harder to beat to a foam, so if you’re using them, add a bit of cream
of tartar or lemon juice, and be patient.
 |
| Pasteurized egg whites |
I tried both (see pictures). I
measured the equivalent of 4 egg whites of the pasteurized form, and whipped
them with the same electric mixer. They appear to have reached the same volume,
in the same amount of time. In cooking, though, I used only the unpasteurized
egg whites, so I can’t tell you how the pasteurized ones would cook.
Both kinds of egg whites, beaten (the pasteurized ones are on the right).
Rather than promoting any of my books today (none of which my mother ever had a chance to read), I want to thank her for instilling in me a love of reading--she was seldom without a book or magazine in her hand.
