Friday, June 17, 2022

Why Vinegar Pie?

 




Glad you asked! This one is based on a Great Depression recipe that many cooks and chefs used because there was no lemon to be had. Katherine Alford, one of the co-authors of Rage Baking, came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about the recipe, which she calls one of favorites in the book, and one she came across traveling across the country. Katherine told Tonia it's both a sweet and tart pie, and while there is no shortage of lemons these days, these are challenging times. And this pie harks back to a different challenging time.

1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups boiling water. 
Let come to a boil add 3 tablespoon corn starch to 1/2 cup water and dissolve, stir into boiling sugar and water, boil until clear. 
Add 2 tablespoons butter, yolks of 3 eggs beaten a little, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, pinch of salt. 
Stir into the cornstarch mixture, but do not boil. 
Pour into unbaked pie shell, bake in rather slow oven. 
Beat whites of 3 eggs until stiff add 9 tablespoons sugar, spread on baked pie, return to the oven until golden brown.