I finally got around to trying my idea. I didn't bother with making a crust, too hot to turn the oven on, so I decided to double the recipe and call it a pudding...lol I used an 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, 1 1/4 C orange juice and a cup of apricot nectar. Since I didn't need meringue I used whole eggs (beat well). This stuff is very tasty and needs to be chilled. I love it! Sitting here eating the rest tonight while posting this. Only thing I might try when I make the next batch is to add a little grated orange rind, just for stronger flavor. No whip cream on hand or I would be having some on this right now. Nancy

clairdo2, I see you live in northern Canada and most likely do not grow your own lemons and imagine they are quite expensive to purchase. I can vouch for the product grainlady mentions, "True Lemon". I also keep it in my food storage program and it's quite good. Might want to order some (it's not expensive and they will email you coupons going forward). You can certainly make a good lemon meringue pie with REALEMON. I live in Connecticut and DH traps lobsters as a hobby. I understand many in the country have to eat lobster shipped in and stored in a tank in the grocery store. There is a noticeable difference in taste and texture between that product and fresh caught lobster but many still purchase them and say they've had a wonderful special meal. Same with fresh lemons. Not everybody lives in the southern tier of US states. Fresh citrus is also expensive here and considered a real treat. I make preserved lemons once/year both because we love them and as a way to avoid that high cost as much as possible. Just use the REALEMON in place of "lemon juice" in your pie. It will be delicious! /tricia This post was edited by triciae on Fri, Mar 29, 13 at 13:10

I would speculate that the pudding base was not cooked to a full, yet gentle, boil before the eggs were added. I make chocolate pudding all the time for hubs, as it is his go to favorite. It is much the same process of making a thickened pudding base before adding the eggs. Once the base comes to a boil, let it cook gently for a couple of minutes until it thickens up, but do account for the fact that it is going to get thicker as it sets up. Then add in the eggs and I generally bring it back to a very gentle boil ,briefly If you continue cooking that with the eggs in it, it is going to do some strange things to the eggs. After all, this is not really a custard pie such as a pumpkin or a buttermilk where it gets baked in the oven. I have a recipie from an old Betty Crocker book that uses both cornstarch and flour in egual measure. I like it better than just corn starch. It seems to give some extra body to the pie, but it doesnt taste at all floury. My difficulty is with the meringue... I cant seem to make one that does not end up weeping. You might try adding in a couple of tablespoons of flour along with the starch. I think it makes a nice difference and I have never had any problem with it not setting up. But, really, cook it until if has thickened BEFORE adding the eggs, and bring it back to a gentle boil very briefly after the eggs. I bet that solves the problem.

Honu, I'm so glad you liked it! It looks lovely - thanks for the cut view! I've never made up a pie before so I'm psyched that you liked the flavors together. My nephews are used to my experimental cooking but I can tell you I do not bat 1000 - more like 700. When this cooled and I cut it and it actually looked like a pie I was so thankful. When I tasted it and liked it I was thrilled. When the boys finished it in one sitting I knew it was a winner. I know it's a lot of steps, but now that I know how to do it, I plan to keep making it. Merry Christmas!