How many egg whites are there?

Make sure the egg whites are in either a metal or glass bowl...no plastic. Use chilled egg whites and be absolutly sure no yolk not even a drop gets in the whites. Beat with mixer until stiff peaks form..than stop. Dont over beat.

Schoolhouse your pie looks devilishly delicious.

You may have gotten some yolk in the whites. I always use 3 whites. I use a plastic bowl sometimes and no problem. Did you add cream of tartar too?

Oh my gosh. Yes, some bits of egg yolk DID get into the whites. I did my best to separate them out but figured "no big deal". Now I know. Used a glass bowl, did not chill egg whites, didn't use cream of tartar; but when I was telling a friend over the phone about it soon after, she said her meringue recipe calls for cream of tartar!

rob - I used only two egg whites. Next time, I'll use more.

I use 2 or 3 egg whites at room temperature making sure deep narrow bowl is spotless. ...no grease. Beat, adding sugar gradually. .never use cream of tartar.

It looks yummy, I'll have a slice!

I don't bother to chill the whites, as they are already cold. Always use at least 3 egg whites but more if you want.

Beat the egg whites til frothy before adding in the sugar. I beat mine in a stainless bowl and know they're beaten enough when I turn the bowl upside down and they don't come out.

Looks good to me. Hello Martha!

When I was a cook in a restaurant I made a lot of meringue. I never chilled my egg whites as they wer already chilled. I have used a plastic or rubber bowl. I always put the sugar in right away along with the cream of tartar. I have made it without the cream of tartar and my meringue always turned out. The biggest thing is not to get any egg yolk in it.

I like room temperature egg whites -- never do them cold!

When I said chilled egg whites I ment eggs straight from the frig. Not room temp.

You have two of my favorite things there - egg custard and graham cracker crust. It looks great to me and I would happily eat it all by myself!

Yep, three room temp eggs in a glass bowl. I managed to go the other direction... six egg whites. A mountain! Way too much

:)

Crack each egg and separate in a small dish. If no yolk gets in it, transfer to a bowl. If you do one at a time that way and yolk gets in it, you can save the egg in a jar for breakfast or whatever and use another egg for the egg white.

Never too much. If you think you have too much put as much as you like on the pie. Then dot the rest on paper or foil. After pie comes out put the dots in the oven to dry. May need to allow oven to cool if too warm but browning a little adds a different taste. Can also just spread as one big piece and make a Pavlova with all kinds of goodies added.

I always chill my bowls, too. Not necessary, maybe? My meringue is always wonderful...light, airy, peaky.

The magic of meringue from cooks illustrated says to add the sugar when the whites are foamy...too soon and it doesn't have enough structure...too late the sugar doesn't dissolve and it's grainy.

Powdered sugar is easier to dissolve. I'd forgotten that tip

You're right maifleur, never too much. Can you tell I was a really young cook at that point?

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By the way, a chilled bowl (and whisk) makes really cold cream whip up beautifully.

Schoolhouse - What is the verdict on the taste test? When I make meringue, I find I get greater volume with eggs at room temperature. Like Annie, I don't add sugar until the whites are foamy and only a tablespoon at a time. I don't have cream of tartar on hand, but have added 1/4 tsp vinegar or lemon juice per egg white. (I've been making a lot of Pavlova lately)

What Annie said. My mother taught me that way and it always worked. And I add cream of tartar at the same time. And yes, put the separated eggs in a bowl one at a time like Georgysmom suggests.

A few meringue tips my Aunt taught me. Always pile it on high and bring it down over the crust edge to prevent shrinking away from the sides of the pie. Add sugar after eggs become foamy but before peaks form or it will be grainy. Never make meringue in a humid kitchen so if your boiling pasta ect ect don't try to make meringue.

Summer, I'm going to be honest and say I was a little disappointed in the taste. It's definitely "eggy", not the vanilla pudding I am used to and it's pretty sweet. Plus it sure is a flat pie! I don't remember Mom's being like that but then we were kids so perhaps I'm not remembering accurately. Of course I don't have her old pie pan either. I thought I had one similar but couldn't find it in the cupboard. I have a glass Pyrex pan that is 9.5" and an aluminum one that is 9". So I used the smaller one. Neither are very deep.

Older graham crackers were not as sweet as the ones that are currently sold. One of my childhood snacks was a graham cracker spread with a frosting made with a quarter of margarine, powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough canned cream to make it spreadable. Current graham crackers are too sweet for me to do this.

And weren't graham crackers darker? I don't know how else to describe it. Like you say, the recipe must have changed.

I was taught by my mother (and have done the same for the past 51+ years), that eggs need to be at room temp to get a good frothy rise when making meringue or angel food cake - NEVER chilled. l It's whipping cream and the bowl and beaters that should be chilled for whipped cream.

Having a clean bowl - either metal or glass - never plastic - is essential. If there is any grease in it (left from the whipped cream one previously made?), the egg whites will not rise properly. Some people like to wipe the bowl and beater with a paper towel with vinegar on it after previously washing bowl/beater using Dawn (good degreaser).

I always add cream of tartar to stablize the egg whites. I've used both regular granulated sugar and confectioners sugar for meringue - usually use granulated - it works just fine. Some people say to use Superfine sugar - I use it if I have it on hand but I often don't.

If one wants to be a good cook, one really must fully read a recipe first before starting. Recipes are not just about ingredients, they are also about the order in which things are done and the process itself. They are NOT just "suggestions" or someone being arbitrary - there IS a reason for doing things the way the recipe is written.

A very experienced cook can take liberties with an entree, but even they should follow the recipe for baked goods and most desserts. There is science and chemistry in cooking!

I was watching a YouTube video last night - Mary Berry's Christmas Party. She invited a few celebrities to come and cook with her. I will go to my grave and not understand how a competent grown woman can think it sort of "cute" that she's utterly incompetent in the kitchen - can't even pour the vanilla extract into a measuring spoon and into the mixture. Laugh, laugh, laugh, only it's NOT funny - it's pathetic. If one chooses not to cook, that is certainly ones choice - not everyone enjoys it. But ones inadequacies are not cute or funny. I don't play bridge - have no idea how/what the rules are etc. So I would not accept an invitation to do so and then go and laugh at how dumb I am.

Cooking is not that hard. And today with YouTube videos that show one how to do EVERYTHING on earth, it's pretty easy to learn. Once one has learned a few basic techniques, one can make pretty much anything!

Schoolhouse, just keep trying and it will get better. Your 9 inch pan should be ok. The egg taste sounds like it didn't get the proper cooking time. Follow the recipe more closely and next one should be a winner.......I promise! It just takes practice sometimes. :)

I taught myself to cook when I was tired of being hungry and microwave stuff. Since I gave myself permission to ‘wing it’ but also prepared to have to eat my mistakes and bad decisions (food is far too expensive if you buy boneless skinless breasts and end up throwing it all away when it turned out as the far too spicy chicken that one overdid the ground mustard on without a clue as to how to course correct - plus have to find something edible, usually what you planned to have for another meal or so that week but now cannot). I had a couple of not so great results but can now cook sort of intuitively, something people hate to hear when they ask for my recipe, and I have to tell them “oh some of this, a dash of that, have made it before without this one thing I decided to throw in this time if you wanna dig through the trash to find the package or container to find out could you tell me too so I can write it down on some paper that will promptly be lost?”

At least I have never served anyone chicken still pink in the middle, or had results so disasterous that not even the dog or starving college student friends would eat? ;)

Hey, topping this thread just to say that I tried of piece of the pie this afternoon and it tasted a whole lot better, good actually. Maybe because it is really chilled now? Not sure how long it can be eaten before going bad on account of the eggs. Thanks all!