Lemon ice box pie is an icebox pie consisting of

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

, eggs, and

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

in a

pie crust Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie. ...

, frequently made of

graham cracker A graham cracker (pronounced or in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually h ...

s and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

. It is a variant of

key lime pie Key lime pie is an American dessert pie. It is made of Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. It may be served with no topping, with a meringue topping made from egg whites, or with whipped cream. Traditionally, Key lime pie i ...

; in both, the citric acidity sets the egg yolks, with minimal baking. There are also no bake versions.

History

No-bake icebox pies like the lemon icebox pie first became features of American cuisine in the 1930s, becoming more popular in the 1950s and 1960s as refrigerators became a standard item of the American kitchen. They are associated with the food traditions of the

cuisine of the Southern United States The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, cuisine of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, Southeastern Native American tribes, ...

. A 1936 recipe for stovetop lemon icebox pie was made by combining flour, cornstarch and sugar in a double boiler and gradually adding water to create a smooth batter, adding butter and stirring constantly. Egg yolks are stirred in and briefly cooked, then the mixture is taken off the heat and the lemon zest and juice are added, whipped egg whites are folded in, and the mixture is set aside to cool, then poured into a pie dish lined with ladyfingers or vanilla wafers. The pie is chilled in the refrigerator and topped with whipped cream before serving.

Preparation

To make the pie, sweetened condensed milk is whisked with fresh lemon juice and cream cheese. Separately, the egg yolks are whisked with the lemon zest until they become pale in color, then the condensed milk mixture is added gradually to the eggs. The crust can be made with vanilla wafers that are combined with melted butter and sugar until the consistency of wet sand, then pressed into a pie pan to form a crust. The crust is lightly baked, then filled with the filling. The pie is baked gently and allowed to set for several hours in the refrigerator. Before serving, it is topped with fresh whipped cream that can be flavored with lemon zest. The classic version of the no bake pie was made with eggs. Although cooks of that era said "the lemon juice has the effect of cooking the eggs", the modern day recommendation is to heat the raw egg yolk briefly on the stovetop. No bake versions can be made without eggs. The filling has been described as "light and delicate in flavor" and is made with just three ingredients: condensed milk, lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.

History

Preparation

See also

References

Further reading