Recipe: Grandma's Citrus Chiffon Pie
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at 06:55PM When I was home visiting my mother over Mother's Day, we sat around the kitchen table and sorted and sifted through the collected recipes of many years. It was great fun looking through the old recipes with my mother. I saw recipes written in my sister's and my childish handwriting. There were recipes from relatives long dead, half forgotten neighbors, aunts and cousins.
The recipe I am sharing with you is from my Grandma Smith. I've taken care to transcribe the recipe exactly the way she wrote it down. I don't remember ever tasting this recipe of my grandmother's, but both my mother and my Aunt Bonnie remember it well. It seems as though this pie has an uncooked meringue--not a good idea in this day and age. Perhaps they didn't worry so much about salmonella poisoning back in the late 50's or early 60's when this recipe was popular. Either that, or she left that part out. Regardless, I will be topping mine with whipped cream and not meringue.
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Citrus Chiffon Pie
Mildred Smith, Norco, California
Late 1950's, early 1960's
1 envelope of (1 tab) unflavored gelatin
1/2 c. sugar
dash salt
4 egg yolks
1/2 c. orange juice
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1/4 tsp. grated lemon peel
4 egg whites
1/3 c. sugar
1 baked 9 in pastry shell
in saucepan, thoroughly mix together gelatin the 1/2 c, sugar and the salt. Beat together egg yolks orange juice lemon juice and water stir into gelatin mixture. Cook & stir over med. heat just until mixture comes to boiling. remove from heat stir in orange & lemon peel. chill stirring occasionally till mixture mounds slightly when spooned. Beat egg whites till soft peaks form gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar beating to stiff peaks. Pile into pastry shell Chill until firm Trim with dollops of whipped cream and a sprinkle of shredded orange peel.
Reader Comments (5)
All things vintage -- lovely.
It's so much fun when the vintage is real and from the family, isn't it?
What a treasure! Your Grandma was from California? I'm trying to remember where Norco is. I don't believe I've heard of that town!
:)
Norco is right beside Corona! : D
I love the hand written recipe. A very sweet treasure. I know exactly where Norco is. My in-laws lived in Corona for a while, which is just down the road...
Hi Ellen,
I'm pretty sure that they lived in Corona for a while before they moved to Norco. My uncle lived in Corona for a while!
My Mom has my grandmother's hand written recipe book and some individual ones written just like this. I often can picture what she looked like setting there at her kitchen table writing out her recipes, never knowing that it would be in the hands of a granddaughter later in years to come. Wonder what special events and family gatherings this pie blest? My grandmother's favorite was her Montgomery Pie. I will post it for the desserts in June RoundUp. I love egg custard pie.
Mmm. Custard Pie! Never heard of Montgomery Pie but if it's a custard, I will love it!
I had a Grandma Smith, too! That pie sounds seriously delicious... I have lots of old recipe cards that leave certain cooking instructions off, presuming, I guess, that I should know what to do. But I don't.
The Girl has been working on a calligraphy-style thank you card for you, very laboriously!
Oh, I can't wait! Please tell her that I am looking forward to it! I hope she is having as much fun making it as I did making her bookmark!