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Rhubarb Meringue
1 lb. pink rhubarb 4 ozs. (4 heaping tablespoonfuls) sugar 4 eggs I lemon 2 tablespoonfuls sugar
The book gives quantities only; the method has to be inferred from the standard pattern for a fruit meringue of this date, which is stewed fruit thickened with yolks and finished under a whisked-white topping.
- What the list impliesFour eggs are presumably separated: the yolks into the sweetened rhubarb to set it, the whites whipped with the second 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar for the meringue. The lemon is unspecified in the list and would supply rind, juice, or both; the two sugar quantities are listed separately and are not interchangeable.
- Weights to volumesFour ounces of sugar is about half a cup; the book's "4 heaping tablespoonfuls" is a rough equivalent and the weight is the more reliable figure. A pound of rhubarb is roughly four cups of 1-inch pieces, or five or six medium stalks.
- Cook the rhubarb dryRhubarb throws a great deal of water. Stew it with the sugar and no added liquid, uncovered at the end if need be, until it is thick enough to mound on a spoon; a wet base will weep under the meringue.
- Yolks off the heatLet the stewed fruit cool below a simmer before beating in the yolks, then return it to gentle heat only until it thickens. Yolks scramble at around 160F and rhubarb's acidity gives no protection.
- Oven for the meringueA meringue topping of this kind wants a slow oven, 300F, for 20 to 25 minutes, until set through and faintly coloured. The higher heat some period books call "a quick oven" beads and weeps the whites.
- Stalks onlyRhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid in quantity and are not eaten; trim them off and discard. The recipe calls for pink rhubarb, likely the early forced crop, which is generally milder and more tender than the green field crop and needs less sugar.
- YieldServes four to six. Best eaten the day it is made, at room temperature or barely warm, as the meringue softens overnight in the refrigerator.
Rhubarb belonged to an economical spirit: cheap, hardy, and the first thing out of the kitchen garden in spring, it was treated as a fruit in puddings and pies long after botanists insisted it was a vegetable stalk. The pink forced rhubarb of the period was a specialty crop raised in dark sheds, a Yorkshire trade in particular, and prized for its tenderness and colour. Meringue toppings over stewed fruit or custard were a standard way to use up whites left from a yolk-thickened base, and the pairing of tart fruit with a sweet whipped crust is the same logic that produced lemon meringue pie.