Peach Meringue

A cross-reference recipe: it assumes you have the strawberry meringue formula a page or two earlier, which in books of this type means raw fruit heaped into a baked shell, covered with sweetened beaten whites and set briefly in the oven. The peaches are never cooked, so the whole thing hinges on how you treat the meringue.

• The hinge: a short, hot setThe recipe gives no baking directions, but because the fruit goes in raw the meringue needs to colour quickly, before the peaches slump and flood the dish. A brief spell in a hot oven suits it better than a long, slow one, which risks weeping juice and softening the crust.
• "Size of strawberries"Berries of the period were on the whole smaller than today's; aim for smallish pieces rather than thin slices, which shed too much liquid.
• Peeling"Pare" here means peel with a knife. Fully ripe peaches peel readily after 30 seconds in boiling water and a cold dip, which is faster and wastes less flesh.
• DrainingRipe peaches release far more juice than strawberries. Toss the cut fruit with a little sugar, let it stand 10 minutes, and drain before filling, or thicken lightly with a teaspoon of cornstarch.
• The meringueThe recipe gives no proportions. Sweetened whites beaten to firm peaks are what is wanted; one to two tablespoons of sugar per white will do, and three whites are enough to cover a pie of ordinary size.
• The shellIf the strawberry meringue it refers back to was built in a pastry shell, that shell would need to be baked and cooled first; filling a warm crust with raw fruit guarantees a soggy bottom.
• ServingServe the day it is made; uncooked fruit under meringue does not hold overnight.