Why Meringue Pies Weep
As it turns out, undercooking and overcooking can both cause weeping meringue and unwanted moisture on top of your pie (aka beading). Overcooking meringue causes those little sugary drops of moisture on top of baked meringues. It is difficult to prevent this, as most recipes now bake longer at lower temperatures to cook the egg whites enough to eliminate any risk of salmonella. Our Test Kitchen recommends following the recipe, beating, and baking as written. The watery layer between the meringue and the filling (weeping) is usually caused by undercooking. This is where it is important to put your meringue onto hot filling so it can begin cooking right away.
How to Keep Meringue from Weeping in 3 Steps
We rely on this meringue for pie recipe for the best results, but you can use any favorite meringue recipe. Follow these three easy steps to help prevent that unwanted moisture from building on your meringue pie:
More Tips to Stop Meringue from Weeping
Still concerned about ending up with a runny meringue? We feel you. Here are some meringue troubleshooting techniques to help prevent weeping and keep meringue from shrinking.
Make meringue pie on dry, low-humidity days. Don’t overbake your meringue! Overbaking causes the egg whites to shrink and squeeze out small droplets of moisture. Always make sure to check on your pie at the minimum baking time. Undissolved sugar in the egg whites can also cause weeping. To make sure the sugar gets dissolved, mix the egg whites and sugar at a low speed until the mixture feels perfectly smooth with no graininess when you rub a little between your thumb and fingers. You can also try using superfine/caster sugar ($8, Sur La Table); it dissolves more quickly than regular granulated sugar. Always prepare the meringue before preparing the pie filling so it’s ready to spread while the filling is still hot. The heat from the filling will “cook” the meringue onto the filling and make it less likely to leak or shrink. Seal the meringue completely to the edge of the pie so it touches the crust.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you use eggs that are pasteurized in the shell (which destroys salmonella bacteria), you could bake your meringue for 15 minutes until it’s browned without having to worry about getting to the safe temperature for eggs (165°F). The less time the meringue spends in the oven, the less likely you are to overbake the meringue and cause weeping. Once your pie is finished, store it correctly by covering and chilling it so the meringue will be as beautiful as it was right out of the oven. Now that you have this newfound weeping meringue knowledge, you can get back to the kitchen to start baking all the delicious cream pie recipes from scratch with less worry.
