I was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Grapefruit Pie, and decided to give it a try. The pie was bursting with a sunny grapefruit flavor. It reminded me of lemon meringue pie, but was a little less tart.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: American Cookery (March, 1922)
Rather than squeezing a grapefruit to get juice to make the pie, I purchsed a bottle of grapefruit juice. A typical grapefruit contains about 3/4 cup of juice.. When I made this recipe, the pie filling was a little juicy, so when I updated the recipe I added an additional egg yolk, (The original recipe called for 2 yolks and 3 egg whites. Using an additional yolk eliminates the need to figure out what to do with an extra yolk.). I also added an additional 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch when I updated the recipe to further thicken the filling.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Grapefruit Pie
Pie
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup grapefruit juice
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 9-inch pie shell, baked
Meringue
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grapefruit juice
Place water, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and grapefruit juice in a saucepan, stir until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Using medium heat, bring to a boil while stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add a small amount of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, while stirring constantly, and then slowly add to the contents in the saucepan while stirring constamtly. Remove from heat. If not smooth, stain the mixture. Allow the mixture to cool.
In the meantime, preheat oven to 400 ° F. and make the meringue. Place egg whites in a bowl, and beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar while continuing to beat; add the 2 teaspoons of grapefruit juice and beat. Then spoon on top of the pie and swirl. Place pie in the oven and bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned.
A Hundred Years Ago 
Does not “sound” good … will let you know.
I’m looking forward to hearing your verdict.
I would never have thought of using grapefruit in a pie!
Grapefruit actually tastes yummy in a pie.
I’ve never heard of grapefruit pie, let alone eaten it. I love orange, lemon, and lime, but generally avoid grapefruits. I do think this might be good made with the juice of good red grapefruits, which are a little less ‘acid-y.’
I think it would be delicious since the red grapefruit is sweeter.
I used red grapefuit juice, and was pleased with the flavor of the pie.
The use of high-quality fruit definitely results in a higher quality product.
I was picturing it made of grapefruit sections, so it sounds much better using the juice. I also think Ruby Red grapefruit might taste good.
I used ruby red grapefruit juice – though by the time I added the other ingredients, the pie filling ended up being only light pink.
Sounds intriguing!
It was tasty.
Strange.
You should give it a try. 🙂
I think it sounds lovely–if you like lemon pie, or key lime pie, how could you not like grapefruit? They are a delightful citrus fruit in my taste buds.
Exactly – this pie is very similar to lemon and key lime pies.
This sounds wonderful; I’ve never heard of grapefruit pie. I love the juice so would probably like this pie, as well!
If you like grapefruit juice and meringue, you’d like this pie.
I’d try it.
I like the pie holder in the photo. Can’t eat grapefruit though I do like it.
I also liked the pie holder in the photo – it is so old-fashioned, yet so elegant.
I was trying to figure out how is could be less tart than lemon until I saw the ration of juice to sugar!
There’s a lot of sugar in this pie – though I think that lemon meringue pies may also contain a lot of sugar.
Most likely! I like a higher percentage of fruit to sugar in my pies.
I would definitely order a slice!
It’s a nice pie. It went quickly at my house.
This sounds delightful! I’d never thought of using grapefruit in a pie… those old folks were certainly creative with their cooking!!
Sometimes I wonder why recipes for tasty foods that were made a hundred years ago seem to have been largely forgotten over the years.
Never heard of using grapefruit but that does not matter..was using a purchased juice not too sweet?…
The purchased juice worked fine. It was unsweetened juice.
I can’t wait to try that out !
I think that you will like it.