What should the texture of meringue be in a lemon meringue pie?

Question

After the pie has cooked and chilled, what texture should the meringue be? I couldn't find an answer online, and it was hard to tell from photographs. I'm assuming it isn't supposed to be crispy, the way meringue cookies are. But should it be completely soft, almost whipped-cream like? Or should it be somewhat chewy?

Tetsujin · Answer

This is one of those questions to which there are as many answers as there are chefs ;)
Personally, I would say - you want all three, at different depths in your meringue.
The peaks should be browned & just crisp.
A millimetre or two below that ought to have an 'al dente' feel to it, a hint of 'chewy' but only a hint.
Below that it ought to be barely set, but it must be set.
If you get it like this it will survive only briefly.
If kept for more than a few hours, maybe a day tops, the top goes from crisp to chewy, below will go from light to rubbery to sloppy… until you end up with the stuff you buy in supermarkets :

What should the texture of meringue be in a lemon meringue pie?

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