Pineapple Cream Pie Filling

Recipe No. 401 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Pies. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Cornstarch — 2¾ pounds (2 No. 56 dippers)
• Corn sirup — 1½ quarts (1½ No. 56 dippers)
• Sugar, granulated — 10 pounds (5 No. 56 dippers)
• Salt — 1 ounce (2 mess kit spoons)
• Pineapple juice — 5½ quarts (5½ No. 56 dippers)
• Butter — ½ pound (¼ No. 56 dipper)
• Egg yolks, beaten — 20 yolks (1 No. 56 dipper)
• Lemon juice — 12 ounces (½ mess kit cup)
• Lemon rind — 1 ounce

Directions

Key ingredients

Cornstarch

1. Mix cornstarch, corn sirup, sugar, and salt together. Add 1 quart (one No. 56 dipper) pineapple juice; stir until smooth.
2. Heat 3 quarts (three No. 56 dippers) of the remaining pineapple juice to boiling point.
3. Add cornstarch mixture very slowly to hot juice. Heat to boiling point; boil 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.
4. Add butter; mix well.
5. Pour about ¼ cooked mixture slowly over beaten eggs; stir until well-mixed.
6. Pour egg mixture slowly into remaining cooked mixture; mix thoroughly. Heat to boiling point*; stirring constantly.
7. Add lemon juice, lemon rind, and remaining 1½ quarts (1½ No. 56 dippers) pineapple juice; mix well.
8. Pour into baked pie shells.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Cornstarch — 3½ oz Corn sirup — 7⅔ tbsp Sugar, granulated — 12¾ oz Salt — about ½ tsp Pineapple juice — 1¾ cups Butter — ⅔ oz Egg yolks, beaten — 1⅔ yolks Lemon juice — 1 oz Lemon rind — about ½ tsp

Heat only to boiling point. If mixture boils the eggs will be overcooked and the mixture will be curdled.

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 401, Pies. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.