ᐅ How to Keep a Lemon Pie Fresh (Storage Guide) •【 2024 】

Lemon pie is an exquisite dessert whose base contains a lemon cream that is usually covered with meringue. The problem is that it gets bad quickly, or at least it used to be like that until today because I will teach you how to preserve the lemon pie correctly.

Lemon pie can not be left for more than 2 hours at room temperature, so you should store it in the fridge for 2 or 3 days. You can extend its shelf life for 2 or 3 months if you freeze it without the meringue.

If you want to find the best way to save lemon pie, I invite you to continue reading.

How to keep a lemon pie in the fridge

Since the lemon pie can not last more than 2 hours at room temperature, or it would start to ruin it (especially if it has meringue), it is most convenient to store it in the fridge.

Therefore, to keep the lemon pie in the refrigerator, you must follow these steps:

Step 1: Let cool.

Place the lemon pie on a slit or rack so it cools completely.

Step 2: Avoid putting meringue until you eat it.

The meringue will shorten the lemon pie shelf life.

Step 3a: Store in an airtight container.

In this way, you will prevent something from falling into the lemon cream. You can use a cake stand.

Step 3b: Cover with foil or aluminum.

If you do not have an airtight container, you can put chopsticks high enough to prevent the packaging from touching the cream and/or meringue.

You should place these chopsticks between the center and the edge of the pie. If you use the film, handle it carefully not to pierce it.

Step 4: Place your pie on top of the fridge.

If stored this way, the lemon pie can be in the fridge for 2 or 3 days.

Freeze lemon pie

Can lemon pie be frozen? To freeze the lemon pie, in addition to following the freezing guidelines for this food, it is a requirement that lemon pie does not have meringue. Remember, I have a guide about meringue storage here.

To freeze the lemon pie, you need to do the following

Step 1: Let cool.

If stored in the freezer fresh out of the oven, the temperature shock would ruin the consistency of the lemon pie.

Step 2: Perform a pre-freeze.

Put the cold lemon pie, whole or in pieces, in the freezer for 2 or 4 hours.

Step 3: Cover with aluminum foil.

Remove from the freezer and wrap with aluminum foil to avoid freeze burns.

Step 4: Store in an airtight container.

An extra layer of protection is added, which never hurts, preventing something from falling on the lemon pie and breaking it. The container must be suitable for the freezer.

Step 5: Place storage date.

Labeling foods helps maintain control over them to consume them before they are completely damaged.

Step 6: Save to freezer.

If you follow all these steps, you can keep the lemon pie freezer for 1 to 2 months. [1]

Store the base of the lemon pie

The pie base can be made of ground biscuits, shortcrust pastry, and puff pastry. As the base of ground cookies is simple and quick to prepare, cooking it the same day you make the pie is best.

I don’t want to repeat content, so check the links if you want to store the shortcrust pastry or puff pastry, but summarizing, it would be:

Wait for it to cool.

Wrap with plastic film or aluminum foil.
Label with the storage date.
Store in the fridge or freezer.

Preserve lemon cream

Lemon cream can be bought packaged or made at home, where obviously, the canned version lasts much longer because of its preservatives.

If the canned lemon cream has been unopened, you can store it at room temperature in a cool, dark place for three years.

Once opened, the remaining contents are refrigerated and can last about 2 or 4 weeks.

Store the lemon cream in the fridge

For the home version, you should first cook the lemon cream in a bain-marie, as you will not bake it, and then follow these steps:

Step 1: Cool.

But to prevent a crust from creating, you should place a layer of plastic film on top, ensuring that the plastic touches all the cream. Leave at room temperature for at least one hour.

Step 2: Refrigerate.

So the cream will grab consistency. You can leave it in the fridge for a few hours or a whole day.

Step 3: Transfer the cream to a glass container.

The glass container must have a lid.

Step 4: Keep refrigerated.

The lemon cream can be in the fridge for four weeks without problems.

How to Freeze the lemon cream

To cook the homemade lemon cream, you must do the following:

Step 1: Cool completely.

Leave it at room temperature for an hour. Although you should cover the cream with plastic film, ensuring the plastic contact the cream to prevent a crust formation.

Step 2: Refrigerate.

It is refrigerated for a few hours so that it acquires consistency.

Step 3: Transfer the cream to an airtight container.

The container must be suitable for freezing. Glass is not recommended in this case because the cold can break it.

Step 4: Put in the freezer.

You can keep lemon cream frozen for a year.

How to know when the lemon pie is bad?

Eating lemon pie is generally not recommended if it has been at room temperature for more than 2 hours, as food-degrading bacteria begin to act quickly when not cold.

It should also not be eaten if mold is present; otherwise, it would cause food poisoning. And if lemon pie smells or tastes bad, like rotten, it should also be discarded.

How long does lemon pie last?

Product	Shelf life
Lemon pie at room temperature	2 hours
Lemon pie in the fridge	2 – 3 days
Lemon pie without meringue in the freezer	1 – 2 months
Industrial lemon cream (sealed)	3 years
Industrial lemon cream in the fridge (open=¿)	2 – 4 weeks
Homemade lemon cream in the fridge	4 weeks
Frozen homemade lemon cream	1 year

What is the best way to preserve lemon pie?

Lemon pie is one of those desserts you should eat as soon as possible so that they do not lose its consistency, and therefore, the best way to keep it is to keep it refrigerated.

However, freezing lemon pie is also an option for people with little free time who take a day off to prepare some things.

You can also keep the pie in parts, such as lemon cream and base, so you do not have to do much the day you eat.

If you want to know more about the preservation methods of different foods, this website has mastered the storage world!