According to the website Food Timeline, the lemon desserts we enjoy today, including lemon meringue pie, can be traced back to medieval times when lemons were rare and expensive ingredients prized for their sunny flavor and scurvy-fighting vitamin C. Chilled lemon meringue pie became especially popular in the American South because of its refreshing flavor and is still considered a pantry staple during the summer months. While some consider it a complicated recipe to make from scratch, cooling and serving lemon meringue pie can be easily accomplished, even by the least experienced bakers.
Place the warm pie on a cooking rack for up to two hours.
Refrigerate the pie for one hour if you prefer to serve it chilled. Make sure the pie has cooled to room temperature before refrigerating.
Slice the pie in six or eight pieces with a sharp, thin-bladed knife. Make certain you cut all the way through the crust. If the lemon filling does not slice cleanly, you may need to cool your pie longer.
Slide a wedge-shaped pie server under the crust of a cut piece and transfer it to a plate.