History of Lem Pie Filling and Pudding

Lem Pie fillingCHERRY HILL, N.J. – LEM is a special kind of lemon filling, found in select grocery stores and specialty food shops. Made by Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Serv-Agen, it is quite different than your regular pie filling.

It was originally called Mrs. Morrison’s LEM, and was a “one-line item” company. It is made with pure egg yolk batter, tapioca flour and no artificial lemon flavors. Eventually, it became part of the Serv-Agen company, makers of Serv-a-Gravy.

Its ingredients are a lesson in marketing. The prize element of the filling is that the oil of lemon in the ingredients is sent to an extra sterile pharmaceutical company where it is turned into an encapsulated gel capsule, before it is packaged.

Lem is in the same category of niche products as Serv-a-Gravy, that classic gravy sauce in a packet.

The company was founded by Herbert W. Salus in 1936, though LEM is much older, over 100 years old. Salus was a civil service commissioner and attorney who got into the spice business on the side.

LEM can be found at many regional grocery stores.

Author

  • Garland Pollard

    J. Garland Pollard IV is editor/publisher of BrandlandUSA. Since 2006, the website BrandlandUSA.com has chronicled the history and business of America’s great brands.

73 Comments

  1. I was cleaning out a friend’s cabinet today & threw away a box!

  2. Since we can no longer find the LEM pudding no longer. Does anyone know the original recipe or one that is closest to our LEN FAVORITE!!!

    1. Were you ever able to find the LEM pie filling and pudding?

      1. Author

        Sadly, I have not seen it nor heard from the company.

  3. I hear it’s been discontinued because it was not cost effective to make any longer. And other posts say the company closed up. I’m sad too

  4. I’m looking for LEM pie filling. I have been looking everywhere for the last few years. There nothing out there that compares. Does anyone know if the recipe was sold and is now under a different name. Please bring it back. Thanks

    1. Author

      Shirley. I have not seen it anywhere and wish I had a clue about it. It is one of the most requested items we write about here.

  5. Why was this product discontinued? Cannot the recipe be sold to Jello or other company PLEASE! BRING IT BACK!

  6. Please Please bring back LEM I am 55 years old and this is the only lemon pie filling my mom ever used I understand that you are not making it anymore but at least bring it back for the holidays the makers of mincemeat bring it back every year for the holidays please reconsider missing my mom’s lemon pie by lem thanks

  7. LEM is the only pie filling I use.
    I use it to make LEM meringue CAKE

    PLEASE BRING IT BACK TO STORES

  8. Lemon desserts are just not the same without my LEM. Thanksgiving wasn’t the same without the grand finale.
    Please return LEM to the shelves!!!

  9. PLEASE BRING THE SAME LEM BACK!!!

  10. Bring back LEM can’t make my lemon meringue pie for the holidays ??

  11. LEM, was the only pie filling and best one we used and liked. Wish someone would start making it again. Used in our family for years, If found in a store somewhere I would drive to get some, I live in Lewes, De. Hope someone can tell me where I could find some.

  12. I have not been able to buy Lem in several different stores in PA near Hershey. I make something called Lemon Butter. It’s a South Jersey recipe eaten mostly in the summer at picnics. I can’t make it without it. It’s always a hit with everyone and we all miss it. Can I buy it on line or where?

  13. I just spent a half hour on the internet looking for the Lem Pie Filling. I finally got this site with no way to order. Very disappointed. Then I see no longer being produced. Have you considered selling recipe (not Jello, it would get lost in the mix)? Or publishing the recipe?

    1. I think it would be hard to reproduce because the original mix contained the pure lemon oil capsule that really made it zing! I am soooo disappointed! I always used it too!

  14. I haven’t found in any stores. I live in Va. A few years ago, I believe there was a fire according to Giant/Martins. Then it became available again. But now its no longer available?

  15. Hello. … In light of this, what, please, is the closest “substitute” for this for making Lemon Meringue Pie? … (Researching for my sister.)
    Thank you much.

  16. It is a shame they can’t just do a limited production right before the holidays. I’d pay double or triple the regular price for it. It’s a Thanksgiving and Christmas staple.

  17. Anyone know where to find it in the Lancaster PA area–Giant no longer sells it here

  18. There is NO MORE LEM not on ebay, not on amazon and not on the planet, because according to Martie // Mar 21, 2017 at 7:54 am

    3/21/17-I just called their corporate office and they said that they had stopped making it a year ago-it was no longer cost effective to make.

    So until someone else buys the brand or recipe .. no more LEM :o(

  19. Hi,

    I have been unable to find Lem for a long time Is it a product no longer made. Please let me know if any one has it. thank You

  20. Why can I not find Lem anymore? I have looked and looked and still cannot find it. I always used to be able to purchase it. I loved making Lemon Meringue Pie with it.

  21. as of 10/18/2017…. I just spoke to SERV-AGEN, The distributor of LEM. Their representative told me that LEM is no longer manufactured because of the high cost of its unique ingredients. He gave me his sincerest apologies… THE END

  22. where can i buy lem pudding and pie filling? is it ever coming back?

  23. I grew up in Millville and my mother woyld make gingerbread cake and pour lem on top. I now live in Asheville NC and can no longer find. It was here when I worked gor Haddon House Foods but when we lost the Ingles account lem disappeared. Ive heard thru the grapevine that they ghost ot the business back starting in 2018. So I’m hoping it will return to the shelves here as I would love to make for my grandkids.

  24. I live in Florida, I am looking for it. I love it with gingerbread. Please let me know if there is anything that comes close to it.

  25. Hello
    We live in Plymouth Meeting PA
    Can you PLEASE let us know where we can buy LEM????
    Thank you so very much

  26. I live in Pa. and can’t find LEM In any of the stores around here, WalMart, or Giant.

  27. I am looking for Lem pudding. Tried to make a pie for Easter and it did not gel like Lem pudding. Where is it available in the Easton, PA area?
    Thank you,

  28. I am also looking for original LEM, my Mother used to make a lemon sauce to pour over Gingerbread. The recipe was on the box! I miss it so and would love to make it for my parents.

    thanks!

  29. 3/21/17-I just called their corporation office and they said that they had stopped making it a year ago-it was no longer cost effective to make-anybody know where to get any old Lem?

  30. Hi, live in southern Chester County PA, i too am looking for the original Lem pudding and pie filling and have wasted a good amount of money etc to find a replacement. How is it that something so popular just drops off the face of the earth? Can anyone help?

  31. Please let me know where I can buy Lem. My mother had been using this every since I was a little girl that the only thing I will cook with. Please help me. Thanks In Advance
    I live in Phila., Pa.

  32. Can not find Lem here in northern Chester County Pa. any more. Last saw it in October 2016 at Acme, but no more. Also – not at Wegmans, Giant, or Redners.
    Really miss it. Made perfect lemon meringue pie every time.

  33. Where can I get LEM pie filling? Wish another company would make this item if Ser-Agen has gone out of business. SURE DO MISS THIS PRODUCT. I live in south Jersey but go to Delaware often.

  34. Where can I find lem? Is the company out of business?

  35. Please where can I find LEM? Delaware or Eastern Shore of Maryland??

  36. I live in Rochester, WA . I grew up on gingerbread with a lemon sauce over top of the gingerbread. I can’t find the Lem pie fill here . Can anyone help me? It’s getting that time of the year help

  37. I too, am looking for LEM. My mother would pour a little on ginger bread cake for us as children in the 60’s. Loved it. I want to share it with my grandchildren now. Northampton Pa

  38. My girlfriend found Lem at the Shop Rite in West Chester, looked for it at the Shop Rite in RioGrande<NJ, but no luck—I live in Pittsburgh cannot find it at all, please help me locate it in this area.

  39. You can buy it at Walmart and Martin’s Food Market. I live in Cumberland Maryland. It makes the best Lemon Pies. Yum Yummy!!

  40. I just purchased it at a Giant in Doylestown, PA!

  41. I tried Lem for the first time today. It is not very lemony-really it is rather bland. It was a waste of money. It is easy to make lemon pudding (lemon curd) and it is much tastier.

  42. I love in Columbus Ohio and been looking for this every since a general store closed in Virginia named New Church market…where can I get it online without having to purchase the whole 24 pkg for $70+

  43. My mother made this throughout my childhood and teen years. Fantastic product! I don’t care what the cost is but I have to order it probably in bulk. I just happened to get on line to check it out and found this site! Another site is selling t for $1.99 per box. Any suggestions about price range? Email me at sjohnsonrn@att.net


  44. I also live in Philadelphia and have been looking for Lem. My grandmother used to make it all the time, and I was looking for a bit of nostalgia/comfort foods lately. Is Lem no longer available? I have looked at my local ShopRite and Superfresh, no luck. Seems to be out of stock on Amazon as well.

  45. I was just at the Acme in South Philly 2day & I was told they have taken the Lem Product off the shelves & it is no longer sold in the Acme on Passyunk & Reed St . There is no Giant store around here and I don’t know where else to look. Shop Rite has something awful that they pass off as a lemon filling

  46. I have an annual quest for this pudding and pie filling. My Mom always used this pudding for cup cake filling, lemon meringue pie. I’m in my fiftys and my son in his thirty’s and wants only LEM for his pie. I tried other brands and they just don’t measure up to the taste, color ad cosistacy.

    I’m so glad to have foud it this year.
    Happy Thanksgiving

    1. Where did you find it. I have always used it and haven’t been able to find it. I live in Runnemede, NJ, I have tried Acme, Audubon, NJ, ShopRite, Lawnside, NJ ShopRite, Brooklawn, NJ, if someone knows where in this area it is sold please, please let me know. I have never used any other pie filling other than LEM. Haven’t had a homemade Lemon Meringue pie in 3 years.

      1. It has been discontinued by the manufacturer.

  47. Live in Seaford,De..I seen other post as where to find Lem..We have Gaint Food here in the Salisbury Md area and Acme in Dover,De area.

  48. we live in Seaford Delaware and cant find Lem anywhere where can we find it

  49. What ever happened to Mrs Morrisons Golden Pudding? I’m 86 and would love to have that glorious pudding before I get the final call. My mother and grandmother use to prepare it often as a family dessert.

  50. Karen, I live in Philly, you can find Lem in the Acme stores.

  51. You can find lem pudding & Pie filling in giant food stores for .89

  52. Question, if the company has closed, how is product available? Search for Lem. It is everywhere on the net. However with shipping the price is pretty stout.

  53. Grew up in Philadelphia and remember Mrs Morrison’s Vanilla Pudding, It was awesome and the chocolate was good too. last time I bought it was in the early 70’s. Anybody now where to buy some today?

  54. On Monday, I purchased a box of LEM at the Acme in South Philadelphia on Passyunk Avenue. It was stocked with the Jell-o and what not.

    I am eager to give it a go.

  55. I would talk to your grocery store. From what I understand Haddon House distributors and some other specialty wholesalers carried the line. I would ask for it at gourmet stores, etc.

  56. I live in Pa below Philadelphia and my mom too is looking for LEM pie filling. The only store around here that still carried it was Shop N’ Bag in Aston and they recently closed. Now she doesn’t know where to find it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    1. LEM is the only pie filling I use.
      I use it to make LEM meringue CAKE

      PLEASE BRING IT BACK TO STORES

  57. I live in Myrtle Beach, SC and I can’t fine Lem pie filling anymore either. What’s happened to it?

  58. This information is wrong. Serv-Agen is closed up. The phone # 856-685-7946 is no longer. Sorry

    1. I loved Lem and have looked everywhere for it. the stuff in the cans does not compare

  59. Where can I purchase LEM Pie and Pudding?
    I live in Magnolia, NJ (very close to Cherry Hill) and I can’t find it…………..Thanks

    1. Lem has been discontinued by the manufacturer.

    2. LEM was a terrific product , why is it discontinued ? I have tried other brands and none compare. Thanks

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