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Learn All About Eggs & How To Cook Them
Baked (Shirred) Eggs
Boiling Eggs
Brunch Recipes
Coddled Eggs
Deviled Eggs
Egg Equivalents
Egg FAQs
Egg Recipes
Freezing Eggs
Fried Eggs
Making Natural Easter Egg Dyes
Meringue
Microwave Eggs
Poached Eggs
Powdered Eggs
Raw Eggs
Scrambled Eggs/Omelets
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Making Perfect
Meringue
Whipping egg whites are much like blowing air
into a balloon. Beating or whisking causes the protein in the egg whites to
unfold, forming films that trap the air bubbles, and the sugar stiffens the
foam. A meringue is really nothing but a foam, and foam is a big collection
of bubbles. Fat interferes with the formation of a good foam in the egg
whites. Fats tend to collapse egg foams.
Age of Eggs:
Meringue recipes work better with
eggs that are at least 3 or 4 days old.
Thin, older egg whites whip more easily to a higher volume than thick, fresh
egg whites. Once
whipped, the foam from thin whites is less stable because the liquid film
drains more easily from the bubbles. If volume is more important than
stability, then older eggs are better to use. For better stability, a good
rule of thumb is to use fresher eggs for meringues, saving older ones for
general baking.
Separating Eggs:
Cold eggs separate more easily than
those at room temperature because the whites hold together better.
 To separate an egg:
Crack the egg and hold the shell halves over a bowl. Transfer the yolk
back and forth between the halves, letting the white drop into the bowl.
Do not cut the yolk (whites containing any yolk will not beat properly).
Transfer the yolk to another bowl.
The
tiniest bit of fat or egg yolk will wreck a meringue,
as fat interferes with the formation of good foam. When separating eggs, if a speck of
egg yolk falls into the egg whites, lift it out with an empty eggshell
half. Do not try to fish it out with your fingers; the oil on your skin
will prevent the egg whites from expanding.
Avoid
letting your fingers touch the areas that will come in contact with the
egg whites. That way, you'll avoid leaving oils from your
hands on the utensils you just washed.
After separating, bring egg whites
to room temperature to ensure volume when beating, as warmer eggs whip faster than cold eggs. Egg whites right out of the refrigerator will not whip
well. The ideal temperature to whip a common meringue is room temperature, about 70 degrees F. (21 degrees C.). Usually 30 minutes is adequate to obtain room
temperature.
A beaten egg white can foam to 6 to 8 times its original volume if the egg whites have been at room temperature for 30 minutes before
beating.
Bowls and Utensils:
Copper,
stainless-steel, or glass bowls work best for making meringues.
Avoid using plastic bowls for whipping
egg whites as they can often harbor traces of grease or fat, which prevents the
whites from getting stiff. Whichever type of bowl you use, be sure it’s
spotlessly clean.
Make sure that
all your utensils are
immaculately clean,
completely grease-free, and
completely dry. Meringues are very sensitive and they don't like any
moisture. Don't make meringues on a rainy or really humid day (remember
that they are mostly air and if that air contains a lot of water, it
will have an effect).
Place the egg whites into a
large, tall
bowl and set your
mixer to
medium-high speed. NOTE: I would not hand beat a meringues (too much work).
Beating or whisking causes the protein in
the egg whites to unfold, forming films that trap the air bubbles, and
the sugar stiffens the foam. As the mixing time increases, the bubbles
become smaller and more numerous; this increases the volume and makes a
more-stable structure.
Adding Sugar:
Do not add
sugar before whipping the egg whites. Adding sugar at the beginning can
double the time you have to whip the egg whites to get a foam.
Add the sugar at the
very end when the whites
have formed soft peaks.
I
like to use
superfine sugar
when making meringue because it dissolves faster than table sugar.
When beating egg
whites and the recipe calls for sugar,
Gradually add the sugar, a few spoonfuls at a
time, beating the whole time. As a general rule, add a total of 1/4 cup
of sugar for each egg white.
Do not make meringues that have less than 2 tablespoons
of sugar per egg white. If you use any less, the foam will not set and
the meringue will shrink.
To tell if the sugar is dissolved when you are
beating egg whites for meringues, rub a bit of the foam between your
fingers. If it feels gritty, the sugar is not dissolved, so keep beating
for a few minutes.
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Questions and Answers:
QUESTION:
I am having trouble
with my egg whites on my cream pies. They wilt after baking. Please tell me
how to make pretty meringue.
ANSWER:
Meringues are basically
egg whites and sugar. Anything made with a high percentage of sugar,
always attracts moisture because sugar is hygroscopic, that is, it has a
great affinity for water (the sugar attracts water from the surroundings
and causes small brown beads to form). Thus, it's not the heat that
causes the beading on your meringue, but humidity in the warm air, or a
steaming kettle, a moist kitchen, an often, a rainy day. This is
particularly noticeable on a very humid day. This is a very common
problem with meringue, and is perhaps a good reason for eating
meringue-topped pies soon after they're prepared!. When the meringue is
out of the oven and has cooled, store it in an air-tight container.
Another important factor
in making meringues is to add the sugar very slowly to the eggs whites,
beating well since undissolved sugar attracts beads of moisture.
Consider using superfine sugar which is finer in texture and dissolves
more easily than the regular granulated form.
Also, be sure to place the
meringue on the filling while it is hot. The residual heat carried by
the filling cooks the base of the meringue ever so slightly, making it
less prone to leaking or shrinking.
Use these decorating tricks when making
meringue:
Per 4 egg whites, stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1/3 cup cold
water, heat while stirring until the starch thickens. Set aside
to cool. After the sugar has been beaten into the meringue and
it forms soft peaks, add cornstarch mixture 1 tablespoon at a
time, beating to stiff peaks.
Add a piping gel
to stabilize the meringue. Use
approximately one tablespoon for each three to four egg whites.
PIPING GEL RECIPE
2 envelopes (2
tablespoons) Knox unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 cups light Karo syrup
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a
small saucepan and let set for about 5 minutes. Heat on low
until the gelatin has become clear/dissolved - DO NOT BOIL.
Add the syrup and heat thoroughly. Cool and
store, refrigerated, for up to 2 months.
Cream of tartar is also a
wonderful stabilizer:
CREAM OF TARTAR
MIXTURE
Add 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar for each egg white you are
using. Stir lightly to mix it in. Start beating and when it
reaches a nice, soft, fluffy stage (the meringue bends like a
bird's beak when beaters are lifted), begin adding the sugar.
Use two tablespoons sugar for each egg white to make a soft
meringue.
QUESTIONS:
I have tried many times over many years to
make meringue. When I lived in Northern PA. I use to bake as a teenager
and my meringues were beautiful and big. I now live in southern Pa. and
my meringue stinks. It comes out of the oven, huge and nice, but give
it 5 minutes out of the oven and its flat as a pancake. I've tried
under beating, and over beating, and all types of recipes, but it's
always th same. I know it's always humid down here, but this is
ridiculous. I've lived down here for 30 years now and it never
changes. HELP.
ANSWER:
Humidity affects a
meringue's texture. Damp, humid days may cause it to be limp and sticky. Check
the weather outside before you start. You can not make crisp meringue on a
humid day. Meringue
should be made on dry days. The cornstarch mixture helps them hold up under
humid conditions, but to ensure success, plan to bake when it is less humid.
CORNSTARCH MIXTURE RECIPE:
Per 4 egg whites, stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1/3 cup cold
water, heat while stirring until the starch thickens. Set aside to cool.
After the sugar has been beaten into the meringue and it forms soft
peaks, add cornstarch mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, beating to stiff
peaks.
QUESTION:
I am having trouble with what someone called
"sweating" between my meringue and the pie. I made a chocolate pie , put
the meringue on top, cooked it, let it cool in the oven (just like I was
told) and even cut the meringue with a hot knife (again like I was told)
immediately after taking it out of the oven .I noticed liquid between
the meringue and the pie which of course made the pie runny. Have you
ever heard of this? I can't seem to find out what I am doing wrong.
Please help if you can. Thank you!
ANSWER:
Sweating, beading, weeping, or moisture
droplets: When water
seeps between the filling and the meringue, the pie is weeping.
Weeping is a common problem with meringue
pies, but it is avoidable.
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This is caused by
over baking the meringue. When egg whites bake too long, they begin to
tighten, squeezing out little drops of moisture.
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Meringues will also weep if there's any
undissolved sugar. I
like to use superfine sugar when making meringue because it dissolves
faster than table sugar.
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Over-baking also
produces a tough meringue. Meringue
needs to be cooked to 160 degrees F but not so long that they are
overdone. Lower the oven heat and bake for a shorter time. Bake
meringues just until they are light brown and dry to the touch. It
can also be caused by
under- or over-mixing, or too little sugar was used.
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Also frequently occurs when beaten
meringue is spooned onto a cool filling. Be
sure to place the meringue on the filling while it is hot. The residual
heat carried by the filling cooks the base of the meringue ever so
slightly, making it less prone to leaking or shrinking.
QUESTION:
How do I keep my crust
from getting soggy?
ANSWER:
There are several
things you can do:
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Bake the pie in the lower
half of the oven so the pastry is exposed to more intense heat.
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Use a glass pie plate -
glass does a better job of absorbing the radiant heat of
an oven, than either pottery or
metal, so pastry bakes faster.
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Some cooks pre-bake or
partially bake the shell before adding the custard
filling.
QUESTION:
Why does the meringue pull
away from the crust when baking? Is there any way to keep a meringue
from shrinking and “weeping”? I make very good cream pies, but have not been
successful in making a meringue that does not weep. Any suggestions that you
could give me would be appreciated.
ANSWER:
To prevent the
meringue from shrinking during baking, seal it completely to the crust edge
with a spatula when mounding it atop the filling.
Be
sure to place the meringue on the filling while it is hot. The residual heat
carried by the filling cooks the base of the meringue ever so slightly,
making it less prone to leaking or shrinking.
QUESTION:
My son is preparing a science experiment and we are trying to find out why
egg whites won't whip firm when egg yolk is present. We found sites saying
that it is the fat the causes this. The next question then, which we cannot
find answers for, is why does the fat (egg yolk) effect the albumen (egg
white) in this manner? Any help you can give us would be greatly
appreciated.
ANSWER:
A
meringue is really nothing but a foam, and foam is a big collection of
bubbles. Fat interferes with the formation of a good foam in the egg whites.
Fats tend to collapse egg foams.
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