It is onerous to crack open a pastry cookbook with out encountering a minimum of one recipe that requires the usage of French meringue. Because the seventeenth century, cooks have been utilizing it as a pure leavening agent (an ingredient that gives rise and construction) for all types of desserts, together with angel meals cake, souffle, pavlova, baked Alaska, Eton mess and baked meringue cookies, simply to call just a few.

French meringue is without doubt one of the simplest, but mysterious parts on the planet of pastry. It consists of solely 4 substances: egg whites, sugar, acid, and salt. These substances alone could appear unremarkable, however when mixed along with probably the most crucial factor, forceful whipping, they develop into a marvel of chemistry and confection.

There are complete chapters of books dedicated to the science concerned, however for the sake of brevity, this is the fast and soiled model. Egg whites are principally composed of water and proteins. Once they’re crushed, the usually tightly wound-up proteins (principally ovalbumin) start to unravel and stretch out, permitting them to hyperlink up with one another. This community of protein reinforces tiny air bubbles shaped within the watery whites, making a thick foam. As you proceed to beat, the protein-strengthened partitions of those bubbles are stretched thinner and thinner as increasingly more air is launched till a crucial ratio of air to water within the foam is reached. Immediately, the partitions start to fail and the meringue takes on a damaged look much like boring, lumpy clouds. The addition of acid (usually, cream of tartar) helps strengthen the bonds between proteins, whereas sugar provides viscosity to the water, each of which make for stronger bubbles and forestall this lumpiness from occurring.

What does all this imply to you, the cook dinner? When making meringue, vigilance is essential, which implies watching the egg whites fastidiously as they whip, including the opposite substances on the correct occasions, and including the sugar steadily and in small quantities, to make sure that you’re stabilizing the meringue whereas the sugar dissolves correctly into the combination. Cooks use all types of various approaches when making a French meringue, none of that are fallacious, however I’ve discovered that the one right here yields a reliably secure meringue with only a few ideas.

Fastidiously Separate the Eggs

Clear and full separation is crucial for acquiring quantity when whipping egg whites for meringue. The slightest hint of fats (which the yolks comprise) will trigger the meringue to be flat and ineffective. To make certain that you will not smash a complete batch, separate the whites from the yolks one after the other in a separate bowl, then add them to the blending bowl after every separation. This manner, should you break one, you could have solely wasted one egg (however go forward and have it for breakfast as an alternative!)

Whip to Delicate or Agency Peaks, as Wanted

Completely different recipes will name for both tender peaks or agency peaks. As soon as the meringue appears to be like huge, shiny, and thick, cease the mixer and test to see if the meringue is at tender peak stage by dipping the whisk vertically into the bowl and pulling it up straight, then flipping it over. A “tender peak” will start to slowly hunch over whereas a agency peak is not going to transfer. If you’re whipping to tender peaks, the meringue will start to droop over a bit after being held sideways for 5 seconds. For agency peaks, the meringue mustn’t transfer throughout this take a look at. If the meringue has not reached the specified consistency, proceed whipping at excessive velocity for one more 30 seconds to 1 minute, then cease and take a look at once more.

July 2011

Cook dinner Mode
(Preserve display screen awake)