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Tips for making perfect meringue include using clean utensils and egg whites, ensuring ingredients are at room temperature, using the right type of sugar, avoiding excess moisture and fat, and adding acid-stabilizing ingredients. Whipping the egg whites slowly and adding sugar gradually is also important. Cooking the meringue without opening the oven door and avoiding high humidity are additional tips.
Although the only ingredients are egg whites and sugar, the sometimes tedious process of making meringue can be made easier if you keep a few simple rules in mind. Before you begin making the mixture, it’s important to make sure that the utensils you’re using, as well as the egg whites themselves, are very clean and free of excess grease and fat, including any yolk left in the whites. The meringue will be easier to prepare if the ingredients are at room temperature before whipping. The type of sugar used can make a big difference, with granulated sugar sometimes due to excess moisture that can melt onto the surface of whipped egg whites. Humid weather, an overheated oven, and eggs that may have been over-whipped are all additional factors that can ruin an otherwise well-made meringue.
The process of making meringue involves developing a structure within the egg whites that holds smaller and smaller pockets of air as the whites are whipped. The sugar will bind to the air-holding proteins and help make the structure very strong and durable, as will adding acids or using a reactive copper bowl. The two elements that prevent the formation of a light and smooth meringue are moisture and fat. The fat prevents the proteins from creating a strong structure to hold air, and the moisture can degrade the bonds or strip the air out of egg whites.
To ensure that no excess oils or fats are incorporated into the meringue, the bowl that will be used to whip the whisk should be made from a material that does not retain grease and should be cleaned before use with an acidic substance such as lemon juice to completely remove any residue. Also, hands and fingers should not touch the inside of the bowl or other clean utensils that will be used to whisk the egg whites, as the oils on your skin can also transfer and cause problems. When the egg yolks are separated from the whites, no yolks should be present in the whites when they are used. The same care should be taken to ensure the mixing bowl and all utensils are very dry to avoid adding unwanted moisture to the mixture.
When starting to whip the meringue, the protein structure that forms inside should be allowed to develop slowly at first, because whipping too aggressively at first will create a brittle structure that will quickly collapse. After the whites are whipped into a fluffy foam, only then should superfine sugar be added. Adding sugar with grains that are too large or added too early can affect the final texture of the mixture and potentially act like a magnet, pulling moisture into the air.
Depending on the circumstances and the meringue’s end use, an acid-stabilizing ingredient such as vinegar, cream of tartar, or lemon juice may be added in small amounts to beef up the air-holding protein structure. If the whipped egg whites will be cooked, special care should be taken with them while cooking, without opening the oven door, to ensure that the whites do not crack, brown too quickly, or shrink too quickly from excessive heat. If possible, the final tip for best results is to attempt to mix only when there is low humidity outdoors and when the weather is dry.
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